Urban Assault: Houston's Underground Art Exposed

Back in February of this year, Houstonist attended a screening of the 1983 ground-breaking documentary Style Wars, as part of the MFA's "Movies Houstonians Love" series. The film, presented by one half of UGK,Bun B, was screened to a sold out crowd of Houstonians, and was followed by more than an hour's worth of conversation surrounding Houston's underground music and art culture, that was co-led by Style Wars star and DJ legend, Kay Slay.

During the discussion following the film, we were amazed not only by the well-spoken, informed answers of Bun and Slay, but also by the crowd's knowledgeable questions, which made all more apparent the hunger and passion that exists for this medium in Houston.

Due, in large part, to organizations such as Knitta Please, Aerosol Warfare, P.U.S.H., and Houston's brilliantly-designed new urban art publication, Case Mag, urban artists have recently come to the forefront of the art scene in the Town of H; an exposed position where they are not used to being.

For years sites such as David Brown's Spacetaker and Matt Sonzala's HoustonSoReal have been bringing attention to local urban muscians and artists such as YAR!, Meat, Give Up, Lisa Marie Godfrey, and CUTTHROAT , sponsoring local shows that have helped to expose their bodies of work and moved them along the spectrum towards respected art in Houston.

Adding fuel to the fire are local retail stores such as the new downtown designer sneaker store, The Tipping Point [Main @ Polk], and Domy Books who have finally given a place for these artists to display their work with commercial success. Clothing labels with local roots such as Fat Cop XXL (former HSPVA students now based in Brooklyn) find a haven in these specialty stores, and these retailers are often just as eager to give Houston artists a reason to not flee the city for success.

Tagging, boming, vigilante art---all terms associated with the medium and how the public relates to urban artists--- have all been an important part of the discovery of this underground subculture. The film Style Wars chronicles an extraordinary epoch of youthful creativity and civic controversy. In the late 1970's/early 1980's, teenage graffiti artists made New York City's ramshackle subway system their public playground, battleground, and spectacular artistic canvas. Opposing them were Mayor Edward Koch, the police, and the Manhattan Transit Authority. As MC's and DJs rocked the city with new sounds, street corner B-boy breakdance battles became performance art. The phrase "New York, 1982" (the superimposed title that starts the film) has itself become a code for a legendary time of heroic teenage exploits, a touchstone for successive generations of youth worldwide, many of whom can recite the film's dialogue by heart.

If we had to identify a catalyst for this surge of these once nocturnal acts of art showing up in the mainstream art circles within Houston, we would have to derive to one magical night in February of 2006, when thousands of people filled the floor of the MFA for the museum's Mixed Media series. The event was the final in the first series (now in it's 4th reincarnation), and featured the works of neo-expressionist Jean Michel Basquiat, while Hip Hop legend Grandmaster Flash spun for a crowd of frenzied art and music lovers. Ask anyone that was in that building. There was something in the air that night, and we all felt it. We were upon something huge that was about to bust out. Something we could own. A movement that we would be responsible for. We never looked back.

Makes us a little curious, though, how the thrusting of this mainly clandestine art form into the public's eye will affect the purity of the genre. If artists who are usually stealing away in the wee hours of the night to bomb a pristine brick wall or street sign, are now being showcased with gallery show, where do they go next? Are they comfortable on the canvas? Don't get us wrong, we love the fact that urban art form, in particular with all the local talent in Houston, is finally being respected in our sometimes uptight art community. Well, we guess it worked for NYC. Hey, we wouldn't have Breakin' (or Breakin' II) without it. Turbo!

Follow the jump for three upcoming urban art events that you'll def find us at.