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Not only am I disappointed that it has taken weeks for another writer to reclaim the corner of Bowery and Houston, since the NYU kids saw fit to clean MARTY off of the OBEY Obama wheat paste, but I am also disgusted that this was only done with a weak tag. What happened to heart? What happened to balls? Is some new jack the only one out there with the brain to know that this was a hot spot and had to be done? In VAES’s defense, he probably can’t even do a fill at this point of his career, but what about the rest of us? I put my head down in shame.

Remember when the 1980’s were dominated by hair, glam, heavy metal? Of course you do! Deny it all you want, but I guarantee you know all the words to Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar on Me” and Poison’s “Talk Dirty to Me“. Those were great times fueled by aqua net and cocaine, but it all came crashing to an end. Everything died because everyone looking to make a quick buck just produced cookie cutter copies of what came before them. Any sense of originality the bands of the decade had were destroyed by the over flow of water downed crap versions into the market. People got sick of it and turned their radios off!

That is the best metaphor I can think of to describe the state of the art world right now. Every no talent hack is out there blending the talents of those with originality who came before them into a nauseating pile of vomit mixed with puke and some throw up on top. Apparently if you put up a wheat paste poster in LA and NYC you are bad ass and brilliant these days!

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I let you know homie ESPO is running wild overseas and to no shock while he’s over the pond ESPO continues to keep busy painting. Above is the latest pic from Belfast in the UK.

Viewing this pic reminded me of the old ESPO and AMAZE throwies down by the Atlantic Yards in BK that has been a site of a graff war, much like the MARTY and OBEY story I reported on earlier.

(ESPO and AMAZE original throwies)

(SI taking out ESPO and AMAZE)

(ESPO slapping SI back)

(SI not having it)

(NOXER getting the last laugh…for now)

Last week I let you know that Shepard Fairey was back in NYC and putting up a dozen or so new pieces. One of those pieces included an Obama Progress wheat paste on the corner of Bowery and Houston, right next to the new Keith Haring memorial. All seemed right in the world of NYC street art and Liberal politics, but oops… Shepard put his poster over NYC graf staple MARTY, who has been holding down that spot for years. When reached for comment Shepard had this to say: “I don’t like to go over people ever, however, I feel Obama being elected is very important to everyone’s future including MARTY’s. It was not intended to be disrespectful of him, but if he chooses to be that small minded and petty about it I can’t control that. I certainly would expect him to justly re-claim the spot after the election.” To no surprise MARTY, in true graf fashion, wasn’t having it and took his spot back ASAP. The kicker is that the take back was done in broad daylight in the middle of a nice sunny NYC afternoon (bad ass)! The Universe was back in order, until some art school morons came back just 4 hours later and buffed MARTY’s throwie off the Obama poster. This is the hot corner to watch for the next episode in this soap opera and the news is the spot to watch to see what happens to the three Obama lovers. Still despite all the beef and bad blood, I think the graf/street art world have been balanced again and I will be keeping an eye out for a SMART crew x OBEY production.

(Marty’s original throwie from 2006)

(Marty at work)

(Marty finishing up)

(Yokels getting involved in things they don’t understand)

Source: [Razor Apple]

Last week rumors started spreading that Shepard Fairey was going blind due to complications from his diabetes. Animal contacted Shepard who “vehemently denied that he’s losing his vision”. Fairey admitted to having issues with his eyes in the past and even needing surgery to correct some of the problems. At the moment Shepard proudly describes his vision as “20/25 in one eye and 20/30 in the other”. Whatever the truth is about his eyes, Shep was getting busy in NYC over the last few days. These are just a few images of the Shep getting busy around town. Even if it is the new cool thing to diss on Shep’s work (the price of fame), you can’t deny the man gets up!

In the ongoing trend of every artist creating a poster for the Obama 2008 presidential bid, and the NY Post botch job of the connection between “anarchists and other malcontents” to the campaign, Brooklyn based duo Morning Breath are the latest to throw their work into the mix. The poster is a limited edition (200 pieces) that will sell for $200. Each piece will be numbered and signed by the artists and is available for pre-order from Upper Playground.