The Crooked » BOSTON

Banned in Boston: Obey Shepard Fairey!

Mr. Jones — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 03:09:55 +0000

Unfortunately for the City of Boston, the legendary street artist Shepard Fairey pleaded guilty to three vandalism charges which included a deal that bans him from carrying stickers, posters, wheat paste, brushes, and other tools of the graffiti trade for two years. Ironically, the morning of his arrest, Boston Mayor Mumbles Menino shakes hands with Shepard at the unveiling of his ‘Peace Goddess’ banner that hung on the side of City Hall for months. Banned in Boston is a phrase that became famous during the 1920s when the Boston officials had the authority to ban works which they deemed to have ‘objectionable’ content. Many publishers actually sought to have their books banned in Boston because they knew the label would increase their sales in the rest of the country. I like to believe that Shepard pulled the wool over the Boston PD’s eyes and carefully crafted his arrest as a marketing strategy.

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Upper Playground X Alex Pardee X N8 Van Dyke X Sam Flores

Mr. Jones — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 05:09:43 +0000

On a warm summer day, Boston was graced with an appearance from Upper Playground artists Alex Pardee, Sam Flores & N8Van Dyke. I will lead you from start to finish on this wall, starting with the pre-existing ’Underground’ Snowboards bomb.

– A FRESH BUFF TO GET THINGS STARTED –

Filthy Mouths Lead to…

Mr. Jones — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:28:05 +0000

Filthy mouths lead to filthy lives, filled with filthy kids and filthy lives. I currently find myself at war with the cigarette industry. I spent a portion of high school and college as a smoker, but eventually grew old of the whole scene. Having to smell terrible and suffer through a New England winter for a little nicotine loses its charm really fast.

Cigarettes have been marketed as the cool thing to do, especially to the youth. They are readily accessible to underage smokers everywhere.

Elvis has Left the Building

Mr. Jones — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 06:29:30 +0000

The work of Shepard Fairey has always interested me. I liketo think of myself as a true fan. One that was down before the hope hype elevated him to ‘rock star’ status.

For those of you who do not know, Mr. Fairey was arrested by the Boston Police on the way into his first museum show at the Institute of Contemporary Art. This seems to be a political stunt performed by the BPD to assert their power over the local street art community.

This image opens a discuss about street art that interests me. There is a significant number of layers and details in this piece and the craftsmanship leads me to conclude that this was one of the multiple legal locations donated to him for his debut at the ICA. Should we really consider this street art? By literal definition this is art and it is on a street, but to me it comes close to that fine line. My opinion is bias though, because I grew up with graffiti in my blood. I wish I could of caught this before someone decided to stencil ‘society’ over this. I have been photographing Mr. Fairey’s work for years now, and he seems to always get scribbled on.

** I was driving by this again the other day and I can confirm that Mr. Fairey seems to have a lot of haters in the street art world. I wonder if they really enjoy his work, but think that this will make them famous?

The Screamin’ Demon

Mr. Jones — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 05:18:57 +0000

This stencil caught my eye on the way to photograph the Head of the Charles river race. After a beautiful afternoon of shooting I was on my way back and stumbled onto this amazing scene. The demon boy seems to me shocked at the events unfolding before his eyes. What really interest me is the women in the skirt. FYI the Head of the Charles is raced in October and on this particular day it was brutally cold.

HELLO CRUEL WORLD!!

Mr. Jones — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 00:57:34 +0000

This blog is my latest project I have give myself. I will be using this space to document street art from my travels around the world. I wanted to create a space to share the things that I have discovered along the way. I hope you like what you see and come back many times.

My first post starts us off in jolly old Boston. I was in Allston on my way to pick up our broken computer and stumbled onto this gem. There is something special about graffiti artists and the way that they label themselves. Is this artist really horny, as the name would suggest? Or did they just find it funny to write this sexual term all over the place? Are they trapped in a shell of sexual frustration and have chosen this as an outlet to ease their troubles? All I can say is that this person has been killing the area and every time I see that name, I laugh inside.