Monday, November 7, 2011

Greg Has a Big Dick - MELROSEandFAIRFAX'S Role in the Street Art Community




A few days ago, some mean-spirited and poorly executed graffiti went up on Melrose, aimed at Greg from M&F. We got a call from a supporter who saw the graffiti, and in a daring outing, went back in the daytime to 'fix' the graffiti so that it had a more accurate portrayal. Now it reads 'Greg Has A Big dick'.

Lol. Thanks.~

The mean-spirited graffiti was first sparked by some local beef, and snitching, then directed at MELROSEandFAIRFAX because a local 'artist' was bothered by some things that were written on the blog and what he saw as M&F's role as 'King' of LA's street art community. It is funny to hear things like this because 'King' is certainly not a title we have ever used. But it is interesting because even though it was meant as an insult, calling the blog 'King' is really a back-handed compliment. M&F has never thought of it itself as 'King'--or anything like that, but we thought that this was a good time to reflect on what is M&F's role in the street art community.

It goes without saying that this blog could never take credit for starting LA's street art scene--this city has long had thriving outdoor art scene well before M&F ever started. MELROSEandFAIRFAX is, and always has been, happy and proud to be a part of LA's art scene. We are only part of the scene. M&F is not the scene, M&F is certainly not bigger than the scene, and we aren't 'Kings' of anything. But what this blog has done is serve as a catalyst and a focal point for LA's street art community. M&F has energized the street art culture in the city of LA, and thrust the local scene into the international spotlight. We never have and never will claim to be 'King', but M&F is most certainly LA's street art authority.

M&F has built up LA's street art scene from a place with a lot of art, to what is widely recognized as the hottest spot for street art in the world. M&F curated a show last spring, and the title of the show, 'What Graffiti is to New York - Street Art is to Los Angeles', was meant to stake claim for LA's street art scene as the top in the world. Even if we STILL have not been paid for that show, the idea seems to be working, and the success of the blog is going from the streets to the top of the street art game. When Mr. Brainwash approached M&F about working together for part of 'Art Show 2011' he told us, "When I first started doing street art people would say 'Oh, you are from Los Angeles. Who cares. That is a place without culture anyway.' But now, when I tell people I am from Los Angeles, the say 'Oh! That is the place where it is all happening!' And it is because of your blog".

It is awesome to hear things like this. And at the same time that the blog has achieved a lot of success, so have the artists we have covered. It is really awesome to see how the same artists whose stickers we started documenting and supporting the year before have now grown into the the 'big name' artists doing the murals and art shows around town--and around the globe. Many of LA's top artists have thanked us and told us that they feel that M&F initiated the momentum that led to their further successes, and we love doing what we can to help launch artists.

But because we write our honest opinions, it has made M&F a lighting rod for some who feeling frustrated, and they aim it at the blog. This graffiti pictured above is not the first insult we have received, (and we must jokingly add that it does require a big dick to deal with all the drama from running a street art blog)! We have had people hate on us in many ways from photoshopped pictures to trash talking, and even death threats. None of this phases us. It is like water off a ducks back. We try to stay focused on the end goal, and these insults and drama are nothing more than tiny bumps in the road. We are in this for the long haul. We still plan to be documenting street art and 'curating LA's streets' for years down the line. And these petty little grievances are completely insignificant and will be forgotten in a week or two. When one makes a long road trip, you don't think back to the speed bump that you crossed over during the drive--and that is all that the drama is.

We have always tried to put LA's street art scene first, and truly 'celebrate' the art that is happening on the streets here. Still, we are human and we do have opinions. We have favorites, and artists that we might enjoy more than others for one reason or another. Those artists might make it onto the blog more than someone else, but ultimately we have always tried to maintain an objective stance on the blog. We have not used the blog to wage personal wars, and have tried to keep off personal beef. We have spoken out against advertisements going over art, spot jacking and snitching, and only when someone has wronged the entire community do we chastise them on the blog. When we do, the goal is to protect the community for the general good.

The ironic thing is that the hate that is directed at the blog is coming from a handful of unhappy artists. Some are upset we don't post enough of their stuff, a few have been bothered by things we have written, and other times the hate takes us completely by surprise. Like with the graffiti pictured above. Before this drama went down, M&F actually liked the artist with the beef and tried to do them a favor by showcasing their work on the blog as much as possible. But even as we were supporting them, the artist did a piece the week before featuring a 'stupid cat' and talking shit on M&F's own graffiti cat Qtip. He also went online and threatened the cat. Really? How big of a dickhole do you have to be to talk shit on a cat? And then this same lame artist started snitching on social networking sites to reveal his true colors. That is not a street artist. That is a snitch. Anyone who works against the street art community like that needs to be black balled. It is said that one bad apple can spoil a whole bunch, and the rotten ones need to be removed so that the others are not spoiled. You might not like the person who got snitched on and that's fair, but next time it could be you. And those who encourage and condone this behavior should also be seen as a threat to LA's street art community. The black balled artists will not be covered on the blog. And M&F has enough soldiers that whenever we speak out against something, business will get handled, and stuff won't last long on the streets. In particular, when an artist acts out against the community, it is necessary to weed out the bad elements.

We are not trying to act like a 'King' but as an authority. Not to domineer, but to steer the community in the right direction.

We realize that a lot of strong personalities are drawn to street art, and no one starts doing it because they like being told what to do. But we encourage artists who have a problem with something to reach out to us, not act like a dickhole. If you act like a dickhole, you will get black balled like one, but if you come at us when you have a problem, we can try to find a solution and work things out. M&F plans to keep the eyes on the prize, keep the focus on the street art, and keep launching LA's crop of energized artists to the next level. We are going to keep celebrating the street art in Los Angeles, and helping share LA's art with the world.

To all the fans, contributors, and artists--thanks for the support!

Stay up~

9 comments:

  1. It seems like a conflict of interest that this blog is suppose to cover the art community, and having it black ball artists that it doesn't like. That doesn't exactly strike me as "fair". Shit talking will happen regardless but I thought the whole purpose of the blog was the art. It shouldn't come down to personal praise of artists that are in favor and condemnation of those that are not.

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  2. Welcome to the world of anonymity. It serves graffiti and street art, blog users like myself, as well as haters. Just keep on doing what you do Greg. I am not always psyched on everything that is posted here, but at least people are willing to document and share some of what is going on in LA. The person who painted the dick is well within their right to an opinion and I don't knock them for expressing themselves, but maybe a direct email would have been better suited. I have no proof of this, but I'd be willing to bet that even after whoever painted that penis, is still going to check up on the blog in the future.

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  3. Keep doing what you're doing M&F!

    We really appreciate what blogs like M&F and Colors In LA are doing for the local street scene. There will always be shit talk and its usually just a handful of people.

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  4. i tagged that penis.. is was meant for my uncle greg.
    - gspot

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  5. septerhed is the king!

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  6. Nice can control on the haters part.
    Who ever added the words has WAY better handstyle than the hater.LOL!!
    And Im wondering why the hater didnt just write the word dick instead of actually "attempting" to draw it. Its just weird when heterosexual guys draw penises-And if thats the extent of a creative way to slam someone then Greg had a good laugh about it just as I did. LOL!!!
    That person for sure still follows this blog-thats the irony of it all.
    Real hard asses sign their name to the dis. Proof that this dudes a TOY. Wrap him up and put him under the tree..

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  7. can't we all just... get along(said like Jack Nicholson in 'Mars Attacks') ... a little better... just a little... btw, Fat Black Cat would love to be Qtip's bodyguard any day!!!
    ~teacher

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  8. Greg is a nice guy. All these haters are just jealous.

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