Archive for May, 2009

HERE TODAY, GONE TOMORROW
Welcome to the graf life

Someone had to capture the energy, creativity and originality of graffiti besides American photojournalist Martha Cooper. And that someone – make that someones – was husband and wife team Jim and Karla Murray. At a time when most children were playing with My Little Ponies, Transformers and Super Soakers, they were familiarising themselves with Pentax, Polaroid and Fuji film. Getting into photography at an early age saw the pair unite to capture the art they felt wasn’t being documented properly.

“We had ties in the graffiti world and began photographing artists’ work that we knew personally,” Jim says. “At that time (mid ‘90s), before digital photography became popular, many artists did not photograph their own work because they didn’t own a camera. After photographing some of their work, we became captivated by the art form and sought out more and more work to photograph.”

Graffiti first surfaced in America about 1960 and by the 1970s the movement moved to the walls and train panels of New York, headed by pioneers including Taki 183 and Lady Pink. It wasn’t long before graf started echoing the Ramones song title: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow. But anyone who appreciates graffiti knows it’s not always everlasting. And that’s the exciting thing for the pair – no two days in New York City are ever the same.
“The nature of graffiti art is such that it constantly changes as new art covers what had been there before. We would often return to the very same locations and see new artwork there.

“You can’t be lazy and say that you’ll come back tomorrow or another day because whatever you are photographing may not be there. We definitely learned that the hard way documenting graffiti.”
Even the pair’s work environment varies daily, from underground locations (subway tunnels) to overground locations (abandoned factories). An ever-changing location and a temporary art form hasn’t stopped them from excelling at their chosen field. They’ve had photographs exhibited in galleries throughout New York and Miami, along with photographs and articles appearing in Peel Magazine, Mass Appeal and Time Out New York.

Add books to their achievement stable – “Donna Karan bought many copies of Broken Windows, our first graffiti book” – and they’ve just completed Storefront: The Disappearing Face Of New York City. It’s a 10-year project that documents the aesthetics of different neighbourhoods and stores they encountered while on the graffiti hunt.
“Many neighbourhood stores had closed, or we would come across old stores, still in business, but somehow different. They were either refaced, remodelled, or original signage had been substituted with new, bright and shiny plastic awnings. The whole look and feel of the neighbourhood had changed and much of its individuality and charm had gone. The result was unsettling. We made it our mission to thoroughly document these stores. We set out with our 35 mm camera and micro-cassette recorder. After taking only a few pictures and speaking with only a handful of storeowners, we knew we had a compelling story.”

jamesandkarlamurray.com

NOW TRY THESE:
Broken Windows-Graffiti NYC (Gingko Press 2002)
Burning New York (Gingko Press 2006)
Storefront: The Disappearing Face of New York City (Gingko Press)
Graffiti Miami (Prestel, 2008)