Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Dallas artists “bomb” UNT Art Gallery show

By Carolyn Brown of North Texas Daily

Matt Fagan/NT Daily

Elyse Smith, a Drawing and Painting junior, observes Soner Dimension, a piece by Soner that has been put into the exhibit in the art building.

Draw a picture on a wall and you may get more than a fine; you could get your own show at an art gallery.

The UNT Art Gallery's new exhibit "Graff, Tag and Bomb: The Influence of Graffiti" had its opening reception with disc jockey JuanSolo yesterday.

The exhibit, which will run through March 28, features work from four Dallas artists: Tony Bones, Sergio Garcia, Mark S. Nelson and Soner. A separate outdoor display will feature Oak Cliff graffiti crew Sour Grapes.

Victoria DeCuir, assistant director of the NT Art Gallery and the exhibit's curator, said the title of the display comes from the jargon of the graffiti art world.

"'Graff' is short for graffiti; 'tag' can be a signature or the verb 'to tag' something; 'bomb' sometimes refers to a specific location, like you would 'bomb' a train," DeCuir said.

Nelson said his practice of graffiti art began in conjunction with his teenage hobby of skateboarding.

Matt Fagan/NT Daily

During the reception of Graff Tag Bomb, Thomas Hale, a Music Education freshman, looks at Soner's piece labeled England's Robert Smith.

"I started skateboarding when I was 16, and there's a lot of colorful, illustrative work in that culture," he said. "I think the bright colors and energy kind of go along with it."

The exhibit combines an indoor display featuring the four artists with a 10-foot-tall outdoor graffiti mural to be designed by Sour Grapes. The group will begin the process at noon Saturday and will be videotaped throughout the eight-to-10-hour process for later viewing in the gallery.

According to its official Web site, Sour Grapes began eight years ago as a group of five friends who met in high school and realized they shared a love of graffiti. The group has since grown and now includes fine artists, tattoo artists, printmakers, graphic artists and photographers.

Two films about graffiti art will be shown to tie in with the exhibit's theme. "Bomb it," a documentary featuring interviews with international graffiti artists who discuss the history and impact of graffiti as an art form, will be shown at 6 p.m. March 10 in Art Building 224. "Bomb the System," which depicts the inner conflicts of a graffiti artist, will be shown at 6 p.m. March 24 in the same room.

"It was a really interesting and well-put-together show," said Lauren Hirsch, an art history senior at the reception. "I guess some of it a lot of people relate to. It's not just done necessarily by professionals."

The UNT Art Gallery is open from noon to 8 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays and from noon to 5 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays. For more information, call the gallery at 940-565-4005.

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