Infamy

May 13th, 2008

This movie presents the brutal truth about graffiti writing. They don’t glorify it or knock it down. They straight up tell it like it is. Infamy, directed by Doug Pray, follows 6 of the most prolific graff artists in the country as they show how its done. They get deep and inspirational in the interviews with the artists exploring what drives or inspires them to risk everything - from arrest to physical abuse from gang violence to death - to do tags, throw ups, and even murals. The answer… addiction. Being one of the only illegal forms of art, its the thrill of running away and getting away with it. It’s the thrill of the hunt. The movie jumps from the south Bronx, to San Francisco, to Hollywood, to NORTH PHILADELPHIA! to the Mexican Border, to Cleveland.

The artists chosen are not only the most prolific, but represent the variety and the different styles of the art form:

• CLAW of the PMS crew in the south Bronx is praised for her unique use of an iconic bear claw and the way she uses her graff skill to prove to the boys that she can compete in the same playing field.
• EARSNOT of the IRAK … as in I steal…. crew out of NYC. The crew follows the mantra that “every night is new years eve.” Infamous for their sticky hands, they brag about their ability to acquire their supplies without ever opening their wallets. In addition, their stuffs pretty dope.
• ENEM the hometown crew NPH. ENEM, who hails from the North Philadelphia section of Germantown gives us a lesson in the difference between graff from the illadelph and graph from elsewhere… Although people have been tagging and doing throw ups for a very long time, the practice of writing your name every where - aka tagging the shit out of the city - was developed here in the 1960’s. The style differs, too. Long, sweeping and often unreadable simple tags plaster every inch of say, the artists bus root. It’s all about telling people where you’ve been that day. Enem is also involved in the cities Union 237 Gallery.
• JASE is infamous for what he writes on. He’s hit 40,000 of the 2 million freight trains in the country. He claims “[my] graffiti has seen more of the country than I ever will.” As vice prez of a spray paint company, this BA - burning America - member is like no other.
• SABER holds the unofficial world record for the biggest graff painting ever! At 250′x55′ its almost the size of a NFL football field. And he’s only 21!
• TOOMER of the TKO crew has been forced to alter how he approaches his art. Residing in a gang ridden section of south central cali, he’s developed a style that turns his graffiti into all out murals. Feeling threatened when they saw his tags on their turf, gangs would beat him, causing him to be tactical with the space he writes on.

For a truthful, in depth, and entertaining perspective on this art form, check this movie out!

Entry Filed under: Art