‘Not for Sale’
Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center exhibit explores state’s graffiti culture.
Despite his obvious skill, eye for detail and command of color, one of the last places Robert Levering ever expected to see one of his paintings is on the wall of an art gallery.
“It’s awesome. I’m smiling ear to ear. I walk in and I see everybody’s piece and just everybody representing themselves, but we all come together and represent Oklahoma,” he said, standing under the massive and realistic rendering of a snarling gorilla.
“It’s an amazing thing that the Oklahoma Contemporary has done for us where we could come in and actually paint on their walls. It’s just amazing. I love it.”
Also known as ENTAKE, Levering is one of 10 Oklahoma graffiti artists whose largescale, brightly colored works are featured in the exhibit “Not for Sale: Graffiti Culture in Oklahoma,” on view through Nov. 30 at Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center. As the title indicates, the works won’t be sold, in large part because the graffiti artists, or writers, painted them right on the gallery walls.
“Like graffiti that you might see on the streets, it’s not permanent, it’s meant to change, it’s meant to be painted over and renew itself,” said Jennifer Scanlan, Oklahoma Contemporary’s curatorial and exhibitions director. “One of the things we like to do at Oklahoma Contemporary is really try to show a broad definition of what people consider art, to really celebrate creativity in all of its forms. And this was clearly an aspect of creativity that perhaps
hasn’t gotten attention as an art form here in Oklahoma.”
SHOWCASING HIP-HOP
She said the exhibit is the brainchild of Angel Little, who has been teaching hip-hop and graffiti classes to children at Oklahoma Contemporary for many years. He co-curated the exhibit with one of the artists, Chris Sker, whom Little called “one of the biggest influences in Oklahoma hip-hop history.”
“SKER is probably one of the first artists to really get nationally known out of Oklahoma, goes all the way back to 1987,” Little said. “This is a show that is designed and created to represent the artwork of the street, of the people who struggle. … This is a part of hip-hop, and so this is something to represent that voice and that energy.”
“Not for Sale” is on view throughout November, which is hip hop history month in Oklahoma City. Oklahoma Contemporary is planning a hip hop jam Saturday with musical performances, B-Boy and B-Girl battles, live graffiti showcases, workshops and more. from noon to 7 p.m., the event will be family-focused, and after 7 p.m., the mood — and the drink selection — will become more adult.
Many people may not realize that graffiti art is a core element of hip-hop culture alongside more musical aspects such as DJing, emceeing and breaking, Oklahoma City performer DJ Nymasis said.
“I think it’s due time for it to get its credit. This is the most slept-on of everything: Everybody knows rap and rappers, and everybody knows DJs,” he said before playing the exhibit’s Oct. 5 opening event, which drew nearly 400 people.
“I see huge things for this. … this couldn’t have happened anywhere else; it wouldn’t have been the same if it did. They gave these guys free, creative control, which took a lot of trust, because these guys are rough around the edges — like we are all. I see it (the exhibit’s concept) traveling. I see it furthering aerosol art as a whole.”
BREAKING DOWN WALLS
The goal of the exhibition is not just literally painting walls but also metaphorically tearing them down. Since graffiti often is illegally placed on overpasses, trains and exterior walls, Little said people sometimes put up mental barriers that prevent them from truly seeing and appreciating it.
“Inside of this gallery is the big thing because of what this gallery represents for the state. I’ve seen it in galleries that were private, but this is a public sector. This is a place where the public goes, where they normally expect art that fits inside of a public sight. When you take art that’s often considered to be radical, rebel and not meant for general public consumption and put it right here in a place like this, it’s a completely different image for it. And that’s what this represents. We’re bringing the public in on it and showing them, ‘Hey, look, this is art,’ ” Little said.
The exhibit features the work of five graffiti writers from the Tulsa area and five from the Oklahoma City metro area, including Kristopher Kanaly (aka RHAK), founder of the Oklahoma Mural Syndicate, known for the Plaza Walls in the Plaza District.
“Lots of people in Oklahoma City are familiar with the Plaza Walls. It’s become a huge tourist attraction and a great place for selfies,” Scanlan said. “I think people are becoming more and more familiar with graffiti as an art form through his efforts.”
HISTORIC PRECEDENT
Although the artwork in “Not for Sale” is rooted in the graffiti movement that emerged in Philadelphia in the early 1970s, Scanlan said the concept of humans leaving a public mark is deeply ingrained.
“This idea of putting your name up on a wall ... it’s been around for thousands and thousands of years,” she said. “Some people trace it back to the Neolithic cave paintings that people would make when they made their marks on the wall. Certainly, we know in Greek and Roman times you could see things scratched into walls; they were often people’s names, sometimes they were political statements, sometimes they were ... declarations of love.”
Graffiti has grown into a global artistic and cultural phenomenon, with a vast international industry of designer spray paints created just for aerosol art.
“It’s into every corner of the planet . ... It’s become a universal visual language,” said Adam Smith, a Tulsa-based graffiti artist known as CODAK.
“It’s interesting actually traveling to certain countries to see how they’re interpreting letter-based forms as related to their own writing structure and written language.”
EXPRESSIVE ART FORM
Although CODAK started in 1988 creat- ing more traditional letter-based graffiti, the Tulsa Artist Fellow said as he studied graphic design and modern art, he developed a purely abstract approach that is more about form, composition and color rather than the legibility of letters.
“That’s kind of the fun is that you guys get to pick it out,” he said. “I was kind of inspired by this whole idea of the photography element that goes into graffiti documentation, because if we don’t take pictures, we might not ever see it again. This is actually how we would trade styles among artists, across the country, internationally . ... I thought, ‘Well, I don’t want to be called Minolta or Canon or Fuji.’ I liked Kodak. I just switched the K to a C.”
Nowadays, graffiti artists often incorporate their Instagram handles into their work so that they can more easily share it.
“I have, like, this incessant need to evolve. I want to keep growing,” CODAK said. “I kind of have my hands in all different kinds of things, but there’s a common thread ... between all the work that I do that you can see, which is it’s based in the street work that I grew up making.”
Adapting and evolving are keys to ENTAKE’s graffiti style, too, since he favors creating productions, or collaborative pieces. With “Not for Sale,” he and fellow writer SEAPO worked together on a massive jungle scene, with SEAPO signing their names in bold blue letters, while ENTAKE spray-painted in the realistically detailed gorilla, flowers and toucan.
“It’s something that we work really hard at, and people can appreciate it. … They wouldn’t think about painting anything like that with spray paint, and when they actually see it done, it’s kind of mind-blowing,” ENTAKE said.
“We don’t sell our work; we pretty much donate it. We donate it for the people, for the public. It’s for people to see and to enjoy. We’re not looking to get paid off of it, we’re not looking to get rich off it, we’re just doing it ’cause we purely love it. And there’s not a better feeling in the world than that.”