issue 5 like what

Issue 5 of InDigest is up and online. So listen up best of the net. Maybe the first four weren't good enough for your hotsy totsy awards, but, oh, is Issue 5 something special. In the new issue we've got a gallery of sculpture from Alonso Sierralta, new poetry from Meggie Elder, and new fiction from New Yorkian Meakin Armstrong. We've added a new column called Is That Cowardly? where Jess Grover takes a look at new poetry. Also there are new columns from Bedside Stacks and Dorkolopogous.

Our big news, aside from the new issue, is we went clothes shopping and now we've got a whole new look. And damn we look good. Look at us.

Vandalism as art

So I'm in the process of getting a new post up of the neighborhood, but the day after I started we had a 17 hour blizzard that I didn't have the urge to go out in. Anyhow this is one of the new pieces I found and I thought it was interesting. It's a rather small stencil, but I think the label "Vandalism as Art" is an interesting statement.

I use the label "Street Art" often (it's in the name of the blog too), but this is something of a misnomer. The label street art is attractive because a lot of what is considered vandalism is art. There are some very talented artists roaming the alleys of the city, yet there are probably even more people doing this who are not artists, and there tags are for the sole purpose of vandalism. Street art is a difficult label, it implies that all of the tags, stickers, and markers on bus stops and news stands are art. Furthermore it's more expansive than it appears on the surface. I think by this label much more than just graffiti, stencils and pastes can be considered street art. The common argue for the rights of street art is that it beautifies the city in a way that is somewhat intangible, it allows artists to use the city and speak to it, and it's much more attractive than the billboards and advertisements that we allow to take up the same space in our city. But if street art is the appropriate label then it would be anything that beautifies the city and exemplifies a sort of artistic craftsmanship. By this definition I think my neighbors garden is street art, it's an odd overgrown garden that extends out onto the boulevard, but it has a great aesthetic, one that you would hard pressed to find in any other garden.

Another common label is vandalism. This is problematic for many reasons, though some street artists do like this label. But it negates the aesthetic powers of graffiti. Clearly. There are other issues with this, but I think the are self-evident, this is the label that people who do not like street art use.

But the phrase "Vandalism as art," though somewhat bulky for practical application is a great phrase. It acknowledges the vandalism aspects of the art form. Which are completely true and relevant. In Minneapolis any building that gets tagged is noted by the city and the owner of the building has three days to sign a waiver that states that it can and will be removed or the city removes it and fines the building owner. This is vandalism, no doubt. But the phrase "Vandalism as Art" acknowledges that, and further acknowledges that it is art (obviously). the interesting aspect of this phrase is the juxtaposition of these two sentiments. It shows the colliding of POVs, and seems to define it while simultaneously stating that the problem with the labels people have for this art are not in the art itself but in the government (or other minor governing body's) inability to classify it. That those who appreciate it's presence don't have the issue of labeling it, it is what it is, but that there is a stigma surrounding the art-form that makes it near impossible for there to be a classification that suits everyone, and points to a greater inability to have an open discussion at a governmental level between citizens, artists, and the government (I guess more pointed the law). It is more eloquent than my description here. But an interesting piece. Anyhow, a full post is pending.

New York, New York

A pretty impressive work that has clearly been up for a while. I'm standing in the middle of the street to give you an idea how far back I am from this piece. It was really quite large, probably about nine or ten feet tall, six or seven across.

Primaries - right now.

For all US readers I have to put in a short plug for the primaries/caucuses tonight. Get out and vote tonight. I hope lots of you are voting for Obama (like I am) but it doesn't matter go vote, it's a close race in a primary for the first time in a long while. I know "change" is the key buzz word this year, but really, it's time for a new America that cares about the middle class and the rest f the world. No more policing the world. No more trickle down economics, so that the majority of people are left with the blunt end of recession. That's all, no trying to persuade anyone, just go vote.

Vote Obama. Or just vote. But vote Obama

What is this?

So I've been a little slow posting another dispatch from uptown, but I'm almost there. I'm going to be in NYC for a week so it'll be a couple weeks before the next is posted, but there will be some periodic updates from New York. Until then I found this stencil near Callhoun Square in uptown, a little outside of my normal area, but I was drawn to it for some reason. I kind of like the stencil. It's pretty crisp, nice lettering, but I have no clue what it says. Anyone ever seen this tag before or have any idea what this says. I've come up with a couple of ideas, but I don't think they are right...
anyhow, until next time.

January in Uptown

I've ventured out into the frigid Minneapolis air to see what's happening in the neighborhood during the cold months. It took a while, there is a noticeable lack of activity when it's been in the teens with piles of snow everywhere. Anyhow, here is a pile of new street art in the neighborhood.





Here's two angles of mural just off of 26th. You can see the bald old man blowing dandelions in the corner. I posted a picture of that this fall when there was nothing else on the wall, the rainbow skyline and the silhouettes of geese are new to this wall in an alley, not sure who is adding on to this or who sanctioned it, but it's clearly some sanctioned street art. It's well done, a little drab, but I still love the old man in the corner.

I'd been thinking a lot about adding more sanctioned street art to the sight and decided that it's entirely appropriate. It's still street art, and sanctioned street art is just as valuable as non-sanctioned, if not more. It's an important step towards getting rid of the crappy tags and allowing the more artistic sprays and stencils to be a part of the city. So here's one that's been up forever on the backside of Taco Morelos on 26th and Nicollet near Azia.





This isn't that spectacular but I kind of dig it. I think it was just done in marker on the side of a laundromat that burned down on 26th. No tag. No need.





These two stencils are tagged by what I believe is "We In." I have no idea who this is and have never seen his tag in Minneapolis before, but I think these are really great. The color isn't fairly represented on the statue of liberty stencil, it's very subtle but the use of the green sprays behind the statue is great.







I found all three of these under an over hang behind a deli on Nicollet between 25th and 26th. None of them have any tags, but the two stencils are quality and the spray art has a nice cartoony quality to it.





I added these two at the end here as another point of the varying fashions in which street art can appear. Most people would not try to argue that these are "art" in any familiar incarnation, but these are a fashion in which people choose to express themselves that branches out from the capitalistic avenues which are generally open to people. These may not say much, and they may be "graffiti" to some, but it's another way in which people are fighting the notion that there are only conventional limited ways to get your views out. Something like writing "no war" on your garbage can (or someone else's) doesn't really say much literally, and it may not really do much, but if it's meaningful to the "artist" than its a valid form of expression and I chose not to ignore it here.

InDigest

Months of non-stop work have finally paid off and InDigest is a real magazine now. if you haven't been to the site yet you should check it out, Issue one came out on Monday. It's kind of amazing to hear all of the great feedback we've been getting and see that people are actually reading our magazine (or ezine, I guess). It's an interesting experience. I'm pretty proud of the magazine so far, and think that our editing team is pretty amazing, everyone worked really hard over the last couple of months to get it out. (there are a couple of photos that originally appeared here that are in the narratives section of Issue One)

Special thanks needs to be appointed to a couple people who've been really helpful along the way, Alex Lemon (alexlemon.com) is great and you should read his new book of poetry, Mosquito, Ashleigh Lambert, Dan Wieken, and many others have helped out a ton, have things in the first issue and are generally good people. So if you get a chance check out the site, let us know what you think, good, bad or otherwise and check back, the next issue is out in a little over a week. And if you live in the Twin Cities you should come to our release party in the Clown Lounge of the turf Club on Sunday (Dec. 9th).
thanks,
Dustin