Fad*ish- fashion and design

I am pretty sure no one is making that argument anymore. It is like saying hip-hop isn’t music, which is only believed by the extreme-right, people in retirement homes, and maybe the occasional racist. But as hip-hop progressed over the years and has become a lucrative business, has graffiti also followed suit?

The evolution of graffiti has spread from the sides of subway cars to airbrushing on clothing. I am too grown to get painted sneakers or airbrushed hoodies-- but I do want to have something that says I am from the hip-hop era. These days that isn’t hard with hip-hop selling everything from your Chrysler 300 to your whopper.

Graffiti artist Miss Van puts her spin on an art form that has been the orphan of our urban community. Her sassy take on it might have something to do with her decades of practice --she has been tagging since the tender age of 18-- and that can do a lot for someone’s psyche let alone art. She graduated to her own show in 1999 at the age of 26, which might seems like a long time for schooling, but maybe it’s just a testament to how long it takes a society to recognize street culture as art.

Ok, for all of you graffiti purist, she did upgrade past spray painting in corners. She has toured with her work all over the world from New York, also known as the center of the universe, to Rotterdam, which I am sure has its own solar system. Also, she was commissioned to paint the walls of Fornarina in Los Angeles, which is something I know every graffiti artist aspires to.

So here is my criticism-- because you knew it was coming. She is relatively limited as an artist, painting similar characters in various forms which is usually a sign that either: a. she lacks formal training or b. she has a fetish for sexy ladies and Disney animals. But what she lacks in anatomy and attention to the human facial structure, she makes up for in brilliant color usage, and her ability to evoke emotion.

The easiest way to find her work is at Gallery Magda Danysz, in Paris France. Other methods include staking out, dressing in black and taking pictures of European walls at 3 o’clock in the morning. Taking the easier route, I am sure if you call, you can get past the French long enough to find out how you can get one of Miss Van’s masterpieces to hang over your fireplace.

*it’s Jil Baby!

Contact info:

Gallery Magda Danysz

78, rue Amelot - Paris 11
France

tél./ fax : + 33 (0)1 45 83 38 51
mail : magda@magda-gallery.com

*Originally Published in Jil Mag: Summer issue; 6/19/07

Labels: Art