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Hunting Down Shanghai’s Graffiti Scene

In the West, we have a tendency to view China as a society so oppressive that no one would dare spray paint on a wall for fear of being shot dead in the streets by Communist authorities. But apparently, this isn’t quite true—judging from a series of photos recently taken by Juxtapoz on the streets of Shanghai, the country’s graffiti scene is alive and well.

The flicks were taken in the area surrounding Moganshan Road, which makes up the city’s art district. From quirky characters to politically conscious messages, it seems like they’re experimenting with a variety of different styles. Check out a few more flicks below.

Popularity: 26% [?]

WiiSpray Can Shakes Up Gamer Graffiti

From the quirky Dreamcast favorite Jet Grind Radio to Marc Ecko’s Getting Up, the ability to write graffiti seems to keep popping up in video games. Things could be getting a lot more precise with the invention of WiiSpray, a virtual aerosol paint can prototype that was developed by German student Martin Lihs for his final thesis at Bauhaus University.

According to an article in the May 08 issue of De:Bug Magazine, the can plugs into your Wii controller and simulates real life spraying with different caps and colors. With an internet connection, it may even give you the ability to collaborate on a piece with someone across the globe. No word yet on the commercial production, but these types of custom controller add-ons seem like they might be the future. Check out a few more pictures below.

Popularity: 80% [?]

Blu’s MUTO Puts Animation On The Wall

Italian artist Blu is already world-renowned for his massive wall murals, but now he’s finally brought them to life. For his new project MUTO, Blu made an increadibly ellaborate stop-motion animation video using only wall paintings in Buenos Aires and Baden. The result is a seven minute artistic epic where a surreal cast of characters move all around a series of walls, even interacting with objects on the ground. No description really does it justice, so watch it for your self below.

Popularity: 85% [?]

Graffiti Coloring Book Fills In Scandinavia

It already seems like the average graf writer gets started when they’re 11 years old, but the new Graffiti Coloring Book, edited by Swedish writer Uzi, could get ’em started even younger.

The collection features 63 black and white sketches from many of Scandanavia’s prominent writers, including Nug, Disey, Egs, Bates, Ador and Que. The idea here is to give folks a chance to practice their fill-in skills while getting educated on some of the big names from the region. The book will be out next week on May 20th, so if you can’t find it stateside, try The Last Gasp. See some sketches from the book after the jump.

Popularity: 85% [?]

Adidas Launches Anti-Graffiti ZeroTAG Campaign

As a creative way to promote adidas‘ new sneaker with graffiti writer Cope 2 in Australia, marketing firm Lifelounge has created a covert marketing campaign known as “Zero Tolerance Against Graffiti,” or “ZeroTAG” for short. The tongue-in-cheek anti-graffiti task force goes around putting tape and notices over adidas ads around Sydney and Melbourne, claiming that the graffiti-inspired sneaker appears on their “banned items” list (see shots of the covered ads here).

The fictional movement also features a fairly straight-faced website, where they outline their mission to prevent “all forms of graffiti” and to protect “the innocence of our communities.” After the break, watch a short documentary to see ZeroTAG in action.

Popularity: 85% [?]

Cameras Can’t Catch Banksy’s Big Brother Diss

World renowned street artist Banksy is back with another banger. Over the weekend, three stories of scaffolding and a huge sheet of polythene were removed from a Central London wall to reveal his latest message: “One Nation Under CCTV.” The slogan, which is a reference to the police’s extensive public video camera surveillance, was painted on Saturday night in full view of an actual CCTV camera, which apparently did not catch Banksy in the act. Also seen on the wall is a small child on a ladder who appears to be painting the message, along with a security guard and dog looking up from the ground. See the full mural after the jump.

Popularity: 85% [?]

Will George Michael Expose Banksy?

According to a new report, George Michael is trying reap the benefits of his celebrity by asking the infamous Banksy to paint a wall in his home. With a 2 million pound offer on the table, Michael has asked the mysterious masked street artist to reveal his identity (cue laughter). Banksy reportedly countered by requesting that GM be out of town the entire time he’s painting. Let’s not forget that the last time Banksy tangled with a pop star, Paris Hilton ended up with a dog head. If you don’t remember what we’re talking about, watch the video after the jump.

Popularity: 85% [?]

Todd James ‘And Sons’

Last week we showed ya the sold out “War Party” print that Todd James aka REAS created, and so this time around we figured we’d highlight another item from the vandal turned hustla-artist that you have little chance of getting your hands on. He designed this tee for an obscure streetwear brand called “And Sons” that we never heard of, but will guess is based somewhere in Europe.

[12ozprophet]

Popularity: 89% [?]

‘Brick Lades of NYC’: LADY PINK and Aiko

LADY PINK: “Graffiti Lounge,” 12×8 ft., acrylic on canvas, $10,000.00

Female graffiti pioneer LADY PINK, whose letters have adorned subway cars since it all began, is exhibiting some new work alongside street painting maven Aiko—one third of the highly acclaimed art collective Faile and renowned artist in her own right. Both these women—hailing from two different generations and movements altogether—have held their own, surpassing many artists in a space that is predominantly populated and regulated by dudes. Their ‘Brick Ladies of NYC’ exhibit features their signature fine art without-forgetting-its-roots type style and is being held at the Adhoc Art gallery in Brooklyn this Friday, March 21, from 7pm-10pm. “Brick Ladies of NYC,” March 21st - April 20th, 2008. If you can’t wait, check out this preview of their work here.

Popularity: 87% [?]

Denver’s High Tech Anti-Graffiti Cameras Fail To Catch Any Graffiti

With word of leads fizzling in the case of the recent Times Square bombing despite being in one of the most surveiled locations on the planet—even capturing multiple images of the guy in action—it should come as no surprise that Denver’s highly praised anti-graffiti cameras have yet to catch one vandal. Not one. They’ve been in place for over four months now and despite a whole lot of jubilee among law enforcement and assurances from the company selling the cameras they’ve yet to show any promise. Paul Feldman, the president of the North Carolina-based company that specializes in the spy equipment and counts NATO as one of it’s customers, had this to say right before the cameras were being installed last year, “If you’re a tagger in the city of Denver, you’re going to get caught.”

Popularity: 89% [?]