Safe, Legal, and on MTV

Speed and daring have long been at the core of graffiti; an aesthetic of quick bravado and improvisation is a necessity on the street. To maintain that sense of urgency — without the fear of criminal charges — artist Sean Bono brought the genre to a different venue. In 2001, at a space on Houston Street, he established Art Battles, a series of timed events at which artists compete side by side. Their work is then judged by a live audience.Despite the staged spontaneity, the battles — not a word typically associated with art — addressed an essential factor of graffiti: competition. In an era when the penalties for graffiti have become stiffer, the battles offer the next generation of artists an outlet for a potent, if legal, version of the genre.In May, Mr. Bono, 25, teamed up with MTV to bring his gladiatorial style of painting to a larger audience. For the taping of the MTV version of Art Battles, 12 contestants had a frenzied 90 minutes to complete 3-by-5-foot canvases. The resulting paintings had to meet one requirement: They had to include the music network’s logo. And Mr. Bono didn’t mind the rule. “The logo is such a cool kick back to the 1980s,” he said.For the organizers of Art Battles, what matters more than subject matter is the playing field. During the partnership with MTV, supplies requested by each of the artists were provided, to ensure that everyone had the same amount of time and resources.Last week, Gallery Bar in the Lower East Side staged a battle of its own to feature the contestants from the MTV competition. Placed at the end of an illuminated bar, two artists prepared for the duel. With aerosol paints, markers, and acrylics laid out in front of them, the two competitors, Leif McIlwaine and Pessu, worked directly on a freestanding wall. An attentive group of friends gathered around Pessu. Leaning into the wall, he drew roping, black lines with graphic precision, his forearm tattooed with the motto “Life is Art.” Taking a wide stance on a ladder next to him, Mr. McIlwaine blocked in areas of red and yellow, leaning back to get a better vantage as the shapes transformed into ornate text, an elaborate tag.Surprisingly low-key, the event was reminiscent of another aspect of the early days of street art. Originally, artists formed crews for protection, working side by side, to keep an eye out for the police or unwelcome competitors. A rush to out-paint neighbors, art-making became an intrinsically competitive act. But the danger was low here. More exposition than competition, it was decidedly subdued, even compared with its corporately sponsored predecessor. During the evening, Steely Dan filtered through the house sound system, an anachronistic presence in the midst of an overwhelmingly 20-something crowd. A song by Lisa Lisa and the Cult Jam soon followed — perhaps another throwback to the ’80s or, at the least, a reminder of the constant recycling of youth culture in an era of immediate nostalgia.Even in the midst of all this, the crowd was without irony. The artists were refreshingly open, outwardly excited about what they were doing. A native of Salt Lake City, the laid-back Mr. McIlwaine described his involvement with Art Battles as “a funny opportunity that just sort of fell in my lap.” Like Pessu, he was one of the eight finalists invited on MTV; it was a major opportunity for the young artists, many of whom are still in college.Other finalists from the MTV battle were in attendance at Gallery Bar, too. Kevin Ragnott is finishing his degree at Pratt, and 19-year-old Megan Whitman is a junior at School of Visual Arts, studying Art Therapy. Also present was the champion of the MTV Art Battles, Concep. With his long dreadlocks tucked under a knitted cap, Concep wore jeans from Marithé + François Girbaud, where he currently works in design. For him, the event is not necessarily about graffiti; it’s more about diversity and collaboration.It may seem counterintuitive to consider art as a competition — and a competition sponsored by a television network at that. But Art Battles — both MTV and the homegrown variety — provide a space where the act of expressing is as important as the expression itself. And the fact is that the lure of graffiti has not ebbed, no matter how consistently its practitioners are apprehended. Local groups like ELC, the Endless Love Crew whose members just had a powerful exhibition at Kingsborough Community College, prove the ongoing viability of the medium. In the meantime, providing an environment where young talents can push boundaries without fear or endangerment is a public service, even when it falls under the aegis of a multi-million dollar company. The work on the wall — whether at Gallery Bar or a TRL curtain, where the MTV artists have their work shown – will eventually be repainted or removed, a fate befalling much of the illegal artwork that inspired this movement. That, too, is what graffiti is all about. As Concep was quick to point out: “Sometimes art is just for the moment, you dig?”

Safe, Legal, and on MTV

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