From July 7 to November 29, 2009, the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain in Paris France, (www.fondation.cartier.com)
will present Born in the Streets—Graffiti, an exhibition devoted to graffiti and street art. Occupying the entire gallery space of the Fondation Cartier, as well as the building’s façade and surrounding garden, the exhibition will bring to light the extraordinary expansion of an artistic movement that developed in the streets of New York in the early 1970s to rapidly become a world-wide phenomenon. Today, graffiti has entered the cultural mainstream, crossing over to the realms of studio art, design and advertising. Yet despite its immense popularity, this essentially illegal activity continues to evolve at the periphery of the contemporary art world, its origins and evolution little-known to the general public.
My 1974 B/W photojouralistic photo essay "A DAY IN THE LIFE" ( a chapter from "JUST WRITING ON WALLS... which is from the larger work "DETAILS OF THE AMERICAN DREAM) will fit right in. Along with the eight 16 by 20 prints (Treatments designed by Jonathan Penney, www.JonathanPenney.com) Alanna Minta collected a file from me of a key image
which will be blown up to fit an entire wall of the exhibit!
Naturally I took Alanna around to enjoy the sights of Staten Island NY which not only included some modern day Graffiti ( which wasn't too hard to find!) but also a
side trip to the land-marked home of the early photographer Alice Austen (www.AliceAusten.org) We then ended up at The U.S. Art Company (www.UsArt.com) the premiere Art Shipper for museums worldwide to make sure the work will be packaged safely for travel.
