The Evolution of Letter Styles, 2014 is the second title that I have given this piece on display at the Steinberg Museum of Art. Yes, this image is moving. The piece is my contribution to the LIU Post Art Department Faculty exhibition. The show opened this past Monday and will run through December 15th 2014. I’m excited to show this new piece. It consists of several outdated cast aerosol cans of spray paint. The casts are made of cement and plaster. They rest on a pedestal aligned as an army at attention. They are metaphors for the change and evolution that I perceive in graffiti art. Behind the cast cans something more subjective resides on the wall. The piece is an arrangement of cut wood scraps. It reads S-L-O-W. A tag that I have been writing for over 20 years. Can you find the letter forms composed in its structure? Some have said that it has a cubist influence. Of course I can see that. I’m sure it was subconsciously intended but its really more influenced and inspired by the graffiti letter styles I have experienced, loved and written over the years.
As I mentioned, aside from the transcendence of the tag you will notice that the first image above is moving. I have chosen the GIF format to expand the work even further. You will not see the animated version of the work displayed in the Steinberg show, but you are seeing it here right now. That does not mean that you, the viewer can’t experience both simultaneously. Perhaps you will see both versions of the works while visiting the Steinberg Museum. You can open the animation via this blog post link on your tablet, or mobile device. Either way, the piece will change viewing formats again. The moving cans in the GIF represent the new energy and process that I am engaged in with the work.
The pieces together as a whole. (The grainy image version.)
In early November of 2104 I published this post: “The Transcendence of a Graffiti Tag” I have been thinking a lot about the evolution and changes in my graffiti work over the last few years. The new wood sculptures, ideas, and thinking to install the works this way freshly engages me. I am pushing it further. Where does it go next? I am working on several synthesized works that join all of the styles and techniques together. These range from simple hand-style marker drawings to 3D installations like the piece here in the Steinberg show. They also focus on purely digital works, GIF animations online, offline and in public spaces. More to come.
Short-link to this post – https://www.ryanseslow.com/WmeT7
