The Drip
 | Author: Jauretsi | Posted: September 29th, 2008 | Filed under: Art | | Comments Off |
Recently, the Sunday New York Times Magazine featured these images of LV and CHANEL created by an artist named ZEVS that were featured in a gallery exhibit called “Liquidated Logos”.
(LV by Zevs, installation Zurich Switzerland, 2007)
(CHANEL by Zevs, installation Zurich Switzerland, 2007)
If you took a poll with any graffiti aficionado who follows the streets of New York (a textured gallery unto itself), and showed them these images in Zurich, you’d quickly hear “oh, that’s KR”. It’s sort of a no-brainer, and an embedded artist trademark. KR has been hittin’ international streets with his signature drip for quite some time. So who is KR?
(KR’s signature for the last several years)
Aside from being an artist, KR is known for developing an industrial silver paint that eventually spawned a rainbow of shades (in bottle and marker format). KR started to make these paints in 1993 and shared them with his respected graffiti buddies on a strictly word-of-mouth basis. It wasn’t until 2001-02 that he decided to market and sell his KRINK paints (KRINK.com) due to the loyal demand and dissemination of his product. The paints have now been adopted beyond graffiti, and expanded into the hands of fine-artists.
The big sell with KRINK paints is that they’re made of the highest quality — tough, permanent, and built to last. They have gained tremendous notoriety as “the paint” to use for maverick artists whether in the street or studio. Altogether, the paints have been in existence over 15 years.
(New York Times feature on KR and his specialty paints and “Drip” style)
Back when KR had developed his own style of “the drip”, Zevs had became famous for hitting the streets with his own signature style — “the shadow”. Zevs is known to have pioneered French street art by blurring the lines between vandalism and art. Each natural structure including streetlights or park benches were traced to appear as a forensic outline. In all fairness, Zevs has developed much more works including a lovely collection called “Visual Kidnapping” poking at the saturation of Media culture having us all hostage.
(Zevs shadows, 2006)
It is a little strange to see Zevs, who is an extremely talented artist in his own right, take on the “drip” in such high-doses recently. You may argue, “Yeah but nobody owns the patent on a drip!”. True, but you don’t see a tons of painters dropping paint onto floor canvases a’la Jackson Pollock because, well, that was his style. For someone to come in and start mimicking Pollock’s technique today would just be… um, absurd… and unoriginal. It’s just a respect thing. It’s probably as odd as KR coming out and creating a new series of shadowed outlines on the streets of New York.
(Zevs working in 2007)
(KR Mailbox, NYC, 2004)
(KR Door on Essex Street, NYC, 2004)
I was curious if KR had seen the “Liquidated Logos” exhibit, and if so, what were his thoughts?
“I am familiar Zevs’s work”, KR explained to me. “He’s made some very interesting and unique work in the past. We were featured together in a documentary film called Inside Outside in 2005 and also in a group show in Paris at Agnes B’s Gallerie Du Jour 2006. His LV/CHANEL pieces were created afterwards”.
KR continues: “On one hand, it’s nice to see that someone is inspired, on the other, it’s unnerving to see the KRINK aesthetic so blatantly used in his work. It’s dear to me and a style that I’ve developed over a long period of time. It’s not the first and I’m sure it won’t be the last. I do like his work, and hopefully people will just see and respect my work for what it is.”
(Zevs in yellow jumpsuit at the Agnes B Group show in 2006. A KR mailbox sits behind him)
Parisian-based designer Agnes B. (who owns one of the biggest graffiti collections in the world) commissioned KR to design her look-book and storefront back in 2006.
(Agnes B’s 2006 Commissioned Storefront by KR)
(Agnes B’s 2007/2008 Storefront and Look-book by KR)
(KRINK’s Laptop Case made for Incase & Arkitip magazine, 13″ or 15″)
(Sergio Rossi pumps, sans KR or Zevs)
This is not an isolated incident. Sergio Rossi has got into the “drip” action with their pumps last season. Paul Smith also released a button-down mens shirt exhibiting full drips all around. Neither KR nor Zevs were commissioned to create the Sergio Rossi nor Paul Smith pieces. Perhaps the “drip” has just become part of the collective unconscious today? New iPods anyone?
Inside Outside is the doc which features both men, Directed by Andreas Johnsen & Nis Boye Mller Rasmussen. In addition to KR (NYC) and Zevs (Paris), the documentary follows Swoon (NYC), Earsnot (NYC), OsGemeos (San Paolo), Pigmeus (San Paolo), Ron English (Jersey city), and Adams&Itso (Stockholm). Trailer at Rosforth.com, See Inside Outside. The film is a beautiful glimpse into this competitive underground art scene — and how each individual feels compelled to carve out their own identity on the streets.
My thoughts are, if you need to commission an artist to execute the “Drip” aesthetic, that you call the original artist. Of course anyone can do it for hire, but if you needed chalk babies back in the 80′s, wouldn’t you have call Keith Haring first?
J
