Does Graffiti Belong in a Gallery?

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Jeffrey Deitch says street art is the most important art movement since Pop Art, and has housed a pick of the best in a huge show at MOCA. When is a tag an artwork? Can illegal street art retain its impact on the walls of a museum? What about the street artists who have been left out? Hear from Jeffrey Deitch, Lee Quinones, Fab 5 Freddy, Shepard Fairey and Chaz Bojorquez. Also, Fabian Debora, Alison Camacho, Enrico Bressan and Tahmineh Javanbakht talk about a tote bag collaboration between Artecnica and Homeboy Industries that aims to give a voice to the graffiti work of ex-gang members.

 

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Cholo graffiti artist Chaz Bojorquez paints his signature skull on MOCA's wall
Photo: Greg Bojorquez

 

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Handpainted signs by Steve Powers, Barry McGee, Todd James and Alexis Ross cover the "Street Market" installation

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Kenny Scharf's "Cosmic Cavern" features neon-painted found objects under a black light

 

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A hand-painted Mercedes by Keith Haring

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A skate ramp designed by pro skater Lance Mountain and artist Geoff McFetridge uses iconography that's widely considered to be the first "tag": a naval inspector's mark of approval that said "Kilroy was here"

 

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The exhibition features many homages to graffiti culture, like these animatronic taggers

 

Photos by Alissa Walker

Credits

Guests: