A new hard cover book by Alan Ket aka KET One will be released next month that spotlights a select group of artists from both the graffiti and Street Art scenes, people whom KET calls “Urban Art Legends”.
KET: “Urban Art Legends” Lom Art. London 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
“This book is about the artists who have pioneered, promoted and transformed this ‘other’ art world,” says the author, himself a graffiti writer, artist, curator, activist, advisor and entrepreneur. What is fresh about his approach is the egalitarian respect that is given to artists regardless of their genre or associated scene, something we have always tried to balance as well amid a sometimes turbulent volley of antagonism that can sometimes distinguish graffiti/street art discourse.
KET: “Urban Art Legends” Lom Art. London 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Here “Urban Art Legends” focuses on a short list of widely agreed upon influencers of art in the streets throughout the last half century – since the early gang and tagging days of the late 60s in NY/Philly/LA through its various evolutions of the figurative, cartoon-inspired, Wild Style, symbolist, and abstract iterations to its intersections with fine art and DIY movements and pop, politics, illustration, duplication, and multiples. He’s right, this is the ‘other’ art world – and we daily see signs that it is seriously altering the more conventional contemporary art world, sometimes remaking it in its image.
KET: “Urban Art Legends” Lom Art. London 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
With names as varied as Crash, Cost, Blade, ROA, Lee, Banksy, Sane Smith, Faith47, Daze, Nick Walker, and Kase2 – “Urban Art Legends” reaches its arms wide to encompass style masters and stencil masters, each with a brief bio, overview and rationale for their “Legendary Status”. Consider it a primer that adds further rich detail to the canon. KET freely concedes “This is not the definitive book on urban street art. The world of street art is so dynamic and fast-paced that the story is still being lived out,” and elsewhere he says, “there are many more who deserve recognition.”
With that in mind, KET has beautifully captured many important artists and their stories in “Urban Art Legends”
KET: “Urban Art Legends” Lom Art. London 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
New Yorkers will have an opportunity to meet the author and two of those legends on February 9th at the Museum of the City of New York. DAZE and Nick Walker will join KET to discuss KET’s new book and visitors can also see the new show Chris “Daze” Ellis: The City is My Muse.
March 2nd it will be BSA and Daze in conversation at the museum so you can put that in your calendar as well.
KET: “Urban Art Legends” Lom Art. London 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
KET: “Urban Art Legends” Lom Art. London 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
KET: “Urban Art Legends” Lom Art. London 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
KET: “Urban Art Legends” Lom Art. London 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
“Urban Art Legends” by KET published by Lom Art. London 2015
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