All posts tagged: Torek

A. It has a good name, and
B. It’s the way Wynwood feels every year during Art Basel and this self published book by photographer Andrew Kaufman captures the excitement unpretentiously.

Andrew Kaufman “I’m In Miami Bitch” ( photo © Jaime Rojo)

In the fall of 2012 Kaufman began walking the streets with camera in hand in what used to be called “El Barrio”, shooting the murals of the international Street Art magnet called the Wynwood District. The previously low-income and light manufacturing neighborhood had been transforming itself as a destination in the shadow of the decade old art fair across the water in Miami Beach. He discovered artists from in town and around the world painting walls side by side and a palpable thrill in the air in this 20 square block public space like none he had previously experienced.

Andrew Kaufman “I’m In Miami Bitch” ( photo © Jaime Rojo)

“Every year in late November artists from around the world descend on the streets of Wynwood to remake the façade of almost every building, overhead door and nook or cranny where paint could be applied,” he says in this image packed softcover. He doesn’t try to romance it, he just lays it open for you to take a look and to possibly feel what it was like for him for a few weeks talking to artists, interviewing locals and pilgrims and internationally known names as they painted, listened to music, traded stories, passed a joint, ate barbecue, and got distracted by the bikinis, parties, hammocks and lawn chairs.

Andrew Kaufman “I’m In Miami Bitch” ( photo © Jaime Rojo)

In a down-to-earth way Andrew steers clear of grandiosity or otherwise put a self-serving spin on the scene. He learns just by asking questions and taking photos, with highlights including conversations with Kenny Scharf, DAZE, and BooksIIII Bischof, who lays bare the conflicting feelings of local graff writers who had already been organizing and slamming walls organically for a handful of years before the real estate developer Tony Goldman brought his economic heft to flood the scene with international Street Artists.

Andrew Kaufman “I’m In Miami Bitch” ( photo © Jaime Rojo)

The rapid change that neighborhood has undergone the other 11 months of the year has created rifts between the locals and the well-heeled newbies, and its good that Kaufman gives airtime to those perspectives as well, diplomatically describing the power struggles as “growing pains”. While some characterizations may be a bit naïve at times with statements like “there are no curators, no rules,” he still captures the near spiritual  peregrination of idealist artists from around the US who hop trains and buses or hitch-hike to a warm sunny climate at the end of November with little more than a desire to find a wall to paint and a couch to crash on.

I’m in Miami Bitch is a personal account of the zoo and the spectacle and an historical capture of a moment on an evolutionary timeline that will become more valuable as the inevitable cultural seachange in this Miami neighborhood takes place and the presumptive commodification and gentrification runs its full course. For the moment you can still catch the crazy collaborative creative magic yourself just by showing up. But if you can’t, Kaufman is happy to share his sense of magic with you.

Andrew Kaufman “I’m In Miami Bitch” ( photo © Jaime Rojo)

Andrew Kaufman “I’m In Miami Bitch” ( photo © Jaime Rojo)

Andrew Kaufman “I’m In Miami Bitch” ( photo © Jaime Rojo)

Included in the book are works by Cite, Crayola, Dabs and Myla, Ewok, Pia, Fumerosim, Pose-MSK, Aimer, Patch Whiskey, La Paneilla, Kenny Scharf, Blink, Torek, Daze, Pez, Gorey, and about 50 more artists. For more information about I’m in Miami Bitch, cliek HERE.