Fileataな人生

New graffiti snippet

2008-04-26T03:06:00.004+09:00

A couple new graffiti snippets are up on the other blog now.

- G

New Blog == More Graffiti Posts! :D

2008-03-25T02:46:00.002+09:00

What up, what up. I just got finished wrapping up another session of work on my brand-new personal blog, which you can find here, or by visiting:

http://aproductofmanyworlds.blogspot.com/

We were out and about Dublin this weekend, and found some incredible pieces. Impressions and results are up in the form of two new entries. Check it! Blessings.

- G

Progressive Autodidacticism

2008-03-11T19:38:00.001+09:00

It's going to be a big two weeks in Dublin.

- J&G

...her name is 'Jennifer.'

2008-02-23T08:35:00.004+09:00

Well, I'm back in the U.S., at least for the weekend. The Newark-Boston connection was canceled, so I'm in New Jersey overnight... On the way to the hotel, I scoped out several quality graffiti spots along the roadways; I saw them all within a span of five minutes, which (in my mind) speaks volumes about the amount of quality work (being) done in America.

However, the scope of the 'scene' here (even within, say, a single metropolitan area) is so expansive that it could never fully be chronicled. Once could only hope to extract a fragments in the the hope that they would faithfully summarize the essence of the greater whole. Conversely, Dublin's 'scene' (as we have expounded upon before) is such that you could realistically capture the whole and all of its parts (and that is what J I are trying to do).

In short, I'm glad Dublin is our target, but not only because of its size. There is something inherently Irish about the work we've photographed that sets it apart from anything found anything elsewhere, and when you really find a diamond in the rough, it's made all the more fulfilling. Such is graffiti in Dublin.

J & G should be back out on the hunt next week. We've got some wall-scalings planned and several spots we want to go back to, so I'm personally looking forward to getting back to D-Land. In the meantime, I'll try to post up photos of my most recent exploits in Tallaght as well as the City Centre, and J might even throw up some material from his neck of the woods. Blessings.

- G

Two (Three?) Weeks' Worth

2008-02-16T06:16:00.010+09:00

We've been away from the keyboard, but still grindin'. I found some amazing work in the process. I didn't have an appreciation for graffiti as an art form prior to my time in Ireland, so I can't comment much on the medium as it exists in the outside world. However, I know enough to say that action here is sparse.

While the prospect sounds bleak, it creates some interesting dynamics for the scene that does exist here. As J and I offered before, the stagnation of graffiti culture here in Ireland has produced a society that has almost no appreciation for the medium as an art form. Accordingly, the Irish government has cracked down immensely; I was doing research several weeks back and came upon a letter (presented in support of legislation authorities were pushing at the time) proposing some notable strategies to combat the issue, two of which particularly stood out to me:

1) The proposal for an exclusive task force to be established within the Garda devoted solely to cracking down on graffiti.
2) The proposal for jail time to be within the reasonable range of punishment for offenders.

No love from the S(C)BA. Hahahaha.

Whether any such legislation was ever passed is unbeknownst to me, though I do intend to do more research on the situation as it stands today, in 2008.

As a Christian, I may not agree with every decision that is passed down by an authority, but G-d has allowed them to be put in power, for a reason, and I will honor that. In a sense, then, I regard myself as something of an 'international journalist/photographer'; I may chronicle events taking place in the world, but that does not mean that I agree with them completely. The means may be devious, but the medium can still retain its beauty.

Even with all the adversity facing artists around the country, the underground still bustles about in various levels of mediocrity and excellence. Dublin in particular is plagued with goodness-gracious-awful tags (think 'Damo' and 'Jonesy & Belinda Forever 2007'), but it also has some pleasant surprises. Such overbearing emptiness only serves to make the true gems (unearthed by roaming the streets of the city) all the more brilliant once discovered.

Gotta love the Frenchies.

Going back on the hunt this weekend. The City Centre doesn't stand a chance. Hahahaha. Got Boston to look forward to next weekend (and we'll be on the lookout for art while there), but I'm still a Dub until then. Grace and peace.

- G

Trippiness on Premiere Night

2008-02-02T08:08:00.001+09:00

Counting my ticket stubs up (yes, I keep them), I saw 80+ films in 2007 in Arizona, Alaska, and Ireland. That's an exorbitant amount, by any standard. However, since the new year, I've been severely limiting what I intake, be it music or film or otherwise. After all, the old adage, 'you are what you eat,' is truly accurate. Prior to tonight, I hadn't seen a film in almost a month.

Well, I had the opportunity to break my streak tonight; one of my business partners (and classmates) was kind enough to hook me up with two tickets to see Cloverfield on opening night. While it's been out for almost two weeks back in the U.S., we're only now getting it in Ireland (and the U.K.; this is pretty standard practice for most releases), but you'll never hear me complaining about catching a new one on premiere night (after all, 'new' is completely relative with respect to where you are).

On to the film. I'm not really sure how to categorize it. I'm not much for spoilers, and since I can't stand reading others' impressions on a film, I won't subject anyone to my own. However, the experience was truly note-worthy. I don't know if it is because I'm getting in the Japanese mindset myself now, or because Japan was mentioned numerous times at the start, but I was picking up some serious overtones with respect to that country. I have a feeling this will clean up well over there.

Trippiness, y'all. Stomachaches, nausea, confusion, hunger. It was a madhouse. Hahaha.

- G

Berlin Zoo

2008-02-01T02:01:00.000+09:00

So I was in Berlin last week. I saw a lot of great things; for instance the section of the city that houses the embassies was outstanding. However I couldn't wait to see the Zoo, I've only ever been to Dublin Zoo, so really any other city is going to have a leg up on Dubs.

I took about 120 pictures; trying to show you the experience I had in a handful of pictures was difficult, but here we go.

First up are the battle birds, I'm not really sure if they're fighting but they stood in the same position for like 5 minutes.

Then we have the yawning Polar bear, taking a second look at this he could be shocked?!?! The polar bears where without a doubt my favourite mammal to see at the Zoo.

Lastly we have the Wolves. Now it looks as if they're cuddling and what not. In fact the wolves where actually fighting. They seemed to be afraid of big pappa wolf and shortly after I took the picture a game of chasing broke out.

Berlin is a wonderful city, but the Zoo was what made the trip worthwhile for me.

- J

青島千穂

2008-01-29T08:44:00.000+09:00

Absolutely beautiful... Some work (pre- and post-millenium) from Chiho Aoshima:

"City Glow" (2005)

"Mado" (2003)

"Fish Market" (1999)

- G

Dublin Graffiti Traffic

2008-01-24T07:23:00.000+09:00

By now, J is most definitely chillin' in his long johns in some posh Berlin hotel, I suppose. Hahahaha. For the time being, then, it's my turn to wax philosopical.

O, how things change in a years' time! The picture above right was taken last winter in the City Centre, and almost 365 later, the scene has been replaced with that of the above left. We have officially begun our chronicling of the Dublin graffiti scene, and after only being a week into it, we've started to notice some trends.

The Dublin City Centre is the heart of the city (or, as some might argue, the heart of Ireland), and so one would expect it to be a vibrant European hotspot for all that is hip-hop. Quite on the contrary, Dublin brings new meaning to the term 'hip-hop underground.' However, as we discovered, good things come to those who persist. In a city such as Dublin, the hunt can ultimately be the most rewarding part of the adventure.

Take for example, the piece below, by an artist who tags as 'DBC':

J just happened to catch this one as we were scouring the walls of a particular street near the Centre. By graffiti standards on the world scene, it may not stand as the most exemplary of projects, but it is nonetheless an exceptional piece of character art (and one of the few character pieces to be seen in the City Centre; it is of note that every other character piece we have discovered in Dublin thus far has been the work of DBC).

First and foremost, props to J for the find, but what was truly exceptional about this piece (street view above) was the effort it took to get a clear shot of it. As fate would have it, the piece in its entirety was only viewable from the second story of the bar across the street (our first day on the street and there we were already contemplating scaling security fences and property trespass; hahahaha). Being midday, it wasn't open yet, but that didn't stop us from trying. Fortunately for us, the young guy running the downstairs pub was more than willing to open the second floor up to us to shoot the piece. While I did the photographing, J had an opportunity to chat with the bartender (pubtender?), and as it turns out, the guy who owns the building the piece is on also happens to be a frequent patron of the bar. Said gentleman did not notice the piece for weeks (months?), and when he did, his reaction was... less than amenable. His response appears to have been to place a security camera just above and to the outside of the piece. Hahahaha. In summation (and at least from an outsider's perspective), that seems to adequately sum up the graffiti scene in Dublin, at least for now.

To be sure, it was a more productive day than we had expected. We stumbled on some amazing work, discovered what might be the only graffiti shop in the whole country, and in all took 200+ photographs that day. J should have some impressions to give from that first week when he gets back, so look for those next week. Grace and peace, y'all.

- G

2 young men escape from mental institute

2008-01-22T03:19:00.000+09:00

September 2006; it all started. The two hip-hop heads crossed paths and realized their passion for Japan. It was only a matter of time before ideas started being thrown around.

We have big things coming. J is spending some time in Berlin next week, so look forward to a post from him. In the meantime G will be in the studio putting up more design work.

We draw inspiration from virtually everything around us, and put together, our unique styles create a monster hybrid.

Lots more coming, so be prepared!!

J & G.