I’ve always been into art in the streets. There is something special about the mysterious, obscure & dangerous methods it takes to create graffiti art. Wild Style is one of my favorite movies to this date. Some call it vandalism, others call it art. True graffiti writers don’t give a sh*t what you call it, so long as they “get up”.  In this ever changing world of technology and open networks of communication, it should be no surprise that graffiti has evolved along w/ the digital revolution (known as the ever-cliche “2.0″). The world wide web and it’s army of geeks are rising to the occasion.

I’ve noticed a big surge of digital tools, and open source networks of communication for graffiti artists. Lucky for you I have dug deep into my digital crate of delicious links and have compiled them into a… you guessed it, list!

• F.A.T.
  Every techno-savvy artist cutting the edge should have this site bookmarked.  “The Free Art and Technology (F.A.T.) Lab is an organization dedicated to enriching the public domain through the research and development of creative technologies and media. Release early, often and with rap music. This is Notorious R&D.”
• EyeWriter Initiative
  It is a low-cost eye-tracking apparatus & custom software that allows graffiti writers and artists with paralysis resulting from Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis to draw using only their eyes.
• Hektor
  Hektor is a portable Spray-paint Output Device for laptop computers.
• ROBOTAGGER
  A labor-saving device for graffiti artists. An assistive tool or telematic proxy for taggers working in harsh environments. Long-needed relief for graffiti artists with RSI.
• Graffiti Analysis
  “A digital graffiti blackbook designed for documenting more than just ink.”
• DustTag (Graffiti Analysis iPhone Edition)
  A pocket sized digital graffiti blackbook designed for documenting more than just ink.
• LRPD Vandalsquad
  Be sure to check out the online graffiti tool, Graffiti Studio, here.
• The Exchange
  An international group of style writers trade sketches of each other’s moniker and it is documented here. Worth a look indeed.
• Stencil Revolution
  An online stencil art community resource.
• Projection Bombing
  One day, you will see this at the IMA. Mark my words, but dqmot.
• Wooster Collective
  This has been a go-to blog for the graffiti community since 2001. One of the best. “This site is dedicated to showcasing and celebrating ephemeral art placed on streets in cities around the world.”

I’d love to hear your thoughts, and as always feel free to share any good links I have left out. If you are incorporating technology in a new way into your art, please do tell!

The time we spent was filled with sessions, preparing for our own presentation, keeping up with IMA work and seeing what the city had to offer.  We did a lot of everything despite the inevitable jetlag.  A 12 hour time difference is a doozie.

Nonetheless, we made the most of it.  Of all the sessions we attended I found the last one to be the most compelling.  It was a lecture by Khairul Azril Ismail called Pudu Jail’s Graffiti: Aesthetics Beyond the Walls of the Prison Cells.

The presentation had two main ideas: documenting the graffiti of the Pudu Jail in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and studying it to determine its cultural and historical meaning.  Built in 1895, the institution had a reputation for cruelty and is an example of architecture that is vanishing from the Malaysian town.  The site is currently slated for destruction.

K. Azril Ismail presented a brief overview of the jail’s history and then presented some of his haunting photographs.  The black and white photos (give this link some time to load) document graffiti, architecture, vacant spaces and the memory of the people that passed through them.

His photos have captured a wide variety of graffiti, (the literal sense, not in the urban, underground style you might think of) and the second half of his talk was devoted to analyzing, sorting and categorizing the text and images left behind on the walls.  Their work struggles to make sense of images created by motivations that all human beings share as well as others that few experience.  And K. Azril Ismail continues this project despite considerable personal risk, a fact that he has seemingly suppressed with his dedication to the project.

Immediately following this presentation was the session Daniel and I led, Cramming Aesthetics, Art Appreciation & Education into a Fun Museum Experience.  Our talk focused on the exhibition, Nature Holds My Camera: The Video Art of Sam Easterson.

We shared the ways in which we worked with educators, exhibition and graphic designers, the artist and others to juggle a variety of goals.  Primarily we wanted to offer visitors a unique, fun and memorable trip to the museum that would also teach us something about how visitors participate in their own art viewing experience.  Those in attendance at ISEA seemed interested in the project and some even stayed after to ask Daniel and I more questions and get more info about IMA.  Of course we also took this public opportunity to run through IMA stuff on Flickr, Facebook, YouTube, iTunes U and the IMA Blog.  How could we resist?!?

And of course, we saw Singapore: ate a bunch of food, met with staff at the National Museum of Singapore, checked out Chinatown and Little India…discovered a new point of view.  As much as we gained from attending sessions, it felt equally invigorating as a person and as a professional to be exposed to the unfamiliar and allow the experience to overwhelm our senses.  Both creatively and academically this trip was a great success.