Jon Reiss is an aficionado of the underground. You can see it in his films, he roots for the guyswho have to fight for their culture. He showcases the underground, finding heroes within it’s realms but never really exploiting the culture. When asked how he felt about graffiti after the documentary, he replied,

“Street art and graffiti are visual freedoms of speech especially when the art is good. It helps enliven a society for those people who rarely go to galleries and museums, it is provides a little life for a city.”

Why is Bomb It! so gosh darn good? Well, there are many reasons for this. One of the mainonesbeing the fact that Jon explores the cultural and socio-political reasons for the art worldover. He’s interviewed writers from New York to Barcelona to South Africa. It’s interesting to see howAmerican graffiti writers compare and contrast with the rest of the world and each other. It’s profoundly clear the motivation which inspires these individuals to “get up”. When Lady Pink speaks from her New York roots as opposed to LA’s DJ Lady Tribe, its apparent that these two are coming from two very different worlds. Aesthetically, the differences are clear, but culturally, socially, and politically, they are widely varied.

See the entire Anti-Mag article here

Check out this SEEN blog post for an interview with Bomb It’s music supervisor David Garcia for more info on the music featured in Bomb It!

http://rcrdlbl.com/2008/06/05/film_bomb_it_la_premiere_exclusive_interview

Barack Mural seen at MotherJones.com

Photo by Diane DaCruz-DiDonato

From the Los Angeles Times:

“Internet gives graffiti vandals a global audience”

The arrest of one of L.A.’s most prolific taggers reflects a growing trend for photos and videos of the vandalism to be posted online.

By Andrew Blankstein, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer May 28, 2008

The arrest of a man authorities describe as one of Los Angeles’ most prolific taggers underscores a growing phenomenon on the Internet: graffiti vandals who videotape their handiwork and place it on the Web for the world the see.

Detectives said they are increasingly dealing with tech-savvy vandals who use blogs, social networking and photo and video sharing sites to advertise their vandalism. Experts say the so-called “bombers” compete for the most outrageous tactics. “Buket” became an Internet star for tagging a Hollywood Freeway overpass, with cars zooming by 20 feet below.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Devin Vanderlaan, the investigator who arrested Cyrus Yazdani, a.k.a. “Buket,” said he believes the explosion in graffiti in the Los Angeles area in the last few years has been driven in no small part by the Internet, which not only is a convenient way to show off your tags but pushes its boundaries.

“The whole reason they do this is for the not only for the thrill but for exposure, for the recognition by other taggers,” Vanderlaan said. “Now, by taking pictures or video, their homies don’t have to walk, drive or take the bus to see their tags. They go online.”

Indeed, Yazdani’s alleged videos have gotten more hits since his arrest. Yazdani was booked into the L.A. County Jail on suspicion of felony vandalism and could not be reached for comment.

Roger Gastman who has written several books on graffiti tagging, said the Internet has, in effect, helped to democratize graffiti.

“Social networking sites and the Internet have helped spread every culture and subculture to every nook and cranny possible and graffiti is no exception,” Gastman said. “Social networking sites have absolutely helped graffiti’s popularity. It’s everywhere. Graffiti doesn’t have economic or race rules anymore. When people think of graffiti years ago they thought of black urban and hip-hop. Now, graffiti is not defined by race or tax bracket.”

Tim Kephart, founder of Graffiti Tracker Inc., which catalogs tags for law enforcement, said he’s seen no evidence to suggest Internet posts have worsened the graffiti problem.

“It’s just another audience for these tagger to brag about what they are doing,” he said.

But officials worry that the daredevil tactics could get out of hand.

“Throwing up a bomb here or a bomb there isn’t going to do it anymore,” Vanderlaan said. “They are going for something crazier like hanging off a sign or building or doing it in volume.”

Check out this new book which celebrates the graffiti artist’s beloved sketchbook:

PieceBook: The Secret Drawings of Graffiti Writers
By Sasha Jenkins and David Villorente

Original in concept and design, this living history of the graffiti movement mimics the actual sketchbooks graffiti artists use to perfect their work before it goes public.

Before it hits the wall, graffiti is often painstakingly planned out in a sketchbook or piece book. Well-worn and dog-eared, these books are passed along from artist to artist as a way of sharing ideas and offering instruction. Here hundreds of drawings, most of them never before published, are reproduced on uncoated paper to resemble the pages of an authentic piecebook. Bold and beautiful works from graffiti history’s most important sources or seeds T-Kid, Dondi, Daze, Crash, Lady Pink, Cap and Ghost, amongst others represent a dizzying array of techniques. The authors, former graffiti practitioners themselves, offer biographies of the artists and an introductory essay on why piecebooks have become such valuable historical records. Fans of graffiti will find this an irresistible inside look at how their favorite artists perfect their talents.

Grab a copy at Amazon.com by going here