Pintura International Graffiti Conference

Saturday, April 26 2008
Orlando, Florida

April 26th, 2008 marks a day in the Orlando, FL art culture. Tittsworth and Pintura Project joined forces and brought the Pintura International Graffiti conference to downtown Orlando, FL. The event brought artist from around the world and as far as China. Legends as well as newbies were on tap for your viewing pleasure. This event took place in downtown Orlando, FL and was an all day event. The space was three warehouses owned by “RV”, who is a staple in the POP SIGN art form of Graffiti. There was over 10,000 square feet of concrete canvas donated to the artist.

The event started at 12pm on Saturday, and was welcomed by great weather and good vibes. You couldn’t ask for a more picture perfect day. Although the heat was on, people resorted to their favorite beverage of choice. Shipyard Brewing Company was on tap to manage the taps! A big thanks goes to Mike and the crew for being there and providing us adults with our drinks! I tried out some amazing Cuban cuisine provided by some local vendors. There was enough food and drink for all.

Upon parking you were greeted by some amazing art that was dropped by a crew from New Jersey. I must say when I got out of the car my jaw dropped. The detail and abstract, yet realness of this piece was amazing. I literally remember driving by the day before and it was a blank wall. This is what brings the originality and feeling of graffiti. It is an art that deals with stealthiness. For many years this was an art that was done at night under the cover of darkness. It is a way that many people express themselves. This piece itself must have taken up 1000 square feet itself. Upon seeing this I knew I was in store for a great day, and let me tell you, that was an understatement. As you rounded the welcome piece you could already start to smell the paint and hear the music. The conference had only been under way for an hour and one early artist had already gotten about 90% of his piece done. The old school feel was in the air, as well as the fumes, and I entered the show. The cost for the entire day/night was $15. This donation went to help preserve the graffiti scene in Orlando, help towards RV’s 3 warehouse compound, and provide the sounds and electricity to keep the day going. Once inside the compound you had three options to start your experience. Warehouse 1 was for the music and late night festivities, Warehouse 2 was taken over by the B-Side Artists, and then the courtyard was where it all went down! Each section of wall was reserved for each individual artist. The legends were putting it down on the courtyard size of Warehouse 1. This piece consisted of collaborations of the top artists from New York, New Jersey, Los Angeles, China, and Europe. This piece took the entire day to come together but in the end it yielded two samurai/geisha warriors, the Pintura logo, and pieces by Kongo, Cope2, and TKID 170, three of the pioneers of modern graffiti art. I had the chance of getting to meet Cope2. I had saw his work growing up and still to this day see random tags of his. He has lead the way for many artist and now is a spokesperson for the entire culture. He has many books available of his work and is a great person to learn and be inspired by. Like he stated, “Graffiti is an art, a way of expression, not a crime!” Cope2 had one of the most colorful styles there, and you could see his NY influence and style. By far one of the best color selections and matching of the day. As you watched him work, he was bombarded all day long by people and admirers asking for him to tag their sketch books, as well as all the artists did. As you watched the masters at work, you could look at any angle and see a new and up and coming artist trying to mimic the sketches of the legends. As the courtyard erupted with spray paint so did the tunes. The legendary and world record breaker Eddie B. Swift provided mixes of new school and old school hip-hop, breaks, funk and fused it together with the hype of the crowd to provide a unique listening experience.

As the day grew older so did the heat. I found myself sneaking into Warehouse 3 for some down tempo beats and old school culture. The lighting did not provide good quality photos, but from just walking around you could see the evolution and progressions that graffiti art has taken. The pop sign art form was different. Very basic but very era suiting. You will only find this style in old run down neighborhoods that have been vacant since the late 1980’s as this is a primitive form of art.

Warehouse 2 showcased the B-Side Artist, which includes the leadership of Solillaquists of Sounds front-man, Swamburger. B-Side is a collective group of Orlando’s urban art scene. B-Side has started a new movement in Orlando, and is making it known that art is expressed in many ways. You will find many different styles in this group. They showcase fine art all the way to the down and dirty styles of graffiti. You can see these artists on showcase every Tuesday at the Social, on Orange Ave, in downtown Orlando. The Social puts on a weekly entitled, Phat-N-Jazzy, where it is a blend of hip-hop, funk and soul DJ’s and the B-Side Artist showcasing there work.

As the end of the day drew near, organizer ES (estattoos.com) held a question and answer discussion about Graffiti art. Legends Cope2 and TKID 170 spoke about how they have seen Graffiti evolve and where they see it going. A moving part of the discussion was an older lady from Bronx, NY giving speech about how Graffiti is an art, a way of expression, and how it has influenced her life growing up, and others around here.  The Hoochies had there booth set up right beside the discussion panel, and proved to be a great spot.  Many people came up and were asking all about the Flat Hoochie Project, and what the Hoochies were all about.  I witnessed myself many people grabbing cards, and free mixes.  I tried to bring the pictures up and post them, but they proved to be super large files that almost crashed my laptop.  Look for pictures soon!  The Hoochies were on hand with a few of their DJ’s including Quest-One!

After the end of the conference Warehouse 1 opened up. This was the musical part of the day, featuring DJ’s KittyBat, Indiana Jones, and Tittsworth (one of the sponsors). An interesting point was Tittsworth was flown in by helicopter. This was probably one of the coolest entrances of a DJ to this day that I have witnessed. The night got later and the sounds got louder. You could hear a mix of breaks, new electro, and that old school b-boy sound that so many artist have grown up with.

All in all the entire day and night was amazing. A great mix of art, music, food, and drink made the day. Be on the lookout for next years conference, as it plans to bigger and better. I spoke with organizers and they had a great feeling about next years show. They promised even more surprises and big things to come in the coming year. Make sure you check them out on myspace at www.myspace.com/pinturaproject.