A controversial art form and provocative cultural
phenomenon, graffiti has inestimably influenced our entire environment—from
music and fashion to advertising, architecture, and graphic arts.
Yet graffiti is an illegal activity and as such its practitioners
are wanted criminals who usually remain anonymous to their audience.
Collected for the first time in the exhibition Autograf: New York City’s Graffiti
Writers, photographer Peter Sutherland presents a never-before-seen
chronicle of the people and places that populate New York’s famed
graff scene. Featuring old-school legends FUTURA, STAY HIGH 149,
LADY PINK and DOZE, as well as COPE 2, KAWS, CYCLE, CLAW, VFR,
KR, EARSNOT, SERF, MINT, NATO, NET, RATE, SACER, UFO, SEMZ, and
DSENSE, among many others — each one of the fifty-three portraits
authentically tagged by the individual writers using the same
paint markers that brought them fame.
Peter Sutherland is a 27 year old NYC native
who grew up in Colorado and has become quite handy and renowned
for his work with a camera. He’s shot skateboard videos, made
a film about bike couriers called “Pedal”, worked as a DP on
the skate feature Gator, and worked a number of still photo projects.
Having already toured The powerHouse Gallery
(NY), Colette (Paris), CC Room (Berlin) & Bathing Ape Gallery (Tokyo) the Autograf exhibition will be on view in Melbourne
at the Someday Gallery from June 1st - 8th.
Details below.
When did you get involved in the graffiti
scene? how did you wind up there?
I moved from Colorado to NYC in 1998, soon after that I made
a docu. film about bike messengers, one of the messengers I met
wrote PEZ, he is pictured in Autograf. PEZ was up everywhere,
anywhere you could lock a bike, any stairwell, any elevator,
any phone booth, I mean everywhere! I got inspired by his tags,
he later became my friend and roommate.... He schooled me on
graf and introduced me to several writers...
What do you think makes your photos distinctive
from anyone else taking photos of similar things?
I try to be lot less controlling then other photographers I know,
I asked the people in Autograf to choose locations they liked
and give me input on some elements of the photo... I don't know
if they are all that different from other pics in that genre,
but I had a very strong interest in photographing/documenting
these guys, it was almost like the pictures took themselves....
Can you tell us the story behind Autograf?
I mentioned PEZ earlier, I had a snapshot of him and I asked
him to put a tag on it... (there were tags all over my house
by that point) He tagged in and crossed out his eyeballs on
the photo... That is what gave me the idea, I thought it would
be the perfect way to document the current NYC graf scene....
Do you think that making the faces behind
the graffiti known takes away any of the mystery to the artform?
It definitely did for me, I used to think it was a bunch of 15
year olds writing graffiti.
Where has the exhibition been so far? Where
to next?
Colette (Paris), powerHouse Gallery (NYC), International Center
for Photography (NYC), CC Room (Berlin), Bape Gallery (Tokyo).
I may also show the exhibition in Hong Kong and San Francisco....
You're a big hip hop fan, has there been any
hip hop lately that has really made you sit up and take notice?
There is a guy called "Papoose," he
is so amazing! He has a few singles out, the dude gave me the
chills the first time I heard his stuff... I like the new Kanye
West stuff, there is a guy called Rhymefest that co-wrote "Jesus Walks" with Kanye, his stuff is coming out soon, that shoud be killer! The new Tony
Yayo stuff is good also.
What's your dream photography project?
I've been trying to do a photo essay about Ghostface, I talk
to his manager every few months in hopes of it materializing...
Autograf: New York City’s Graffiti Writers
June 1st-June 8th 2005
Someday Gallery. Level 3,
Curtin House, 252 Swanston Walk,
Melbourne.
www.petersutherland.net
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