Bayonne artist Jonathan Singer – sometimes called the Ansel Adams of graffiti photography – and students from Bayonne Public School No. 14 recently helped pay tribute to some of the more impressive graffiti artists of modern times.
Singer and the students attended an awards ceremony presented at a show called “Ghetto Fab – the Photo-Graf Collection in New York.” The exhibition is running on Sundays until Dec. 12 at Zenergy at The SkyLoft, 519 West 36th St., between the hours of 9 and 4 p.m.
Ghetto Fab was designed to take the graffiti experience from the streets and move it inside the walls, where people can look at it. Singer tried to capture the essence of the graffiti artwork with photography. For the past year, Singer, a dedicated medical practitioner and foot surgeon by day, has graciously traded his limited spare time for the passionate pursuit of photographing the ever-fading mural masterpieces that vibrantly adorn some of the darkest ghettos of New York City.
Born in New York City in 1948, Singer attended prestigious art schools throughout his childhood, as well as numerous photographic workshops. He credits Ilya Bolotowsky, one of his professors, with helping turn his artistic life around in the fall of 1966. Bolotowsky became a friend and mentor who introduced Singer to a wider variety of photographic art. Over the years, Singer was also influenced by Ansel Adams, Walker Evans, and Fred Picker – considered three of the greatest photo artists.
Singer considers his work with graffiti to have a two-fold purpose; as a documentary that captures the history of these important urban masterpieces (before they deteriorate with time) and as a promoter of the art form and artists who otherwise may have never been recognized outside the ghetto/urban community.
The centerpiece for the one-month exhibition in New York is a display of 45 Singer photographs that feature richly colored, large panoramic photographs – representing a new approach to preserving and celebrating the Spray Can Art movement. Several stand at a spectacular 47-inch by 35-inch size. As part of the tribute to the spray can artists who were present is a set of four limited edition, handmade books, all of which are bound by an embossed, pig suede cover resting on a hand-crafted exotic stand.
The event also honored the artistic excellence of six graffiti groups and artists with an Illustrious 2004 Ghetto Fab American Graffiti Award. These included Franco the Great (a.k.a. The Picasso of Harlem), Fame City International, Graffiti Hall of Fame, Tats Cru, Seen, and Chico.
The awards ceremony also included a Ghetto Fab Humanitarian Award that was presented to William Rubenstein for his generous patronage to the arts and medical research. A special honorary gift was presented to Pedro Knight, who also is known for having been married to the late musician Celia Cruz. Finally, Zenergy also displayed the award-winning graffiti montage art pieces created by the students of Public School No.14, using print scraps of J. Singer’s misprints.
More than 800 people attended the opening of the event on Nov. 18 when awards were given.
Contact Al Sullivan at asullivan@hudsonreporter.com