Prototype Issue
When The Mainstream Comes a-Knockin’, Knock Back!
By Rayhané S. Sanders
(page 1 of 1)If you have empty walls in your apartment, house or flat that are just begging for some color, hit up one of local graffiti artist Joe Webb's exhibits. His pieces capture the essence of street art in LA.
How did Joe Joe Webb, also known as JoeX2, go from teen twilight excursions to ‘get up’ on Philly’s SEPTA (South Eastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority) trains to a jam-packed exhibition at Silverlake’s Ghettogloss Gallery (“Central Bookings”), only to concede to popular demand with a follow-up at Truxtop (“Gridlock”) less than a month later?
“I basically started out trying to tap into the mainstream that was tapping into my subculture,” says Joe Joe of his career. That career has blossomed in the last two years to encompass not only collector-attended exhibitions, but film and television work, marketing campaigns, retail design and commissioned album cover art. That’s right, he’s aerosolin’ his way to the bank.
The buzz on the streets has got Joe Joe’s work blowin’ up right now, but it is his industry savvy that really impresses. “Graffiti speaks volumes to different people. Kids like the colors and cartoon effects, teenagers want to be cool and hip, young adults remember it from their past. What better way to reach several target markets all at once?” Joe Joe goes on, “I think with the direction the media and advertising companies are headed, they are going to consistently need guys like me around.”
He’s probably right. Scion campaign, anyone? Pepsi ad?
What struck me most about the Truxtop show was its bankability. The works (all priced at $50) transcended art to become, well, fashion. A collection of 60 square-foot “signature canvasses,” marked by Joe Joe’s tag, a spray cap, some bones and a crown, the exhibition wall became a veritable runway for the JoeX2 logo. Unlike “Central Bookings,” this show was about the label – a Picasso with nothing but Pablo’s signature scrawled at the bottom.
But the very fact of the exhibition’s existence is what the works are, ultimately, about. The works require skill, of course; the characters, the shapes, the lettering, even the digital prints, look good, and for that, throughout history, the artist gets his dime. What’s more interesting, though, is that the subject of the show, the conversation topic at hand, what the works are essentially about, is commodification. Each logo, each tag, each symbol is product placement, and the product is the artist himself. In our age of consumerism, where project kids go hungry in their knock-off Vuitton hats, Joe Joe’s mass assembly could not be more apt.
For more on the artist, peep www.joex2.com.
Graffiti Art Walls2Canvas Posted by burningstar 370 days ago
Graffiti Art is becoming a very important tool to engage youth who tag to create a new identity for themselves. Congrats on your gallery success. Our focus with Walls2Canvas is to work with youth caught up in tagging. We would love for you to come down and see our young artists! Our show is this Satuday, OCT 6th at Cal State Northridge ART GALLERY! mosaic@csun.edu for more information or 818-677-6533! I'm sure the youth would love to meet an artist who is successful!
Discussion