NIC ONE Interview with The New York Times in 2004. NIC1 was a Co/Curator at 5Pointz in Long Island City Queens New York.

Historical Information: I did this interview for the New York Times News Paper back in 2004. When I was the Co/ Curator/Organizer/Photographer and Co-Manager of 5Points. The first outdoor Graffiti Museum organized and run by Graffiti Writers for Graffiti Writers. From 2002 to 2006 I served on the 5Pointz Board of Directors which consisted of Johnathan Cohen (MEARS), Jayra and His Wife. I did many of the day to day business workings, like handing out wall spaces to graffiti artists from all over the world. I held free 5Point Tours for people that were from overseas and out of towner’s. Applying up keep and wall maintenance around the building.

I Co-Ran photo shoots for fashion magazines and as well as teach Graffiti Art and it’s History to some of the young teenagers that were into Graffiti. I’m responsible for many things but mainly lead Organizer of the Historic Old Timers Day Graffiti Events that we held every summer in a very wide open parking lot that was located in the back of the building. Those events would become the high points of 5Pointz early days and would help the Graffiti Culture to continue to stay connected here in New York City. I took great joy and pride in organizing those events. My efforts may not be talked about or considered by certain individuals as non accountable but nevertheless they are true and real and because of my efforts and love for the Graffiti Movement 5Points would go on to become a very well loved and adored place for Graffiti artists and the people that love the Graffiti Culture. Peace.

(To Read The New York Times Article click on the link below)


https://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/08/arts/art-architecture-museum-with-only-walls.html















ART/ARCHITECTURE; Museum With (Only) Walls

By Sarah Bayliss

THERE's a world-class museum on Jackson Avenue in Long Island City that's free, that's open 24/7 and that shows the top artists in their field. It has hundreds of artworks, most of them huge: murals with allegorical tales of good and evil, modern takes on Rembrandt, variations on and homages to grunge comix and the golden age of Mad magazine. The art is constantly changing, the staff is paid nothing and anyone can show there. Almost every artist uses a nom de plume. The best view is from the elevated No. 7 train.

It's not the P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center but the blocklong establishment across the street -- 5 Pointz: The Institute of Higher Burnin'. 5 Pointz (the name signifies the five boroughs) is New York's hub for the high aerosol -- or spray-can -- art. The outside walls, the rooftops and especially the loading dock, not to mention the indoor halls and air shafts or the trucks parked outside, are its Technicolor showcase.

Formerly known as the Phun Phactory, 5 Pointz is the vision of Jonathan Cohen -- tag name Meres -- whose dream is to have the building ''100 percent covered.'' Artists have come from Canada, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Japan, Brazil and all over the United States to ''piece'' -- make a masterpiece -- at 5 Pointz. Murals are up for between a week and a year before they are painted over, and no artist is turned away.

Don't confuse the art on display here with graffiti, Meres cautions: ''Graffiti is a label for writers who vandalize. Aerosol art takes hours and days. It's a form of calligraphy.'' (Breathing in aerosol fumes over the years has damaged his health, he says. Like many aerosol artists, he wears a mask to work.)

Random tagging -- casually spraying your name across a surface -- is against the rules at 5 Pointz. A derivative of gang writing, tagging is a way to mark territory. ''There's nothing artistic about a tag,'' says the artist Nic 1, who helps Meres manage the site. ''A tag is just expressing anger or whatever. You can tag blindfolded on the phone. Pieces are considered art.''

A tag evolves into a piece when the letters become calligraphic, ''taking on a style concept and a sense of structure and abstractness,'' Nic 1 says. But pieces can also be just pictures. When several pieces by one or more artists make up a larger picture, it becomes a ''production.''

  • Dig deeper into the moment. 
Special offer: Subscribe for $1 a week.

5 Pointz has the blessing of the building's landlord, the developer Jerry Walkoff, who has owned it since 1971. ''I have a certain passion for people in the art business,'' says Mr. Walkoff, who rents studio space in the building to about 90 artists and leases the rest mostly to garment-industry enterprises. As for the aerosol artworks on his property, he says, ''I have no problem as long as they do it tastefully and don't endanger themselves.'' (More 5 Pointz art, past and present, can be seen at www.5ptz.com and at www.x-nyc.com/pointz.html)

SARAH BAYLISS

DRAGONS AND SOLDIERS

''Meres and I started on this wall one day at 2 or 3 in the afternoon, and we didn't get home until 9 the next morning,'' Nic 1 says. ''The basic principle of this was good versus evil, but it's not what you think. The dragons are the good guys, and these Roman soldiers are the bad guys. So the whole concept is that it's a switcheroo, in effect, but on a mural-type level.''

What was the inspiration? ''I believe Meres has seen 'Lord of the Rings' one too many times,'' says Nic 1. ''But basically, we're telling our own story.''


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts