Underground Up

  Many of us seen street art around our neighborhoods or cities on buildings, subways, trains, and even more. We enjoy seeing these master pieces of street art and taking pictures of them to post on social media. However, we don’t even know the artist who created the master pieces. So, with NJCU Visual Arts gallery we have the chance to know the artist and their work. Three graffiti artists displayed at the Underground Up at NJCU knows as DISTORT, Mustart, and Clarence Rich. These three artist our very popular among the community and NJCU as well.

One of the artist art work, I enjoyed the most was DISTORT. His art work was display at the Underground up Gallery, was very breath taking seeing the artist use different resource like old car hoods and empty oxygen tanks for his canvas. One his canvas I like the most was the “Underground UP”. It was very interesting canvas it had a white cover wall like with some bricks and spare paint bottles mixed inside the wall. In the middle of the canvas it was a painting of an underground rail road with subways. I feel like Distort was trying to tell us a message, about graffiti and street artist our coming up in the art world then paint on subways or building walls where they used to do their canvas on. Another canvas, I like of Distort art work was the “Shield of Justice”, and “The Beheading of the King” because both of the canvas seem like they go together in a story.

In the “Shield of Justice” canvas it was painting of Judith and her maidservant beheading Holofernes together. However, in “The Beheading of the King” it seems like Judith only one beheading Holofernes and the maidservant was just watching. Towards the art work you can related towards similar paintings that was done in Renaissances. So with Distort he connect towards a future way show how our cities burning down in distraction towards people in power we should take down. According to Distort Statement

 “Similar to the time of the European Renaissance, we live in an age where wealth and prosperity are syphoned from areas of the globe and consolidated in others, leaving behind great despair.  For those of us fortunate enough to live in a relatively safe and stable environment, the prevalence of violence and chaos in the world surrounding us can induce a constant stress.  To know that your comfort is at the expense of people elsewhere (and even the planet itself) indicates that your position is unsustainable and likely to be threatened by what the future may bring”(Distort).

Mostly Distort connect his own artwork and murals in somewhat religious way, like some of the European artist in the Renaissance. However, characters he put together with the future to represent us taking down people of power to reclaim our cities.

The second artist work enjoyed from the Underground Up gallery was Mustart. His art work was very similar towards more graffiti artist ways verse Distort, and Clarence Rich. Mustart mostly mix his canvas painting spray paint different illusions you will imagine. The canvas I like the most of Mustart was the “Underground up” paint. He had created a paint where he from, how he came up in his own city and in little printed words he said “thank you, jersey city”. That was so shocking to me artist give thanks towards his city in his own canvas. Now learning and seeing the artist Mustart art work, now I know when drive pass the chicken shack by journal square that’s one of Mustart master piece. According to Mustart own words "I'm always growing and learning," he states. "My work is a microcosm of every personal and aesthetic encounter that seizes my day."(Mustart)

The third artist was Clarence Rich his art work was wired or own common. I didn’t felt like his art work connect towards graffiti artist. However, the underground gallery wasn’t just about graffiti artist but artist who coming up in the world of art. One of the canvas I like from Clarence Rich was “The Man Behind the Mask”. The canvas had a little doll body with writing on it saying who is Clarence Rich and it also had the box open with a cat head and also a crown on top of his head. I feel like the canvas was about Clarence Rich behind the mask showing his self to the world as mystery artist princes.

Work Cited

Distort.(N.d). About Daniel Sullivan. Retrieved from
http://daniel-sullivan-omta.squarespace.com/about/

Mustart.(N.d). About Mr. Mustart. Retrieved from
http://www.mrmustart.com/