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“Contemporary art museum devotes three floors to an exhibit glorifying graffiti"

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Shmoo Magoo, May 9, 2017.

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  1. Shmoo Magoo

    Shmoo Magoo New Member

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    Reposted from “TaggerTime” - May 9, 2017.

    “Contemporary art museum in Denver devotes three floors to an exhibit glorifying graffiti artists, then goes ballistic when one local artist writes a single tag on their building.”

    Story: L. H. Wanker, staff journalist.

    Contemporary Art Museum in Denver, Colorado has been showing a large, comprehensive three-part exhibit of graffiti artists this spring: “Basquiat Before Basquiat,” examining the early graffiti-writing days in New York City of the late, great artist Jean-Michel Basquiat; a second exhibit about the dissolute street life of young photographer Ryan McGinley; and “Wall Writers,” showcasing the first generation of graffiti writers in NYC. Now that a local writer has tagged the side of their building with the phrase “Shmoo Magoo,” the eminent institution suddenly expressed its outrage, and has reported the tag to city police, who published a picture of the art work (shown) and asked for information leading to prosecution for “this act of vandalism.” The building was tagged sometime on the night of
    May 4.

    After glorifying the art of street writing in their expansive white-walled galleries above, the museum staff made a sudden turnabout and attacked the graffiti artist.
    A museum employee who did not want to be identified, referred to the artist as “...a random thug who’s trying to gain publicity for his low-rent art attempts. Whoever or whatever this Shmoo Magoo is, we want him to know we don’t appreciate his defacing of our building, and he should be arrested.” Museum officials were contacted and declined to comment further. Two emails were later sent by this reporter and were not answered. Today, museum spokesperson
    Betsy Cranberry finally issued this statement (edited here for brevity):

    ...The irony of this incident is not lost on us. We like to think of ourselves as a pretty open-minded group, supportive of all the arts. However, the building we occupy is itself a work of art, designed by David Adjaye, now recognized as a top, global architect. Tagging this building is like spray-painting a painting or sculpture in one of our galleries - it’s just not acceptable...

    After some research, and speaking with local writers, it appears the moniker “Shmoo Magoo” is a recent arrival. It has been noticed on the Confluence Park skateboarding ramps as well as in tunnels under railroad tracks that pass near the art museum, and along Denver’s Cherry Creek bike path. The work was printed as a stencil, sprayed with silver paint, and on the smooth black wall on the side of the museum, showed up brilliantly in the sunlight. The design itself is typographic, and shows a nod to old-school wall writing. It has now been removed, presumably by museum workers.

    Look for continuing reports on this story as it unfolds.

    LHW

    ShmooMagoo.jpg
     
  2. Dic3OG

    Dic3OG Member

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    HAhaha what a great free way to get up with one single tag/ stencil. Fuck that museum who call themselfs art enthousiast and hating on the oldest form of art.