In honor of the Eric Firestone Gallery’s street art exhibition “Down By Law: New York’s Underground Art Explosion, 1970s-1980s”, the Village Voice has enlisted the expertise of legendary graffiti writers Blade and Coco 144 to chronicle the top ten pioneering pieces of street art. Selecting works like Zephyr’s titles from the 1983 film Wild Style and the late Rammelzee’s gothic-futurist work “And When The Bell Toils Sir Piereule Strikes,” the two street artists provide commentary on the artists selected and what made each chosen work so revolutionary.
“By 1973 we had 10,000 teenagers running about the city, all being respectful to each other, all expressing themselves,” said Blade. “Every day for us was like Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn–you were just having this incredible adventure around the whole of underground New York City.” (Village Voice)
The complete list can be found here. More information about the Eric Firestone Gallery’s “Down By Law” exhibit can be found at their website.
