"Graffiti has been defined from a Global scope to an East Coast vs. West Coast challenge. There are books dedicated solely to the female practitioners of the art or it’s presence on freight trains. And Graffiti has been identified as both an act of lowly vandalism to high art. Seldom if ever has Graffiti been shown from the exciting and unique perspective of a creative photographer who has devoted more than three and a half decades to photographing Graffiti around the world. I must confess I am in love with the art form but did not want to add just another high minded, serious, thoughtful look at Graffiti, nor did I desire to just overwhelm the reader with hundreds of bright, well lit, perfectly composed murals. Instead I wanted to take the reader on a fun, odd, eclectic, creative look at the art itself as well as the environment it which this art form springs"

A Native American growing up in a white man's society, Ernie broke the barrier of stereotypes… As a young man growing up in Brooklyn in areas such as Park Slope, Bedford Stuyvesant and Flatbush in the 1970's, Paniccioli picked up a camera for the first time and instantly converted his interest and abilities from painter to photographer. Inspired by his feelings of being cast as a second class citizen and perhaps through a gift from above, he started out by taking photographs of the graffiti that embodied the borough. Unaware to Paniccioli, he had stumbled upon his unforeseen destiny. No one has mastered the art of photography better than Paniccioli.

The intensity of these artist's lives with their passion is fascinating, and the film also shows the radicalism that one must possess in order to live such a life. 

UNLIKE U immerses in a scene that is not for outsiders to simply understand. It is the world of Train Writers, those graffiti artists then, to the painting of suburban and underground trains. Extremely obscured. Extremely criminal. Extremely prohibited.

UNLIKE U lit four generations of writers in Berlin, of which the elders of the hardcore artists are now already 40 years old and the youngest of the seventeen. But all the protagonists have in common. Each of them has his life countless trains painted in. intensive interviews with the 1000th try even the motives of the sprayer on the track to get the filmmakers and to work out what exactly the kick in one thing, the public can not get the recognition in. After all, it is after the official version, to be particularly serious damage to property and trains will be sprayed as soon as possible drawn from the traffic. So the probability that a plant sprayer to perfection, as talk gets to see his mobile screen is very small. So what is the value of these actions? What is the self-affirmation? What drives these people?

The filmmakers Henrik Bjorn Birg rule and plunged deep into the cosmos of Train Writer. Besides first-class interviews, they were also leaked material that was still seen to never does. The film shows the reasons behind the actions and history material from the corner at the legendary Friedrichstraße, the meeting place of the Berlin sprayer in the 90s. So the place where the myth of the Berlin writers took their beginning of the culture. Film Coming Soon!

An arts trust put spray cans in the hands of at-risk teenagers for a week - and the result has been some astounding artworks.

The Still Water Rising Trust, founded by New Zealand's Next Top Model director Jeff Szusterman and other broadcasters and actors, brought 16 students from South Auckland alternative education centres together with some leading artists.

Each artist worked with a teenager to help the youngster create art works ranging from a small airbrushed painting to a giant mural.

Aerosol artist Dan Tippett, 37, who worked with 15-year-old Te Mai Koha Hakopa to spray-paint a covered trailer for Otara's Crosspower Ministries, said it was all about "upskilling from tagging to using the spray can creatively - trying to beautify things rather than destroy them. The idea is to show them how to start and finish a project," he said.

"It's tricky because they are used to instant gratification, the 'now' culture.

"The trick is trying to hold their concentration and teach them that to get good at anything, it takes time and discipline."

Jedrek Andrews, also 15, worked with airbrush artist Tamihana Robin, 24, to produce a painting of hip-hop artists Biggie Smalls and Ice Cube.

Bobby Ioramo, 15, was inspired by aerosol artist Otis Frizzell to produce a huge mural featuring himself, his parents, his tutors and a Biblical passage: "I can do all things through Christ whose strength is me."

"It's about how I changed from doing the young gang-affiliate stuff," Jedrek said. "Art made me change. It allowed me to explore who I was."

Tylah Togiakona, 16, worked with traditional Samoan artist Nathan Suniula to make a ceremonial mat with a design cut into it to reveal a painting underneath. "I've never done anything like this," he said.

Alternative education teacher Sarah Longbottom, who organised the week, said Szusterman was originally inspired by a one-to-one playwriting project with young people in New York's 52nd Street (52project.org), and ran several drama-based projects after he returned to Auckland in 2004.

Last week's project was the first time the idea was extended to the visual arts and involved alternative education students.

The works will be shown at the new Mangere arts centre for a month from November 26.

original source: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10682963