My Name Was Writ in Water
MY NAME WAS WRIT IN WATER
Curated by Mike Malbon & Nemo Librizzi
Featuring: Phase 2, Jon One, Futura, Rambo, Coco144, Tracy168
Projection Photography by David Schmidlapp
In the wake of the Civil Rights movement, a generation of children took to the streets, and signed their names to the trains and walls of a crumbling New York City infrastructure. If unique autographs- like Coco 144- were a significant form of self-expression in their unadorned form, this group practice would undergo in time a transformation, what Phase 2 described as an “evolution of style” towards a convoluted new application of the alphabet Tracy 168 called “wild style”. This innovative language dismissed as “graffiti” by the media was illegible to the outsider, and a creative call-to-arms for the initiate, a battle of letters and words Rammellzee dubbed “Iconoclast Panzerism”. Finally, writers would eschew the signature altogether, and pure abstractions would serve as the artist’s calling card, beginning with Futura’s seminal non-representational “break train”. The subway era was brought to a dramatic finale with the spontaneous compositions of Jon One, who would go on painting in the same vein to artworld acclaim overseas. And in the short, rich career of Lance De Los Reyes, this story is recapitulated from his first humble Rambo tags, to an abstract body of paintings famed for sophisticated color instinct and poetic impact. In this historical context, The Trops presents My Name is Writ in Water, a survey of abstractions curated by Mike Malbon and Nemo Librizzi.
ARTIST BIOS
Phase 2
P.H.A.S.E. 2 (1955- 2019) is known as a “hip-hop” pioneer for his artwork, fashion, music, dance and his often imitated “funky nous deco” party flyers. His oeuvre set the groundwork for a growing inner-city culture and became a worldwide phenomenon. A first-generation ‘writer’ with roots in the NYC subway art movement, he was an innovator of what he called “wild lettering.” In 1972 he pioneered the “softie” letter used in the earliest subway “pieces” and introduced arrows, curls, twists and other connections that became universal visual elements in the art form. In the same year he was one of the first ‘writers’ to paint on canvas, where he would continue setting the bar for contemporary urban art. A style master whose works first focused on language, the letter, communication and then beyond to “unspoken words” and to themes of self-discovery and inner strength. P.H.A.S.E. 2 strode to be an underground artist, building his own worldwide network to advance his artistic narrative.
Jon One (John Perello)
John Andrew Perello, also known as Jon One, is an American Graffiti artist. Originally hailing from Harlem, New York, Jon One is known for his abstract expressionism, influenced by the energy of the city he was born and raised in. He is also credited with founding the graffiti groups, 156 All Starz and Usines Ephémères, groups that would go on to heavily influence the graffiti scene of the 80’s in both New York and Paris. In 2015, Jon One was awarded the Legion of Honor in France, which is given every year to a foreign national in recognition of actions benefiting the country of France. Jon One now resides in Paris, and is internationally acclaimed for his work.
Futura
Born Leonard McGurr, in New York, NY, artist Futura has made a name for himself for his abstract take on graffiti art, by blending imagery with text. Starting with subway graffiti, Futura transitioned to being exhibited at Fun Gallery in the 80’s, alongside artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring. He has also gone on to collaborate with punk band, The Clash, and his work has been exhibited internationally in the Musée de Vire in France and Museo de Arte Moderna di Bologna in Italy. McGurr now lives in Brooklyn, NY and works as a graphic designer.
Rambo (Lance de los Reyes)
Lance De Los Reyes, commonly known as Rambo, was a New York-based graffiti artist best-known for his depictions of upside down crowns and abstract poetry painted across billboards and buildings in New York. Born in Texas, De Los Reyes went on to study at the San Francisco Art Institute, and went on to adapt an abstract and symbolic style of creating his work. Through his eclectic use of symbolism it was clear he “saw himself as a messenger trying to tell us something—to open our eyes.” De Los Reyes died on November 6, 2021, at the age of 44.
COCO 144
Roberto Gualtieri, also known as COCO 144, was born in New York City. Getting his start writing his name on the subway lines of Upper Manhattan in the late 60’s, COCO introduced the usage of stencil, and used it to paint his name on walls and subways surfaces, allowing him to become well known across New York City. In addition, he is one of the founders of the UGA (United Graffiti Artists), a graffiti writing collective which helped usher in a new era of graffiti art that would transition it into becoming a global cultural phenomenon. COCO’s work went on to be featured in various exhibits, such as the Cartier Foundation’s Born in the Streets exhibit in Paris, and The Art in the Streets exhibit at the MOCA in Los Angeles.
Tracy168
Tracy 168 was born in New York City, and is recognized as an entrepreneur of the early graffiti movement. He was one of the first to adopt “Wild Style” lettering, which is an intricate form of graffiti that incorporates overlapping lettering and shapes to create visual depth. In 2006, an art piece by Tracy utilizing a subway car door to feature his work, was featured in the Brooklyn Museum of Art during its exhibit “Graffiti.” Tracy has maintained his street presence over the past few decades, and continues to create street murals in The Bronx and Brooklyn.
David Schmidlapp
David Schmidlapp has been a New York City photography-based artist for over five decades. Schmidlapp has projected in countless international venues, highlighting in 2018 with an analog projection and live performance at MoMA in their “New York Film: No Wave - Transgressive” series. He gained influence in the counterculture movement of the 1970’s, Schmidlapp founded the IG Times in 1984, the first magazine dedicated to aerosol art and culture. Schmidlapp is now based in Hudson, New York, and has been featured in ACA Galleries and the MoMA.
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Exhibition
Away With Words
35 E 1st St, New York, NY
The Trops Gallery LES
7/15/21 - 7/29/21
ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
Ricky Powell was a New York born photographer known for his archiving of hip-hip culture in New York and the downtown scene of Manhattan. Powell was a tour photographer for the Beastie Boys, propelling him into a photo career that would lead him to have work featured in magazines such as Paper, Mass Appeal, and Ego Trip. Powell’s street photography of artists who frequently hung out downtown such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, and Madonna to name a few, would remain an important documentation of the New York art scene.
Khalik Allah is a photographer and filmmaker born in Brookhaven, New York. Allah’s love for photography began when he photographed members of Wu-Tang Clan using a camera he had borrowed from his dad. His work creates original worlds through portraiture that directly speaks to the photographed subject’s story. Shooting with a manual, analogue film camera, Allah tells stories of specific spots of the city such as the corner of 125th and Lexington through his imagery. Besides photography, Allah works with documentary film.
Sante D’Orazio, born in New York, is a photographer whom’s interest for art began while studying fine arts at Brooklyn College. He studied photography with Lou Bernstein and worked under contemporary painter Philip Pearlstein from 1979 to 1980. D’Orazio began his career working for Italian Vogue, and has since then worked for various recognizable brands and exhibited at galleries across The United States and Europe.
Artist and filmmaker Tom Jarmusch uses film and digital photography to tell stories of change and transformation. Through a kind of street-level vision, many of his photographs play with the concept of surroundings, how it affects us and how we change them. Jarmusch considers himself to be playing with “documentary and fiction” in his work. His work has been featured internationally at festivals such as the New York Underground Film Festival and Anthology Film Archives.
Catherine Simon, known as Kate Simon, is a writer and portrait photographer. She was born in Poughkeepsie, New York. Throughout her career, she took photos of many influential artists from all ways of life, such as Madonna, Andy Warhol, Patti Smith, and The Clash, just to name a few. Some of her most known photographs are the ones she took of Bob Marley and the Wailers; one of her most iconic portraits of Marley was used on the front cover of his 1978 album, “Kaya”. She was also the official photographer of Marley’s European Exodus tour in 1977. Simon’s work is internationally recognized and many of them can be seen in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, the MOMA, and the Andy Warhol Museum.
Splitting their time between New York and Dublin, artist duo McDermott & McGough are widely known for the appropriation of images from the late 19th century to early 20th century in their work. David McDermott and Peter McGough were both born during the 1950s, both studied in Syracuse University, and did not meet until they had both moved to New York City. They began their artistic collaboration in 1980, focusing on a Victorian Era style for all of their works. The duo has withheld a unique obsession with the past throughout their career that can be reflected in the subjects of their photographs. McDermott & McGough even converted a townhouse on Avenue C to its “authentic mid-19th century ideal”, lit solely by candles, and representing their refusal to embrace the historical present.
Fabian Palencia solidified his passion for photography in 2010 when returning to school for graphic design. He was born and raised in New York. In his youth, he enjoyed taking pictures, writing, graffiti, and music among other mediums. Now, he is inspired by various aspects of life and art, particularly paintings he has seen in museums such as MOMA or the Met, and people on the street simply existing. One of Palencia’s favorite cameras is his iPhone camera, although he also works with 35mm and a medium format film. Palencia captures the essence of life through his candid shots across the city.
Kisha Battista is a New York based photographer, model and actress who has worked with mixed media from sculpting to painting and wood carving since her youth. A few years ago, Battista discovered photography and has since fallen in love with the process of her work, which includes the mixing of photography with wood workings and paint. Her work is unique due to their one of a kind processes and presentations.
Born and raised in New York, Armando Nin studied at Pratt and is now taking part in The Art Student League. A street photographer reaching into his archives, Nin captures the gritty extremities of his surroundings in the City starting in the mid 2000s into present day. Mostly on his 35 mm point and shoot camera, Nin captures moments in the metropolis, making paintings as well as prefabrications. He came upon a camera as a child but never considered photography something to “learn” or “practice”, now displaying his archived material through his instagram platform for all to respond to and experience.
T. Eric Monroe is a New Jersey based photographer who shot mainly in the 90’s capturing the hip hop scene’s intimate and behind the scenes moments. Working for magazines like Thrasher, the skate magazine, T. Eric got chances to form relationships with some of the biggest names in hip hop and photograph their performances, in the studio recording or behind the scenes as well as hanging out at their homes and neighborhoods in New York City. To name a few, T. worked alongside Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu, Tupak Shakur, Biggie, RZA, Old Dirty Bastard and Missy Elliott.
Known for her costume design, Robin Newland has had a life-long passion of collecting, dressing up dolls and has recently been posing for photoshoots. She is inspired by different pop stars as well as some of her favorite characters. She creates entire plots and stories for the dolls as if the images she takes are the dolls’ everyday experience and they are real to her.
Born and currently living in New York City, Michael Avedon is a portrait photographer who makes commercial work as well as personal stories, also recognized as being the famous photographer’s grandson, Richard Avedon. He graduated from the International School of Photography in 2013 and went on to create iconic pop culture images through his commercial work. Avedon appeared on Dazed 100’s list of 2014 as well as Forbes’ 30 under 30 in recognition of his stunning imagery in photography.
Born and Raised in Boston, Massachusetts, Barron Claiborne is a self taught photographer who began at age 10. Later in 1989 he moved to New York City and began working alongside prolific photographers such as Richard Avedon and Irving Penn, which heavily influenced his path in print work, mostly working in large format. Claiborne has been in publications including The New York Times, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone and Esquire to name a few. Focused on 8x10 polaroids, Claiborne is working on a series both historical and mythological in relation to his African ancestry.