On the last official weekend of summer 2009 the Meeting of Styles held the annual graffiti jam in Chicago.  For those who are not familiar with MOS it began in 2002 in Germany and consists of a group  graffiti artists from around the world aiming “to create a forum for the international art community to communicate, assemble and exchange ideas, works and skills, but also to support intercultural exchange.”  Only nine years after forming MOS they have successfully held over 75 events in 16 countries across the globe.

Graffiti artists from all over the globe converged on Chicago.  The MOS separates these artists into three groups, the East, and West, and of course the local Chi talent.  Some of the artists from the East were: Cope2, Part, Fred One, Indie and Sloan; some from the West were: Hyde, Vyal, Denz,  Surge and Lucit.  Local talent included artists such as: Flash, Rome, Kato, Thor, Stef, Demon, Trixter, Nerd, Zore, Risk, and many more.

This was the first major graffiti event Bomb Chicago has attended and, not knowing quite what to expect, we were excited to take in all the activity.   We knew there would be graffiti artists working on pieces and there was a ton of that.  They had multiple staging grounds set up.  The Crawford Steel Yard, located at 3600 West 36th Place, seemed to be the main site but activity stretched up Kedzie from about 30th to 24th Street.  At both the Crawford Steel Yard and the permission wall near Sawyer and 30th they had DJs set up playing some of today’s must influential independent hip hop music.  Established graff artists worked as aspiring artists, graffiti art enthusiasts, and neighborhood people intermingled around the walls.  At all the different staging locations hundreds of people moved around the various murals being painted, exchanging sketch books, photographing the works in progress, and simply hanging out taking in the fumes.

Another aspect of the event which we were interested in getting a closer look at is how the artist would represent themselves.  With graffiti primarily done by the cover of night and in solitude, or at most with a few trusted crew members, what would the overall feel of the event be?  It has to be nerve racking for these artists who are technically breaking the law to come from the shadows.  There was even a notice to spray painters on the door of the Crawford Steel Plant stating, “The City of Chicago has made it illegal to spray paint any walls with or without the permission of the property owners.  In order to adhere to this law, please do not spray paint anywhere on Crawford Steel’s property.”  Even within the sanctioned walls of private property the City of Chicago leaves a reminder of who the boss really is.  That has to be unsettling to say the least!  What we saw and documented was some unease and awkwardness but for the most part we witnessed excitement on behalf of the artists being able to share their work with Chicago and the world.

To conclude, the MOS is a tremendous event that features some of the worlds best and brightest artists, and is a truly unique environment.  If you haven’t been to this event we would highly recommend you do.  But be aware, you might just find yourself questioning how you might have seen graffiti in any other light other then a positive one.

NBF