Emit

Gamma  Installation

Love it or hate it, graffiti art always provokes a response. The Longmont Museum presents Street Cred: Graffiti Art from Concrete to Canvas, opening December 3 and running through January 22, 2012. Organized in California, this exhibition features some of the leading figures in that state’s graffiti art scene. To complement the exhibition, Longmont Museum has curated a selection of Denver and Boulder County graffiti artists whose work appears in the galleries and throughout the museum, in addition to three outdoor installations on the museum’s façade and grounds.

Museum Director Wes Jessup states: “Visitors to this exhibition will be surprised by the variety of styles and the technical prowess of these artists. Our goal is to inspire a new appreciation for a growing genre that frequently gets a bad rap.”

In recent years, graffiti artists have reached new audiences by creating work for galleries and museums. These smaller-scale works also explore a wider variety of styles, expanding from the “wildstyle” letter forms readable only to other graffiti artists, into abstract, representational, and sculptural art forms. Photographs by Los Angeles graffiti historian Steve Grody document key murals in the history of graffiti art and show its development over the last 20 years.

Since the Longmont Museum first hosted a graffiti art show in 2005, interest in the field has continued to grow nationally and internationally. A recent graffiti art show at the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art was the most popular show in the history of that museum. Locally, the emergence of legal graffiti walls in Longmont and the work of Longmont artist Gamma Acosta have brought new respect and recognition to the art form.

California artists in the exhibit are Alex Kizu, AXIS, Charles “CHAZ” Bojorquez, DASH 2000, Greg “CRAOLA” Simkins, HASTE, Jeff Soto, Jesse Simon, Juan Carlos Muñoz Hernandez, KOFIE, MEAR ONE, Michael Alvarez, NICNAK, PUSH, RETNA, Saber, REVOK, and ZES. Colorado artists included are DREAD, EMIT, Beast, GAMMA, JOLT, Homes, and Ouija.

Street Cred: Graffiti Art from Concrete to Canvas was organized by the Pasadena Museum of California Art.

Public Programs

Opening Reception
Friday, December 2, 7 – 9 pm
Admission $5, free for Friends members

Director’s Walk-through
Tuesdays, December 6 – January 17, Noon – 1 pm
Join Longmont Museum director Wesley Jessup on enlightening tours of the exhibition every Tuesday at noon.
Admission $5, free for Friends members

Artists Speak!
Thursday, January 12, 7 – 8 pm
Front Range graffiti artists explore what it’s like to “write” graffiti in this lively panel discussion.
Admission $5, free for Friends members

Coffee and Conversation
Friday, January 13, 9:30 – 11:00 am
Enjoy an informal discussion about the art and artists of Street Cred with Museum Director Wesley Jessup. Program co-sponsored by the Longmont Senior Center.
Admission $5, free for Friends members

General Information

The Longmont Museum & Cultural Center is located at 400 Quail Road in Longmont, Colorado. Museum hours are 9 am to 5 pm, Monday through Saturday, and 1 pm to 5 pm on Sunday. Special exhibit admission is $5 adults, $3 students/seniors (55+). For more information, contact the Museum at 303-651-8374, or visit www.ci.longmont.co.us/museum.

Category: Art Shows | Tagged: Emit, gamma, revok |