Graffiti, Full of Grace

My longest lasting love affair has been with the city of New York. I've been a peripheral city girl my whole life. Some of my favorite childhood memories are of the heart-racingly exciting moments of emergence from the tunnels that funnel Jerseyans into the belly of the big apple beast. Besides for people watching, street art hunting was and is my favorite New York activity.

Mui Mui's SS '09 show presented some graffiti graced dresses, pleated and column-shaped with spray painted markings.

The dresses made me think of that uniquely New York combination of urban grime and glittery glamour that feeds my schizo aesthetic sense perfectly. One of my favorite street artists that shares that same poetic grit is Swoon. She's a Brooklyn-based artist that posts life-sized wheatpaste prints all over the city. Her pieces are usually giant lithographs carved from wood or linoleum blocks that are rolled with ink, overlayed with paper, and walked on to produce enormous prints. Once put up in public spaces the pieces are open to interaction, evolving and morphing into collaborative works, added to by any passerby bearing paint.

Take a walk through The Village, Chelsea, Soho, or the subway system and you'll see Swoon's work. She's incredibly prolific.

In these videos from an artist's talk she gave at the MoMA, Swoon presents her pieces, and lets you peek in on her process.



Want to learn more? Check out Streetsy.com and Woostercollective.com for a comprehensive guide to the wonderful world of New York street art.

Images: Mui Mui: Marcio Madeira for Style.com, Swoon shots: Streetsy.com