Montreal Graffiti

Monk-e @ Sino Shop Jan 27 2012

2012-01-30T16:32:00.000-05:00

Monk-e put on an exhibition of some of his recent works at Sino Shop this past Friday. I stopped on through to check out his latest, crack a brew, and chill with some folks. For the most part it was a pretty good show backed by some solid beats, and good company. The place was pretty packed and there was a lot going on from one end of the room to the next. People were conversing, checking out the paintings, black booking, there were ciphers popping up randomly, and in general there was a good feel to it all.

But I think that's kind of how it is with Monk-e. Although I didn't think this was his best work to-date, the pieces and the show were very much in line with the type of character this gent is. In general, his spiritualism and thirst for a higher consciousness tend to be prevailing themes in his work. As are culture, sexuality, enlightenment, visions of the inner mind, of things that should or could be, and the need to see the world in a different way. I would even go so far as to argue that a primary message in his work is not only to see the world in a better, more inclusive and positive way, but to construct the world in those better, more inclusive and positive ways that we imagine in our minds. In any case, I think the work he had up at the show was very true to the kind of person he is, or at the very least, aspires to be. Anyone who is a fan of his work in general will most certainly enjoy the series he has up at Sino Shop this month.

There were portfolio binders showcasing his other works, both legal and not, that many were avidly checking out though out the evening. The shelves just below the left wall had a constant stream of folks pouring over them. Monk-e was a great host too, you could catch him kicking up random ciphers with groups of folks through out the shop and I even got me a couple on film too. The sound quality wan;t the best as I don't have an external mic (mental note) but I'm sure there are some vids of it all out there and yet to be published as there were a few videographers covering the floor as well.

Monk-e is part of a larger hip hop collective of writers and artists call ed K6A. He's been performing and doing music for years. I remember seeing him perform in Lachine years ago when I first got into all this so it's great to see him reaching for higher successes with the crew still to-date. K6A recently dropped a new album and got a lot of stuff going on. If you haven't checked their new video "Protège Ta Nuque" that's a solid ode to the original Wu-Tang's Protek Ya Neck from '93 then check it out here. It's a pretty awesome and well choreographed video that you can tell a lot of work went into. If you want to get a copy of that album, old albums, other goodies or if you just want to keep up with what's up with K6A then check out their website here or their facebook page here.

I genuinely enjoy this guy's work and the show as I have been following him for the better part of the last nine years on the street and the gallery. Do yourself a favor and check it out if you're around Sino Shop and maybe you'll find something that reaches out to you. You can check shop hours here at the Sino shop website or for more details if you are interested in purchasing.

More to come soon. Stay posted.

Rooftop Edition: Vol 2

2012-01-29T15:19:00.000-05:00

I got the chance to flick a few more rooftops at the beginning of the month. I wanted to lock down a couple of spots along St Caths, particularly above Sex Cite and Super Sex. I was able to get up above Super Sex, but the rooftop above Sex Cite required a little more foot work and the shitty boots, wind, and ice didn't make for the best combination for a rooftop escapade. In any case I think I got me some pretty solid shots of the area. The last time I went up was easily a few years ago so it was nice to get re-aquainted with that upper part of the city.

Again, these are shots only from a few select locations in and around St Caths and St Laurent. I know there are plenty of spots out there, and believe me, I'll get to them in time. And when I do I will most definitely be posting them up here. I tossed in a couple from TA too, for the RIPs to Mitch and Dylan. And some of these aren't really rooftops, but they are close enough, high up at the top of stairwells and such. Regardless, if it's high up there, it's gonna get represented.

Lots of nice stuff up there too, some of it going back easily a few years. There were some shots I wasn't able to fit into the last rooftop post so I threw them into the mix here which is why some of these shots look from a few months back. These are some great spots with cool views of the city and streets too. Here are the rest of my most recent rooftop shots.

I got some juicy stuff from the streets and some goodies from the vault to let out so stay posted. I also attended the Monk-e exhibit at Sino Shop on Friday night so I'll be posting on that shortly.

Doors: Best of 2011

2012-01-23T12:59:00.002-05:00

Bombed out doors have such an allure. They're soaked from top to bottom, dripping letters, screwy characters, dirty, messy, and most smell like a hobo used it for an ass wipe. But they got such appeal. I've always enjoyed snapping shots of doors wherever I go and on a good day I'll end up with fifty or more of them to add to my ever growing collection. I've amassed a good number over the last year and figured that they deserved a post for all their glory. Here are my some of my best doors from 2011 in all their filth and grime.

And it's not just straight up doors either, I'll find doors in all shapes and sizes, most on their hinges, and others not. Like these doors out of the TA Factory or other abandoned spots. Some have messages, while others are just left to rot. Regardless, they make for some interesting pictures or perspectives. Oddly this is the only non straight shot I came across while tearing through the vault...oh well, more to some in future posts I guess. Here are some more doors, some of which I put into 3 to 5 door pans to make it easier to post.

When I stopped through Toronto last March I got a few doors from the area that I never posted. It was only a dozen or so shots but I figured if they belonged anywhere it was this post. Toronto doors are just as soaked as those found in Montreal and I'm sure there are plenty more to be found. I'll be going back this year for sure at some point to mission and hopefully get a couple of solid hook ups to get the true grit of Toronto streets.

Here are the rest of the best doors I flicked from Montreal streets 2011. And keep in mind this isn't everything, but rather the best of what I find while out on missions throughout the year. These doors come from downtown, St Henri, Rosemont, Mile end and the Plateau, West Island, Cote St Paul, Point St Charles, Verdun, and anywhere else I can get to. As I am always trying to expand I hope to have bigger, badder, and filthier doors in 2012.

Rooftop edition Vol 2, streets, and updates to come soon. Stay posted.

Scan Expo @ Fake Jan 19 2012

2012-01-20T21:01:00.002-05:00

I had the pleasure of passing through the Fake Store last night to chill and take in some of the recent works by one of Montreal's finest and hardest working writers. Scan has been writing for the better part of the last 15 years, first getting up in 1996. He honed his skills on Montreal streets and was soon a staple of local landscape. Over the last decade he has traveled abroad to Mexico, New York, Paris, San Juan, Rome, and many other cities bringing his distinctive style and form to walls and rooftops the world over. For the next ten days you can view, and if your lucky enough purchase, some of his more recent works at the Fake Store located at 68 Rachel East in the Plateau.

In the boutique section Scan had a number of limited prints and photos while the bulk of his new abstract series on canvass was exhibited next door in the gallery space. I loved the prints and photos especially and really enjoyed taking in the canvass work he had on display. I'm more used to seeing his letters on the streets so this was a fresh look at what he has in store for us in his future work. Scan is most definitely taking it to the next level with this series trying new techniques and pushing himself in new directions.

As always the Fake crew put on a solid event with some beats by the French Connection Djs, good company, conversations, and connects. These guys have put a lot of work into their brand and you can see it in the quality of the merchandise they have for sale. If you're looking to make that new and fresh addition to your personal clothing and accessory collection then stop on through the Fake Store and invest into a Brand You Can Trust. You won't be disappointed.

Photos, paintings, and prints are available while they last so do yourself a favor and check out the latest evolution of Scan's work. You can find all the details on the Fake Store here at their web site, and while your at it take a look at their promo videos and line of clothing, hats, shoes, and other goodies. They got a great team doing some awesome work so be sure to keep up with them at the shop or online so as to not miss out on upcoming events and shows this year. The Scan expo was part of the larger project called Saturation 2012 that will also be showcasing the works of Philip Cruz, Zeck One & Kems in the coming months. So there are some exciting and interesting shows to come.

Pass on through the Fake Store and check out this show. It's only up until the 29th of January so don't sleep on this one.

More soon, stay posted.

TA Wall & Factory Jan 2012

2012-01-18T13:17:00.000-05:00

Although it wasn't my first mission to the wall and factory this year, I thought that I would get at least some pics up of the spot. These are from last Friday. I finished up at work and decided to pass through the area. I didn't have my regular gear on me, just this new Nikon digital I picked up over the holidays. It's a bit of a throw back to when I first started out with my little Olympus digital (ahhh the memories...). I much prefer my T1i, naturally, but this little digital certainly got the job done. So forgive me if some of the shots are crystal clear. The battery died on me shortly after getting into the factory but I was able to squeeze out about thirty or so solid pics, including a couple of pans.

I love the factory during the winter, snow drifts pile up under the broken in sky lights, paint cans, bricks, and other refuse are half solidified in the iced up floors, and giant deformed stalactites of ice grow from the squared water drainage holes from the ceiling. This place feels the most like a sanctuary during the winter months, insulated from the cold winds and precipitation outside the factory provides a relatively safe and quiet spot to paint. The frozen state of the flooring keeps the cans and other trash from being kicked about and making any noise whatsoever leaving you with only the sound of crunching snow and ice beneath your feet as your navigate the interior.

Hope you enjoyed these latest shots, I got more coming so stay posted.

En Masse Big Bang MMFA

2012-01-12T00:11:00.000-05:00

I took a trip to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts to check out the free art exhibition entitled "Big Bang" at the end of December. I had been meaning to check it out for a bit as End Masse had been selected to be a part of the exhibit and had supposedly pulled out a monster collaboration involving over a dozen artists including Bfor, Bruce, Rage, Five8, Peru, Astro, and Nixon. It kinda looked like some stuff by Vesk and Chris Dyer too, but I can't be too sure and I can't remember all the names mentioned on the main panel when I walked in. In any case there are a bunch of them. The exhibit as a whole was a massive collaboration celebrating variety in a sense as each artist or collection was as varied in medium and form as they were in background and expertise. Photography, sculpting, painting, drawing, light based set ups and projections, film, stencil work, installation pieces -this exhibition has a bit of everything so I guarantee whatever your taste in art is there is something to pique your interest.

Each room had a very unique feel and the manner in which lighting or positioning was used accented the work displayed quite nicely. A couple of the rooms really stood out in my opinion, especially the room En Masse worked on, while others I just plain didn't get. There was this installation set up in one room that consisted of a circular couch that you might find in a lounge or at an after party surrounded by large flat scenes suspended from the ceiling facing outwards. The couch looked used with empty drinks, wrappers, and overflowing ashtrays full of spent cigarettes strewn about and around it. The screens were playing a continuous loop of video depicting a group partying in the area on display who would occasionally pause in their movements as a group. Each screen displayed a side or angle of the party event giving the whole thing a virtual, off the page ghosting effect.

Another room was pitch dark with a painting under light at one end of the room. Installed in the rest of the room were these thin screens running up through the high ceiling with projected images and film of various individuals performing acrobatic feats and such. If you stood at certain angles you could view several overlapping screens to get a sort of 3D effect. Pretty neat.

There was a big wall of teddy bears and a hide and go seek room of contemporary paintings taht had a light illuminating one painting at a time. It would have taken a little while to see them all so i didn't stay long in that one. There was a room of chairs too. Stacks of them walling in a single green plastic chair made of pieces of the other chairs surrounding it I suppose. Didn't get that one either. Nice chair though. One room had a big square couch with a little sculpture of something in a box lit up in the middle of it, so small that you had to lay on the couch and get up close. Each of the walls had a single, large photography depicting several naked, adult bodies with the heads of babies seated in crouched positions. Kind of weird. But neat. In a sort of Tim Burtonish kind of way.

There are a bunch of rooms and stuff to check out but what I came for was the En Masse room and I was definitely blown away. Stepping into this cavernous space you immediately feel engulfed by the characters and scenes swarming about you. From end to end, top to bottom, every square inch of this room has been drawn on, markered, painted, stenciled, or pasted to create one of the largest collective cartoon and character map I've ever seen in one space. I mean, En Masse has busted out a bunch of these sort of things at Under Pressure, commercial walls, events and other festivals, but this is pretty major.

I spent the longest time in this room pouring over the images on the walls, going back over in some places and finding little things I had not seen the first, or second time over. Characters within characters within scenes within even larger characters. The room is something to see that's for sure. Here are the rest of my pics of the En Masse Room. And yeah it's a bunch of shots, but it in no way conveys the experience of the room or captures all the action on those walls. Do yourself a favor and check it out before the 22nd of January. It's FREE and something you don't want to miss.

You can find all the details of the show and hours of operation for the MMFA here. Again, do yourself a favor and and go see this exhibition. The En Masse room is an ephemeral installation as far as I know which means when its over, it's gone. But if you want to check them out or get in contact with them to purchase work or for a job you can find them here at their website. So check it!

More soon, stay posted.

New Years Shout outs

2012-01-10T10:39:00.000-05:00

Well its a new year and big things are ahead. 2011 was a great year full of interesting missions, expos, parties, and events. I didn't get to post as much as I would have liked, but that doesn't mean that I wasn't busy. There were a number of shows and events that I attended and covered but I didn't post on and by the time I got around to putting something together it was a little late or I was facing a pile of work that needed my immediate attention. In any case, I'm going to try to be more up to date and current on my posting for 2012 as well as stepping up the frequency of my posts in general.

I want to shout out to everyone I have worked with this past year and to those I still have to follow up with. To all the writers I've bumped into, met, chilled and chatted with, accompanied on missions, partied and cracked brew with. Big ups to AShop and TA Crew for the opportunity to work and be a part of Under Pressure and Can You Rock this year. It was an awesome experience and I hope to continue being a part of these events, sharing in the continued success for the many years to come. Fluke and his crew looked after Can You Rock this past year and were gracious enough to give up a couple of walls to let me show off some of my photography at the pre-party and the ALL the folks from Under Pressure let me be a part of the ongoing event space at Fresh Paint Gallery. Besides being amazing opportunities it was an honor to share the walls with such talented local artists and those from abroad.

ArtTV will be dropping a television series this year about the graff subculture in which I participated as an interviewee and contributed some of my photography. It's set to be released sometime towards May of this year so be on the look out for it. Much thanks to the folks at ECP for including me in it and for their continued support in my work. It's the first contribution I have made for a project like this so I'm pretty hyped to see the finished product and what future collaborations we can do together. They just dropped the trailer for the series here so check it out!

There's a lot of stuff I'm trying to get my head around in terms of projects and ideas for my future research, the blog, and photography. I'm trying to keep myself organized and grounded so hopefully bigger things will come out of this year. If I can get my ass in gear I'll be adding some new themed posts as well and picking back up the 'Piece of the Week' thread of posts too.

So cheers again to everyone who continues to support the blog and my collective work. I appreciate every bit feedback, criticism, and follow up. I'll be posting on my trip to see the Big Bang exhibition at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts from the end of december today or tomorrow as well as some fresh paint from the streets soon enough so keep an eye out for that. Great stuff going on in there -still on going -until the 22nd of this month so do yourself a favor and check it out. I'll have my pics up soon.

Postive Creations: Chris Dyer Book Launch Dec 16 2011

2011-12-21T00:44:00.002-05:00

Although I was a little late in getting there, I stopped off at the Positive Creations book launch at the Fresh Paint Gallery on the corner of St. Caths and Hotel-de-Ville last Friday to pay homage and respect to a hard working artist and his latest creation. It's hard to even figure out where to begin with this guy -he's just got so much going on. I first picked up on Chris and his work a couple of years back through my work with Under Pressure and other related events. His painting is some of the most vibrant and colorful I've seen in a while, truly psychedelic. His art captures your senses and then bashes them with an array of color and form. He has had much success with his art, but also as solid skater -you can check him skating at the Urban Ambush Yard here and he has been featured in magazines and other publications over the years.

Besides shredding it up Chris has been painting decks for a while now. Having been an avid skater for years he amassed quite the amount of crushed boards, and one day he started recycling them as canvasses for his art. He had plenty up on the walls at the show but it was a drop in the bucket to the hundreds he has painted over the years. He's even gone so far as to create giant robot-skateboard installation pieces such as the one seen here at Fresh Paint Gallery a few months ago. I found a similar one in his book that he did in 2010 too as well as a ton of his other painted boards.

Chris has been commissioned by dozens of skaters and pro shops to paint custom boards. His colorful and spiritually infused deck art has been celebrated in his own series of skateboards through Creation Skateboards (more than 60 decks to-date). He's done a bunch of art shows -solo and group -here in town, across the country, the States, South America, and wherever else his feet have taken him on his many travels. You can check out his web site here to feast your eyes on his many artistic creations, writings, pictures, and videos of his travels through life and art.

Here are some pics from the event, I wish I had taken more pics of his boards but you can also get a good look if you buy his book which is a solid read and visual joy ride chalked full of great art and good vibes. It's close to three hundred pages are modestly priced at about $40. You should be able to get it at the Fresh Paint Gallery in Montreal, but if from afar or just too lazy then you can find it here on Amazon.

Barry Walsh had some of his boxes with him stacked up in a mighty pyramid too. I had to flick some of the nicer painted models. Some vintage models up there, you gotta appreciate how awesome this collection is. Here are a few shots of these beauties painted by Howek, Sake, Hest1, Chris Dyer, and others.

I was really glad I was able to make the night and congratulate Chris on the book and all his successes. I've only had a chance to read a bit of the copy I picked up and leaf through the rest but I can guarantee that this is a solid production of Chris's work, travels, life, and philosophy. I'm proud to have it in my collection and can't wait to finish going through it. Do yourself a favor and pick it up. You won't be disappointed.

Neuf is Enough: Sino Shop Dec 3 2011

2011-12-15T15:14:00.001-05:00

I got a special invite to attend 'Neuf is Enough' at Sino Shop on the 3rd of December that featured canvasses by nine of Montreal's finest: FOne, Zek, Stare, Fluke, Nixon, Tchug, Scan, Five8, Sino. Although there was only one canvass per artist the show was really a nice mix of style, form, and substance. Sino was gracious enough to provide drinks, food, and some good beats, along with the good company of all those in attendance, the evening was full of good conversations, great art to check out, finger foods, and Stella Artoise.

In speaking with some of the artists it was really interesting to hear some of the techniques they used to complete their canvasses or why they used a particular style or form. Stare's piece looked like a printed Polaroid on canvass with his signature in marker on the corner. On closer inspection, however, you could tell that it wasn't that at all. In fact he had painstakingly hand painted the entire canvass (down to every little brink) including the signature that wasn't in marker at all, but in fact was hand painted to appear as such. Solid canvass and a reminder as to why he's one of the premier artists out there.

Zek's piece was awesome and honestly one of the few times (if not the first) that I have seen a work that does not include his letters. Zek is a Montreal staple of letter form and style, his signature letters are regarded as some of the best in town and he's got years of experience to back it up. This piece featured a miner's skull in the forefront of an industrial design that had some wicked color fades and smoke trails. What sucks is that I didn't get a full shot of the piece, just a close up of the detail but if you stop by the shop you can get it in all it's glory. Although this piece was a break from what we nornally see from him, being 'sans lettres', it was finely executed and served a harsh reminder that Zek has got game on all fronts.

Fluke, Five8, FOne, Tchug, Scan, and Sino all had great signature pieces up with tight style and form. Nixon's piece was unmistakably his with a myriad of funky characters surrounding a snow remover. I love the organic feel that all of his pieces have, street or gallery. Five8 has been kicking out some solid portraits over the last while and this one was great addition with a nice multi-colored blend. You can view more of his work on his flikr here. All these guys put some hard work into their pieces, and it showed. I didn't get to talk to everyone about their pieces but just a look shows you the effort and skill they put into each of their works.

You can check out Sino shop here for info on the artists and contact info or you can contact Ashop here for the same info.

All in all a great night or food, drink, art, and conversation with some good company. Thanks for having me along. Stay posted. Big updates coming as soon as I get out from under the pile of work that's been bogging me down. Check out the rest of these shots from the night, additional photos provided by Katrine Couvrette who got some great shots of the evening too.

Stay posted.

Turcot and the VilleMarie: Nov 2011

2011-11-19T13:25:00.000-05:00

This past weekend I took a quick trip through Turcot and the along the Ville-Marie and then through the TA Wall and Factory. My main mission was to catch a big Jays roller along the Ville-Marie facing into Turcot yards but I caught a few more hits along the way. It was nice to get back into and around Turcot again, as I had not been through the yards in over a year since they locked it all up and began enforcing more stringent security measures to keep people out. Walking along the side spot next to the Ville-Marie still drummed up some nostalgia though and I found myself chilling out a bit to take it all in again. Sadly, although there was some new and old hits along the wall leading to Decarie, Turcot in general is pretty dead, buffed, and washed out.

Looking over the yards from the vantage point of where the roller was, I sat back and watched as construction workers buzzed about repairing and maintaining the dilapidated and aged body of Turcot Interchange. I got into Turcot only around 2004, but man was it nice back then. All the way up to a couple of years ago you could walk through the yards and check out plenty of new pieces by just about any local writer. I spent hours covering Turcot every time I went in, whatever the season, day or night (I still kick myself over never having got any big spanning shots of the yards when they were in full effect). It's a shame that it's a dead spot now, but hey, not like it's the safest spot to be stomping about anymore considering the condition of the structure as of late. It was nice to see that the upper wall in the back is still active to some degree though and probably will be for some time to come.

I like big rollers, like the one I caught some flicks of in NDG the week before that Gesa and Raskoe (see below) put up not too long ago. And this was a pretty big one for sure, whole wall, top to bottom, and in a prime spot. I took plenty of pics, but here are a few of the best ones I think I got. I like the Turcot roller more than the one I caught in NDG, though it was in a pretty prime spot too, but this one has 'the spot' for this area and was a nice ode to Jays style too. I also tossed in a couple of pics of a Sake and Aper spot along the Ville-Marie I snapped at some point along the way too, great spot, but a SUPER pain in the ass to get a shot of being where it was.

TA was pretty busy when I passed through, lots of kids running about the wall area and factory mucking about. Bank and Castro were just finishing up a Jays tribute on the lower wall so I decided to chill out a bit. It was nice to catch up with them and always a pleasure to watch a couple of solid Montreal writers do their work. Besides that I took a trip through the factory and exited through the upper wall area. Besides a weird paste in the factory and a sweet production on the way out there wasn't much too new there.

All-in-all a productive mission for sure. Good to see some folks along the way too. Stay posted as Vanhorne pics coming soon, and tonnes from the streets.

Rooftop Edition Vol. 1

2011-11-03T16:43:00.001-04:00

Montreal's got some heavy rooftop action going on all over the place: big rollers and lean overs, flops and pieces in the craziest of places, and lots of bombed out walls high above the streets. Residential, commercial it doesn't matter, if it's a good spot, sooner or later its going to get hit up. I see these rooftops every day I walk around getting whatever it is I need to get done and it nags and nags and nags at me to get pics. So I finally got my ass in gear and started working rooftops a little more often towards the end of the summer. Not like I didn't before, just not to this degree.

Although I'm not getting every rooftop I've wanted up until now, I think I've got a few nice ones thus far. And I know there are far better choice spots for me to find, no worries, I've been casing out areas, hunting down the spots, I'll get them sooner or later. And when I do, I'll be showcasing them here. And man do I love these spots. There could be graff all over the rooftop, discarded construction materials, lawn furniture, empty beer bottles and cans, left over paint cans and other impliments; bombed out from end to end, on every air conditioner, vent, and whatever else might be lying around. Or it's just a small part of the larger skyline, dusk or dawn, midday or midnight. In any case there are always great shots to be taken, and rooftop missions are always fun.

Some of these shots aren't even on rooftops, just spots high up there. I decided to toss in flicks I've taken on some of my not so successful missions to get to rooftops but deliver some pretty nice high up alley way shots from fire escapes and the such. Although not rooftops they are definitely high above the regular streets so I figured they belonged here and should be given honorable mention along with these other spots.

There are plenty of spots that I haven't hit up yet. Some great one's along St Caths and in the Plateau, and plenty more I am yet to discover. And a personal shout out to Verse and Vibo for killing it lately, they've been getting up everywhere. As you can see off this post they are well represented. And there are some serious spots by Castro, Sake, Bank, Serak and others I am yet to get under my belt too. It's just a matter of negotiating a few obstacles, but once I get by them, you can bet that I'll be adding those to my collection.

Well hope this makes for a nice opening rooftops post, sorry to those I was unable to tag in the post as it was a bit of a heavy one. More to come soon.

Stay posted.

RIP Jays & Aber: TA Wall Nov 1st 2011

2011-11-01T15:26:00.000-04:00

Stopped by the TA Wall this afternoon and caught some RIPs out to Aber and Jays. I can imagine I'll be seeing more of these out there for the coming weeks so I figured I'd post right away so as to not get back logged again. Not sure who did these but it was good to see them up there. It's probably going to be a busy week so I'm going to try to keep up with it all and post as much and as frequent as possible. Check these flicks, more to come.

This last one (and the one from the very top) was from a little back but since I had it on hand I figured I'd add it. Again, good to see those RIPs out there, and to see the community keeping their names alive. Rooftops should be up by tomorrow morning latest. RIP Jays, Aber, and Ricardo.

Funk Show @ SubV Oct 28 2011

2011-10-31T16:35:00.001-04:00

It's been a year since the tragic deaths of Jays, Aber, and Ricardo and there are a lot of people still feeling it out there. Tomorrow people are going to see a lot of RIPs up throughout the island as many will no doubt be on the streets paying homage to their fallen comrades. RIPs have been going up all year really, shout outs off of pieces, even throw ups and pieces from others here and there. At SubV hosted the Funk crew for a show that was partly a commemoration for their friends and partly to showcase some of their other works (and those of other Funk crew members), photos, and memories. It was a nice show, lots of stuff up on the walls, and some live body painting. There were some original Jays pieces, and some great photos of memorable moments he had with some of his friends and crew members. Even some family passes through and they seemed pleased with the show ans set up too. I was able to test out the new lens and it worked well, here are some shots from the show.

As well, there are Jays t-shirts for sale at SubV, for those of you interested, with the proceeds going to the Dylan Ford Scholarship Fund. I'm not sure where the proceeds for the sale of anything original by Jays or Aber goes too, but if you are interested you can inquire here at SubV. And if you are interested in purchasing anything I'm sure that all the art will be up at SubV for the month. So call or drop by the shop to inquire.

And remember to be safe out there this week.

Stay posted. Rooftop Edition vol. 1 this week and more.

RIP Jays, Aber, and Ricardo. You are not forgotten.

Can You Rock 2011

2011-10-24T23:04:00.004-04:00

Man it's been a pretty crazy couple of months. My apologies to everyone who checks up regularly but I got caught int he undertow of a very busy August and September. I'm going to be posting like crazy over the next couple of months to make up for it all. Piece of the week will be making a comeback too so keep your eyes out for fresh paint from some of Montreal's finest. I've got as tonne archived too so I'll be posting some stuff from the vault again soon too.

Can You Rock was a complete success this year. The pre-party at A'Shop was considered by many to be the party of the summer or year by that point. We had Cope2, Sen2, and the King Bee from NYC in town as well as Bacon and Wundah from Toronto, and plenty of other big heads from around the way. Fake and A'shop put there creative talents together to pull off one of the best Can You Rock jams since this festival was first put on 6 years ago (Meeting of Styles formerly).

And for the first time in as many years as I have been covering this convention I had the distinct pleasure of being a part of the event. The boys at A'Shop were more than generous to offer a couple of walls to put up a series of my shots reflecting the last 8 years I've been documenting the local scene. I put up a total of 65 shots in the series that I called "Benching". It was awesome to be a part of the convention, to put up the shots (the whole process of which I'll be posting on shortly along with all the shots I put up), and then to see people (writers or not) checking the shots, pointing out their tags, throwies, or pieces. I've got nothing but love for the boys at A'Shop and Fake for their support and generosity for making me a part of this event. I especially have to thank Axe and Oser for their hard work and attention to detail that really made my photo expo stand out, and cheers to Bruno for the ideas for the props that added that extra aesthetic and made the whole thing solid.

But I digress...the pre party was a smash. Not only did we have a solid spot (just above the shop in a converted boxing gym), but the pieces for the show really worked well together. The A'Shop team spent countless hours setting up the spot and doing all the background art work.The pieces were amazing, and the party was mind blowing. The spot had a capacity of something like 300, and believe me the place was packed. And just when you thought there were too many people inside, you were treated to a block party style parking lot chilleur outside. I was out relatively early that night, but apparently the party went on till the wee hours of the morning. K6A put on a solid set in the boxing ring/stage and the beats were pumping all night. With Pabst as a major sponsor there was plenty of beer to go around too. Check these photos from the pre party bash. And if you missed it, then you missed the party of the year. But hey, no worries, next year is going to be even bigger. Just mark it off on your calendar 'cause you don't want to miss it.

The event went on without a hitch too, although it took a few extra hours into the mid afternoon until most writers were at their spots painting considering the out of control festivities the evening before. The weather was overcast and although rain was expected for the entire weekend the skies stayed pretty clear allowing everyone to get their work done. Rain did finally come at the end of the last day effectively shutting anyone left trying to finish up but whoever split just came back later or the the following week to touch up their pieces.

RedBull provided a pretty rocking DJ truck to get the tunes out. Thing was built like a bull too: a heavy duty 4X4 DJ booth.

Unfortunately, the building owners at the Cabot Street spot, where the event has had it last few years, failed to fix a section of the wall that had collapsed at one point a couple of months prior. The result was that a sizable section of the wall on Cabot Street was in disrepair leaving anywhere up to 30 spots unpaintable. Regardless of this set back, and true to the writer form, those who lost spots found new ones. Some decided to take it to the next level, like one writer literally did, by climbing up a story and painting a spot in the back corner by monkeying about the remanents of the old loading dock door cover. Others had no choice but to paint the undulating metal siding in the back or had to try find a spot in between other pieces if available.

At one point we had the skaters jumping over a tagged up couch and decided to give Fluke some close up action. I don't think he was expecting the whole crew to fly over him. Then this girl with her little dog decided to chill on the couch for some beauty shots and then have everyone jump over her too. I don't know who these guys were but they were killing it. Made for some fun shots.

I wasn't able to grab finished shots yet due to a sprained ankle keeping me off my feet for a little, but I got a lot of great stuff from what I was able to flick as finished to semi-finished at that point. It's hard to say who had the best work up but Bacon's piece was pretty nice, truly a great next level mix of style and form; Sen2, King Bee, and Cope did some awesome stuff too. Agens did some fine work and K6A put up a huge Epic Meal Time production that I wasn't able to flick finished but know it turned out pretty wicked. Kems and Geser destroyed the upper level with a couple of awesome pieces too. All the walls had quailty pieces and for the most part blended well with each other.

Some great work from a lot of talented writers and artists this year, the pre party was awesome, the event well, and it was nice to chill out in the corner lot shootin' the shit over a some brews and bbq. Much love and thanks again to the A'Shop crew for making me a part of the event this year and everything else.

Don't miss the pre party next year. Seriously.

Lots, lots more to come. Stay posted.

You down with OPP? Gallery and Grand Opening of Montreal's newest hot spot for art, clothing, and specialty accessories

2011-09-09T12:08:00.000-04:00

First, let me apologize to everyone for the slack in updates on the blog. Life has been keeping my busy over the last month and it's been difficult to catch up. The OPP Galerie and Boutique opening, Under Pressure, my photo expo ("Benching") for the Can You Rock pre-party, then the event itself over the weekend, the streets, life, work, and everything else have been piling up around me. Now that the storm of activity has passed I got some time to catch up.

So without further ado I am proud to post my pics and follow up from the grand opening of the OPP Galerie & Boutique on 2110 Saint Laurent Blvd Montreal, just below Sherbrooke Street and just up from St. Laurent metro. Firstly, this was easily one of the best and brightest of openings and gallery shows that I have attended this year. It's a fantastic space and a great location. The shop boasts an impressive floor space with plenty of walls to show off some premier pieces by many talented artists from Montreal and abroad. The shop is also a boutique space for some locally designed clothing and accessories for those looking to get the latest in street wear.

The opening event was definitely a success in my opinion. A packed house, live music, party treats by Lee's Cupcakes, and other assorted snacks were being floated about by hostesses, lots of positive comments on the art pieces, and generally a solid vibe. The place really feels more like a museum when you step out of the main shop area and into the adjoining gallery space. There are a few nooks and crannies through out this mini labyrinth showing off some interesting pieces (like the Crusty and bike canvasses) that made walking the floor space interesting and fun.

The pieces were for the most part pretty engaging too. I personally enjoyed the Axle/Void installation along one of the main walls. Lots of little interesting bits on this wall. From what I gathered he had interviewed someone from South America about their life, having them choose a selection of photographs that reflected aspects of daily life or meaningful moments. From this he designed and painted an installation mixed with his own socio-political messages. The large hangman piece (and there was a smaller one too) were definite attention grabbers that left you uneasy and a bit squimesh but you have to appreciate the artistic depiction and manner of putting issues like the public hanging of accused homosexuals to the forefront of an exhibit like this. Ballsy.

And more than that OPP has a rich mixture both in the art hanging on the walls and the clothes hanging on the racks, and there are accessories to boot. Lots of local talents are showcased here for your viewing or wearing pleasure. The accessories are like mini installations in on themselves too, the cases are trendy, fun, smart, and colorful. You can easily lose some time just walking about the shop checking out all this stuff. Artistically there is a wide variety of styles and influences on the wall, none of which I have a real understanding or appreciation for, but you get that feel when you move from piece to piece and they come at you in very different ways. Some are textured and rough, while others are smooth and glassed up, color jams, characters, portraits, objects, scenes, and stories.

Regardless of your taste in fashion, design, or art do yourself a favor and pass through this spot. The art should still be up for viewing for the most part till the end of the month. The collective and eclectic group that runs it are an awesome crowd who will never disappoint. Don't miss out, drop in and check it whenever you're in the area as new stuff is introduced on a regular basis. I can only imagine that future shows will be just as interesting and successful.

Here are some links to the OPP site, facebook page, and a couple of the artists and designers currently on the floor.

http://oppgalerie.com/
http://www.facebook.com/OPP.gallery
http://www.wildfoxcouture.com/
And check out this posting of the show and gallery, a very solid post with some nice and sexy pics: http://raymitheminx.com/2011/08/26/other-peoples-paintings/

Under Pressure, Can You Rock, and a whole more to come soon as I get increasingly more on track in teh coming weeks.

Stay posted.

Piece of the Week: Aper, Bank, Castro

2011-07-25T12:56:00.000-04:00

While passing through Cote-St-Paul this weekend on a flick mission I came across this solid blockbuster on top of one of the old industrial buildings in the area. Not generally the most accessible of spots and certainly a mission that demanded a lot of the writers who did it.

These guys have been regulating the rooftops in this area for years so it was a pleasure to see them tackling this one. This blockbuster was pretty expansive and easily a few stories high so points to them for pulling it off. My only issue is the Manr at the left end of it. I`m not knocking Manr for the spot or the letters or anything, just that it seems off from the rest of the letters for the blockbuster. I`m not even sure if I saw it up there prior to this flick, which is why he`s not credited, and props to him for getting up there too, but l think it would have looked much nicer bigger and more in line with the others. Regardless, this definitely made my afternoon for flicks and deserves a spot in my weekly updates.

Piece of the week: BNB Tribute by A'Shop

2011-07-12T14:56:00.001-04:00

This is partly a tribute post and a shout out to Fluke, Zek, Axe, Phile, and Oser from A'Shop for their great work on the BNB tribute wall right off the corner of St. Catherine & Clark. Aper & Saer also contributed to some of the lettering when they stopped on through at some point over the weekend too. I wasn't able to make it out the weekend that they were their painting as I was flying back in from out of town, but I made a point of it to catch fresh flicks of the wall when I got back.

This was a finely executed mural combining wild letter styles and a portrait of the late BNB playing the harmonica he was so well known for. The purple-blue-green letters made for a nice background to the BNB logo that pops right out at you in the center. This is another production that I think used the wall space quite well, and has a nice flow from the letters over to the portrait of BNB in a signature brown suit and hat. From the other side it's almost as if the wave of colorful letters is pouring from the masterful tunes from his harmonica.


Image source: www.514smoke.biz

For those who don't know of Bad News Brown, his early street busking and metro playing, music success, and even some acting before he passed, then here's a little background. Originally from Haiti, BNB -Paul Frappier -came to live in Montreal with an adoptive family at the age of ten. He quickly became a local celebrity for his harmonica playing in the streets and metros, and for contributing to other local shows and hip hop events. He had opened for Snoop Dogg, Kanye West, 50 Cent, Soulja Boy, and shared the stage with Ice-T, Cypress Hill, and De La Soul. In 2009 he released his first solo album called "Born 2 Sin" with a title track of the same name. You can check it here on YouTube. He was really starting to come into his career before his untimely death, murdered at the age of 33, just this passed February. Police are apparently still searching for leads.

Image source: www.ctv.ca

The death of Bad News Brown was a serious blow to the local hip hop and music community. His family, friends, and fans paid their respects and laid his remains to rest at his funeral on February 21st at St. Zotique Church in St. Henri. A candle light vigil was also set up at the park in front of the church later that night where about a hundred people showed up to remember the man who said to have left a mark on everyone he ever met.

RIP Band News Brown, a true grinder and icon of the local Montreal music scene.

Piece of the Week: KidPQ, Beast, & Quidam

2011-07-12T10:46:00.000-04:00

I've was out of town for a little bit so I wasn't able to update for piece of the week until now. Considering I missed a couple of weeks I decided that I'd put up one of the nicest productions I came across recently. Well, the first week of July, which means I have another piece of the week to drop soon too. Anyway, this prod by KidPQ, Beast, and Quidam was put up about a week or so ago and really caught my eye. I really liked the way KidPQ pulled off a nice reversal of his letters, Quidam took up the opposite side with a solid set of his own, and Beast brought the whole thing together with a nicely done clown-like character.

I really liked the color scheme, lettering, and the addition of the character that hooked the production together. These guys did a great job in using the entire wall space and the background did well to bring the pieces to the forefront. Even though the lettering for both pieces are not the same, this production still holds its own symmetry and comes across as genuinely appealing.

I'll have more up from TA soon and some stuff from the Rosemont area soon too.

Stay posted.

Gnar Down: Urban Ambush Yard June 18 2011

2011-06-24T21:28:00.000-04:00

I had the distinct pleasure of stopping by Urban Ambush Yard in the Griff again this past weekend to attend the opening of the pipe for the summer. The weather was perfect, some great beats and music were playing, there was a bbq on demand, and a full compliment of skaters to shred the pipe up. I was hoping to get to come back to Barry's to really get a taste of this spot in full motion, and this was definitely the day to do it.

It was packed full of folks through out the afternoon chilling on the monster patio connecting to the pipe and checking the action. There were lots of great skaters taking part getting some pretty big air and pulling off a whole bunch of shit I don't even have the appreciation to describe properly. I also tried putting together a couple of action frames of Dave Boots and Kevin Cann. Not too sure if they came out that great, but they're posted. Check these photos I took from the day and the event.

Dave Boots landing a successful roll into the pipe.

I finally got Kevin pulling off that air he was working on for a bit. He nailed it a few times but I kept missing him. And in retrospect maybe this sequence should be going the other way...

Cheers to Barry and the crew for letting me shoot the event and sharpen my camera skills for this type of action. Most of the time I'm out shooting graff in back alleys and abandoned buldings so this was a fresh break from that. I can't wait till I stop by next time. You can also can check a sick Push video of the days skating here. A real solid compilation of some of the best stuff going down that afternoon.

I'll be posting again soon as I have some more May-June shots to go through. And I've been archiving the monstrous amount of shots I've massed up over the years and will be getting around to some posts from the vault too.

May-June 2011 update

2011-06-22T16:00:00.005-04:00

Been too long since I've been dropping regular updates. But I'm back on track now so here's a general update from just about anywhere I was between May and June: TA Wall & Factory, St. Henri, some general streets, Rouen area, and wherever else. This is just a general update, but I'll be dropping flicks from all the regular spots (and a couple new ones) over the next couple of weeks. And it's not a monster update either, just about 50 shots. The summer weather is in full swing now and the streets are starting to get lit up, lots of nice stuff out there. I've also been experimenting with my new wide angle macro lens combo thingy and its awesome. So without further ado, here are some shots from here and there over the last couple.

Castro regulating the Lionel Groulx spot

There was a dude camped out in the Factory for the better part of the last month and I dunno, something must have happened as his whole spot -tent and all was burned right out. Hope dude and his cat made it out alright.

Killa Ef dropped another finely executed piece the week following that last one I posted. Always a pleasure to see.

Bumped into these guys working on a production in the Factory, came out pretty nice even though the color scheme switches up on the last two pieces.

A nice fresh piece by Mersh.

A solid production by Smak and Sewk.


Respect to Germ for reaching out to his dad for a father's day piece.

Like I said, not the biggest of all updates, and certainly a lot more going on lately to post. I also got some great flicks from Gnar-Down from this past weekend. I'll drop that in the next day or two. Till then, stay posted.

Piece of the Week: ILTONE

2011-06-15T14:36:00.002-04:00

Besides snaking through alleyways on the streets, I've been spending a lot of time at the TA Wall and Factory over the last week. So forgive me if I missed out on some burners out there that might have made their way to this weeks post or would've been up for the vote. Shout outs to all who I bumped into or met too, the wall and factory have been pretty active lately. I met up with some folks from O-town in the factory a few days ago -Cens, Snikr, and Il Tone painting with a couple locals. One piece definitely stood out as being top shelf: Il Tone. He and Mos were painting a nice collab on the second floor while Cens and Snikr were working on the opposite wall. Barfo was painting another inside wall in between.

Although I can imagine that this thread of updates will be mostly Montreal based writers, this gent went above an beyond on this piece and I have to give credit where it's deserved. And that wall wouldn't be as fresh as it was without the adjoining piece by Mos, which was also really tight. I genuinely liked this piece, multiple colors, nice fades and flow of the letters, and of course the multi-color outline.

Big updates coming. Stay posted.

Piece of the Week: Killa-EF

2011-06-08T14:36:00.000-04:00

In my day-to-day I flick a lot of nice stuff on the streets and elsewhere. I take so many pics that I often do not get the chance to fully appreciate some of the nicer more finely produced pieces that I come across. So I'm going to make a point of it to post at least one piece a week, the piece that strikes me as the best of the best that I've come across that particular week I'm out there flickin' and stuff. It may not always be the best looking or designed, and it'll be to my subjective taste and what I find interesting, but I'll post it for what it's worth.

This week, well, actually last week, I stopped off at the TA Wall and came across this kick ass piece by Killa-EF. Besides the fact that EF has premium can control and some really dope hand styles, this piece stood out for those added details, and just enough to not make it too busy either. Keeping it simple, EF only used one color with the black background that really brought the focus on his practiced hand styles. Truly an 'efect' rather than a fill in. Great Piece EF.

More soon, stay posted.

5 Pointz: The Institute of Higher Burnin'

2011-06-05T12:49:00.002-04:00

Said to be one of the world's premiere graffiti meccas, 5 Pointz showcases some of the finest pieces of writers from across the globe. Situated in Long Island, New York, at Jackson Avenue and Crane Street, 5 Pointz covers over 200,000 square feet of area and boasts upwards of 350 pieces and murals covering its walls. This massive industrial building complex is painted from end to end, top to bottom and encompasses 2 city blocks in its entirety.

This industrial building has been the location of fine aerosol art going as far back as 1993, when Pat Dilillo co-founded the Phun Phactory Aerosol Art Corporation, a non-profit enterprise to promote graffiti and mural arts. After 9 solid years of operation, Dilillo passed the reigns over to a local writer, Meres One, to carry the torch and keep the spot alive. During its time, the Phun Phactory had attracted writers and artists from around the globe and was one of the most celebrated and contributed graffiti and street art collectives in the world.

Historically, the name Five Points was derived from an intersection several streets in central lower Manhattan in the 19th century. This slummy neighborhood area was well known for its crime, gangs, poverty, and disease. When Meres took over the location and renamed it such as a signification of the 5 boroughs coming together, but also because of its reputation, it has helped to unite artists an writers worldwide. Nine years later, 5 Pointz is still running strong, with writers and artists coming through on the daily adding to the rich and colorful tapestry that began almost 20 years ago.

But with many spots such as this, 5 Pointz has recently been added to the endangered list. Jerry Wolkoff, the owner of the industrial building announced in March of this year that he plans to redevelop the area into two residential towers for rent and make affordable housing for younger renters who cannot afford the high prices in Manhattan. Its location and the presence of fast transportation in the city would make it and ideal spot for this kind of development. Many in the neighborhood like the idea apparently but a lot of others don't. Many writers and enthusiasts have been voicing their concerns about preserving this location as an historical building not only for the hip hop and graff community, but for Long Island City as well. A facebook page and petition was started to raise awareness and to raise support but more names are needed. Check out the facebook page, join it, and sign the petition.

Here in Montreal we've had our own struggles in keeping things like Under Pressure and Meeting of Styles (Can You Rock?) alive over the years too. It's not an easy job to keep such collectives running, let along operating from year to year. We have a hard enough time running UP and MOS for a weekend once a year, this cat has been running it straight since 2001. Spots like this don't come around too often, and they are even harder to maintain, and Meres does it on bare minimums so reach out and give your support for a good cause.

We spent a good few hours snapping shots, chatting with some writers piecing, and just taking in the scene. There were a lot of big names on the walls and some fantastic pieces and productions to take in and check out. I could have spent the entire day there just chillin' but we had a lot of ground to try and cover so a few hours was all we could get in. Big shout out to Meres for keeping this spot alive, for being a great host, and for taking his time to give us a tour around the site and a little history. Here are the rest of my pics of 5 Pointz, I hope that next time I'm coming through that It'll still be around.

More from Montreal coming soon. Stay posted.

April 2011: NYC Streets

2011-06-01T17:46:00.000-04:00

Took a short visit to NYC at the end of April to catch the scene in its original format with my girl. This was a flick mission visit to get a taste of some of the streets in Southern Manhattan, Bronx, Queens, Williamsburg, and Brooklyn. Armed with our gear we hit the streets on the first day all over Southern Manhattan, China town, Little Italy, and anywhere else our feet could take us. NYC is a different scene and vibe, and minus a couple of altercations involving NYPDs finest, we were able to get some good stuff and enjoy our time there.

First of all, things are a hell of a lot more contained, controlled, and blocked off in the city (and as we would soon find out, just about everywhere else too) as compared to good ol' Montreal. That isn't to say that we were unable to flick anything, just that the dynamic wasn't as open as back home. There are no alleyways really in the city, partly due to the manner in which the architecture of the buildings was designed, and partly due to stringent security measures enacted by property owners and law enforcement. Almost every single alleyway was gated, locked, or barricaded off, with razor wire running along to boot. So no back alley fire escapes or anything to climb up to snatch some of those prime rooftops. There was access points, surely, but nothing that I was able to figure out in the short time I was there.

Secondly, beat cops are always walking the streets, and there certainly isn't any shortage of good Samaritans looking to get in with Uncle Sam for being such fine observers of public good. I sneaked into a few fenced in areas where I could get away with it but I wasn't looking to push the envelope too much on this visit. This much I can say: the NYC scene is certainly isn't dead. Rooftops are heavily done in tonnes of places in the city an its outer lying borders, stickers are huge -on every corner adorning mailboxes, signs, and lamp posts. Tags a plenty as well. Just about what you would expect for the streets in this city: fast and quick hits to keep under the watchful radar of the ever present NYPD.

On our second day we stopped by 5 Pointz to pay homage to NYCs walls of fame. Got lots of goodies from that mission. So many in fact that I decided to make a 5 Pointz post just for those pics. I'll have that up soon enough. Big shout out to Meres for being a great host and giving us a nice walk around tour too. Another big shout out to Dave Foto for directing us to some good spots in Williamsburg as well. I got to say that Williamsburg and Brooklyn were by far the best spots, besides 5 Pointz, that we checked out with the time we had. Some fresh walls and some really intriguing street art too.

All in all we had a great trip and got to take in some great sites. Although for the most part it was difficult to get into some spots like Domino Sugar or alleys or abandoned locales, and we got lost in the industrial end of Williamsburg for a few hours, there was still plenty to take in on the streets and wherever we were able to get into. And next time I go to NYC I'm going to try to walk through the Bronx, Harlem, and take a few more chances to get me some train tunnels too. I wish I had the time to get into the New York scene like I have here at home, and I'm sure that if I had that time I'd be able to crack it open and find a lot more interesting spots.

I'll have more to post soon from 5 Pointz and regular updates back on track soon as I got me a shiny new laptop. Sorry for the disconnect lately. More soon. Stay posted.

I killed my laptop.

2011-05-04T10:00:00.000-04:00

Hey folks, I killed my laptop finally. It gave up a week or so ago. To be fair, I beat the shit out it and it gave me a few good years of hard work, so may it rest in peace. All my data is secure but I can't do much until I get it replaced in the next couple of weeks. I've been struggling to catch up as of late and this doesn't help. I'll drop a monster post of the best of my shots over the last few months (Dec till April) and then I'll be on track again. But I can only do from work, so be patient. Way more to come. I just got back from a 4 day trip in NYC -monster flick mission. Not as big of a mission as I though it would be but some great shots nonetheless. New lenses too -Macro and Wide angle HD -so some fresh stuff to post soon enough.

Stay posted.