Graffiti 365 - Jay "J.Son" Edlin (et al)

all photos: NoLionsInEngland


A sub woofer resonating rumble and Richter scale registering tremor signalled newly published book Graffiti 365 crashing through the letter box today. 365 graffiti artists, 2 inches of pulp and about the same weight as a newborn baby, you could use this book to barricade your door.

On the surface it’s a simple idea beautifully executed. 365 double pages each having a large photo on one side, waffle on the other. That’s 730 pages of awesome photos and writing, heads will enjoy it and new initiates will learn much.


(PS -excuse these photos, I had to use Lady NoLion's camera and the bloody kids think it's ok to put it way with a totally discharged battery, these 3 pics were all I got)


The content is part historic record, part contemporary survey, part graffiti and part street art. The graff history aspect skews the national representation to a North American bias but in terms of current writers and street artists, the survey represents quite even-handedly Australia, Europe, UK (no, I don’t need you to point out where we are on a map) and Latin America as well as the US.

Most of the pages feature writers and their crews or artists but just as interestingly we get J.Son & Co.s’ insights from the graff culture coal face. The book mixes ol school subway kings and their crews with new era street artists with brief tutorials on technique, vocabularly and ancient legends of benches, yards, galleries and landmark events that milestoned the birth and adolescence of the graffiti movement in New York. Among loads of things I never knew, I never heard before about writers going into the yards where decommissioned trains were stored prior to being dumped in the ocean (really? C’mon NY...all that shit can be recycled) and doing nostalgic “scraps”. Sounds like substituting Tesco’s own brand for Coca cola - a slightly pussy copy of the real thing.


NOGA (Nation Of Graffiti artists), NY 1978, photo Michael Lawrence


Martha and Henry contribute extensively of course but the photos that excited most were those of Jack Stewart, capturing 1970’s chaotic explosions of tags and pieces in colours and styles that to today’s eyes look rough, ready and wild.

[photo sometime soon - see above]

Zephyr writes the opening blurb and reports that the book’s author J.Son has experienced a lobotomy-like conversion in the process, he now sees some point in some street art. And that to a large extent captures why this book is worth reinforcing your shelves for. A battle hardened writer, a there-at-the-genesis graff head steeped in tunnel mystique and whole car yard missions has filtered the graff he loves and the street art he respects. He draws the genetic link between the two and if it qualifies to be in this book then it has been passed fit for consumption by a real graff head.



Piece by Rasta, Character by Revolt, photo by Pjay One


The book condenses colour, atmosphere, history and style into a very easy read with an un-hectoring style. It smoothes over the fault line between street art and graffiti in a way that will introduce many a polarised graff or street art bigot to the merits of the other form. A superb achievement.

Warning, if you like reading in bed and gently falling asleep with a light novelette gently resting on your nose, you are going to wake up with a black eye with this book and….. PROPER BLOODY FONT SIZES PLEASE I can hardly read fucking VNA these days and needed a telescope for photograph labels in this book. There is real knowledge to be gained from knowing when a particular painting was created and where. I will even confess that knowing who took a photo can often reveal something about the era, the location and the circumstances under which the graff was likely to have been created.

By the way – I don’t feel any obligation to mention that I am honoured to have had a few snaps included in the book, because I have no interest at all in its success or otherwise, merely a belief that if you need help selecting a graff book from the landfill graff photo albums available today, then hopefully this little write up could help you (see also – Crack and Shine and Subway Art).

God Help Us - It's Ronzo

all photos: NoLionsInEngland



Slightly disappointed with the location of this one. My first reaction was this should be located somewhere that spoke more of the nearby Square Mile of profit hungry soul destroyers. Instead, it’s pretty much at the entrance to the yard housing his studio, a fact he can hardly hide given the number of times he has been seen outdoors applying finishing touches to super-sized Ronzo bugs and monsters.




Then I realised that this spot is also a portal to the dingy alley which leads past the new location of Crunchie the credit crunch monster, recently displaced from its elevated position overlooking the den of indulgent economic greed in the City. Perhaps my dis-satisfaction with the location of this new little sculpture is merely a manifestation of my disappointment with the neutered irrelevance of crunchie’s new nest. It now munches its coins while overlooking the organic craft stalls and pop-up cantinas selling any foreign cuisine you like so long as it comes with rice or in pitta.




And why is he now pink? Is Ronzo savagely fingering the gay economy?


The latin motto cast into the new Ronzo coat of arms is open to a number of translations. Domine adiuva nos speaks of a master, god or leader, whose protection, aid or favours we seek. In other words......”Lord help us! City of Ronzo”


Let's look on the bright side, it’s still a new street Ronzo which is usually a good thing and if you doubt us, check out his 2009 Crunchie campaign which was truly top notch.



P.S - Crunchie The Great in his original location:

Time Bomb

History. What is it? I wasn’t there!

Moving to London in the early 80s I contrived to miss graff’s heyday because (a) I cycled everywhere and (b) I couldn’t stand hip hop. Some things never change. Today on my ride home, a chance encounter with a door ajar allowed a glimpse into a hidden time capsule of ancient tags from some home grown legends.




Let's play a game popular on flickr called Guess Where London. Show you know your history, tell us the name of the location where these photos were taken. No prizes.



Sadly, clip clop cycling shoes and an unlocked bike outside meant I couldn't explore further. Booo. Still, we love clandestine photo missions and when they are also impromptu - even better. I think I have seen this particular stairwell on a youtube clip somewhere, or is it in a book, I couldn’t find it – anyone know?

Curly – Sticking It Up ‘em

London has witnessed a surge in statement based illegal art in the past year or so, not just letters or mere words but often whole sentences and even punctuation. Elbow Toe scribbled haikus; Mobstr stencilled witty check lists; Ron English pasted up dis-embodied private secrets in speech bubbles and thought balloons. There has even been a very polite voice on lurid mini stickers urging us to “Please be nice to each other” and “Please say please thank you”. You may be thinking “basic information - graff worships the font, dude” but what we are talking here is a bombing mode that unlike graff eschews repetition, each intervention an original.




Chief protagonist of this prosaic prose vandalism is, let’s not quibble about definitions, sticker artist Curly. In a movement that lionises those most “up”, sticker artist Curly has captured a safari park’s worth of attention in the past year with more than a 1,000 wordy pronouncements stuck on street furniture all over the World. His stickers have the air of insider jokes, very market aware, very art joke infused, very tuned in to sensitive matters impacting a street artists’ credibility yet at times his thoughts betray an air of self-effacing vulnerability.




Getting wind of a planned Summer visit to the UK, Graffoto managed to secure an interview which the sticker prince elected to conduct via his preferred media, the United States Postal Service label. Curly led Graffoto a merry jaunt around London and into one or two tensely balanced and rather risky situations, we hope you find the results worthwhile.

We start with the most important issue – have you ever been busted?


Only by the NYPD


Another answer that nearly got your photographer in the pooh after the artist legged it: Is it ok to do stickers if you can't skate?


Skateboards are for suburban pre-teens


The answer to “Will stickers ever become appreciated as graffiti?” had me wondering if this Curly character was out to get me lynched:


Why would anyone want that? Graff is for pussies. Art-fags have balls


Pressing on with the interview, do you know Banksy?


You mean in the biblical sense? Yes of course. But I make him wear a mask, so I have never seen his face


Should stickers be political?


If that sells


Do you think it is important for stickers to have a message?


Conceptualism is a vastly over-rated concept


Are all your stickers installed illegally?


Technically this is illegal but nobody cares


Will stickers ever become appreciated as art?


Only by those boring enough to care


Should street stickers be protected by perspex?


Perspex is a perfect surface to get up on


Do you think a sticker artist will ever have a solo gallery show?


If you can’t get a solo gallery show, you’re not really an artist


Could any of the candidates in the US presidential nominations benefit from a sticker campaign?


I would love some free pizza from Herman Cain


When did you get into stickering


Last Week


What makes a good location for a sticker?


Wherever a good photo can be taken


The best graff writers get to paint naked girls, would you consider stickering girls?


Only on really big ones


Any technical tips for aspiring sticker artists?


Take amazing photos and post them to flickr


Is There Room For Humour On Stickers?


Only This One (Respekt IZM - no proper graff was really harmed in the making of this interview)


Is there a hop-hop/graffiti style link between stickers and music?


I listen exclusively to Leonard Cohen


Fine point or chisel tip?


What ever is handy


where did you get your name from?


The logo came first then I needed a name. It was between “Curly” and “really poorly done cursive f”. The logo came about because even a talentless toy could write it.


(yeah – Graffoto had to google cursive too, means “joined up” ). Any views on the absence of stickers from Museums?


What absence? I’m in Art In The Streets in LA


Will museums not truly represent the commoners art until they have a Curly in their collection?


Museums will not truly represent the elite until they have a Curly in their collection


Are you a disciple of Jenny Holzer's Truism-ism?


I’m a post-truist but I’ll always tell the truth


How can we convince Graffoto’s reader that you are the original Curly and not just some kind of wannabe copiest?


My style is unique and impossible to imitate


We conclude this interview with a quaint relic of innocence illustrating Curly’s failure to grasp the dog-fuck-dog nature of the street art “market”, at his request we include this sticker grovelling to someone he’s never met:


He’s not a sticker guy, but this interview concept has been blatantly stolen from Lush, so he probably deserves a shout out


Hunting for suitable spots for “Curlies” resulted in the discovery of ancient and weathered Curlies south of the river and way out West which Curly himself had forgotten. Cap doffed at that level of getting up. Cynics and moaners constantly gripe about street artists prostituting themselves putting up lame commercial shit in the usual art bordello locations. In the process of giving this novel interview, Curly vandalised property on Fed stations, post boxes, tube panels (window down!), HOFs, museums and art galleries. What was most impressive was that Curly went all-city EXCEPT Shoreditch – avoiding the most boringly obvious location for a publicity seeking street art whore to get up, way to go!


Curly In Action, possibly.

Gocco Printing - Malarky at High Roller Society

all photos: NoLionsInEngland



Last Summer High Roller Society did a fascinating and informative trio of workshop demos on print making. Graffoto loved them and scribbled a few words about them here and here.

Current show at the gallery is “Summer Breeze” featuring the flat fantasmagorical pop creatures of Malarky and Billy and Malarky gave a demo of Gocco print making, used to produce editioned prints such as this one from the showhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif




What is a Gocco print? A print made by Gocco printer I suppose, which is one of these kitsch looking gismos from Japan which uses a clam-shell device to force inks through a silk screen. Style-wise everything about a Gocco printer screams retro toy but don’t be fooled, this is both a screen burner and print maker which can produce multi layer prints limited only by your patience. Apparently the Japanese intended it to be used for producing high quality party invitations and wedding invites.




The intrepid demonstrator Malarky took a group of a dozen or so somewhat bashful watchers through the various stages including burning the screen, inking up the screen, fudging the alignment of the paper and then pressing the Gocco to create the print.


Printing off first layer


This light box sits on top of the Gocco and burns the screen from a photocopy of the artwork, the bulbs have a one shot life and they aren’t cheap!


Light source



Burning a screen


Each screen is then subdivided using sticky strips into zones for each colour, no holes in the dyke allowed or colours will bleed into each other


Inked up Gocco silk screen


An un-expected lesson was that when printers, pundits and gallerists apply expressions like “uniqueness”, “charm” and “individuality” to screen printed editions, they mean bits where the ink didn’t come out.


Layer one

The registration process for the second screen was real hit and miss skill and judgement, seems you do a test print, then trim off an edge to correct mis-alignment, push it around abit, try again, eventually you reach a predicament a bit like someone in a barber’s chair staring wistfully at a pile of clippings on the floor and a crew cut mess on the head. If you ever wondered where artist’s proofs came from, there’s your answer.


Artist Proofs!

The gallerist’s husband (congratulations!) kept the information flowing with suitable questions and un-suitable banter. Malarky produced a two layer 3 colour print in the two hours of the workshop, we all had a go at printing a few sheets. And we all had the chance to come away with a copy of the fruits of Malarky's labours produced before our very eyes.




For an office slave caged in a totally non arty/media environment, these insight into the craftsman’s side of the creative arts are supremely fascinating. High Roller Society deserves huge applause for taking the trouble to host events like this and Malarky is a star for allowing us to watch the artist at work, those working inside the arts world may not appreciate how intriguing and fascinating that is for us civvies. We hope there will be more!

New Ron English/NoLionsInEngland Collab Revealed

all photos: NoLionsInEngland

I have always been repelled by Ron English’s udder-rich pop coloured studio work, few exceptions barely worth mentioning. Moving that studio art out onto the streets doesn’t change my mind – see Camo boy from 2008. Even his inclusion in CANS with what looked like paste ups seemed a bit odd.


Ron English Camo Boy, London, (this was spot jockeying, not a collab!)


The billboard campaign stabs corporate and western imperialism nicely where it hurts, in the blind eye it turns on its own hypocrisy


NABKA60 - 60 Years of Palestinian Occupation
Ron English, SHepherds Bush, London 2008


This week I have collected a large series of sightings of speech bubbles and thought bubbles containing wistful bon mots, semi lucid sound bites and snippits of a private inner monologue best not brought out into the open. A bit of flickr research confirms Vandalog to be the first to attribute these to Ron English and for artists of such stature, RJ’s attribution is a good as law, in fact if it wasn’t Ron English I suggest he knock a few of these out sharpish.




At first glance these captions were puzzling and seemingly un-satisfying. What was their point, and why was their placement so damn careless. Not one of them seemed to relate in any meaningful way to its environment. London’s walls are heaving with graffiti characters, rich singers masquerading as teen sluts on illegal flyers or marketer’s perfect families on advertising hoardings, these captions could surely have been better placed so that they looked like they were coming from those flat characters?




Perhaps you might think the walls as well as having ears also have thoughts, complexes and wise words to share.




We know this artist grafts ruminants' udders onto Disney characters but what are these ruminations about? Then the penny drops. What English has put up is a series of incomplete installations, the pieces only make sense when YOU come along to actually say or think them. That placement - he was wilfully avoiding those characters on the wall. Every single one of these pieces works brilliantly when a member of the public passes by and momentarily the captions belong to them.


(In one block I will be run down by a bus....if I walk in the gutter)

Even more intriguingly, the person who fleetingly becomes part of the installation is probably not aware of the significance of his role. The art exists only for a tantalising moment and really is best appreciated from the third party perspective.




You can only conclude that this art needs you there to complete it and in the case of the various art pieces illustrating this web page, the art existed only when I the photographer was present to observe and record its transient existence. I am honoured to be able to share with you this street work that Ron and I put together.


(clothes and gait - model's own)


I would like to thank Ron English for his vital contribution to our collaboration, I really couldn’t have done it without him. Thank you also to his assistants, drivers, ladder bearers, make-up artists and anyone else who knows him.




If you think this insight is rubbish (congratulations) I believe Ron English makes his intention quite clear with this particular caption for those of a more Liliputian stature.




This Ron English campaign is the conceptual opposite of my single all time favourite street art installation – Jimmy Cauty’s street mirror under Old Street Bridge which makes the observer disappear. Here English requires you to appear. You can’t knock the genius of a guy who can come up level but opposed to Cauty’s finest (street) hour, this is why Ron English actually is deservedly the legend he is.


Jimmy Cauty, London, 2008

That said, in a period where an artist is taking art placed in the bottom 5 inches of London walls to new heights (no – really, boom boom), Ron manages to sully that hem of public space with a small paste up of an excessively pneumatic Mini Mouse. Oh dear.



Additional photos here