Who Knew Going Postal Could Feel So Good?
February 23, 2009
There’s already lots of web chatter about this past Friday’s Going Postal party at Ad Hoc Art. Martha Cooper has a new blog over at 12ozPROPHET and she has already chimed in with her thoughts. You can read more about the night at Brooklyn Street Art, too, and there are many pics here.
From MBP’s perspective, we couldn’t have asked for a better way to spend our Friday night. The room was packed, but never uncomfortable; beer, wine and vodka flowed freely. The crowd – from little kids running around creating their own postal sticker art to older art gallery regulars to loads of artists and their admirers – was jazzed to be in the presence of such innovative and exciting work.
The entire night radiated with celebratory cheer. The assembled crowd at Ad Hoc wasn’t out to be seen; rather, everyone was there to appreciate the flourishing sticker art scene. Along with high spirits, the night seemed to exist in a recession proof bubble, as stickers were bought like hotcakes, many larger pieces sold (like a sticker covered newspaper box trucked up from Philly) and we moved 100 books!
And, at the center of all this excitement, the one and only Martha Cooper. No stranger to attention, one of the reasons that Martha enjoys such popularity in the graffiti and street art scenes is that she is always quick to remind people that her photographs feature other people’s work. Her photographic eye has helped spread these cultures all over the world, but it is the artists who hustle, take risks, spark ideas and create beauty that Martha celebrates. Friday’s event was definitely a testament to that. Martha wanted to organize a happening that created even more exposure for the artists whose work is featured in Going Postal.
The artists understand this about Martha, too. When you see her and the artists in the same place, there exists a kind of mutual reverence that is really quite special. An effusive teenager who had traveled from Philadelphia really drove this home for me as I witnessed an exchange between him and Martha as she signed his copy of the book. He credited Martha for getting him excited about graffiti and street art because he had discovered Subway Art in his high school library. Martha guffawed and I quipped, “You know you’ve made it when people find out about you in libraries.” The kid from Philly then proffered a stack of stickers and all of the sudden Martha became his fan, impressed with his deft lettering abilities.
The show is already down but if you live in a city fantastic examples of sticker art are stuck up in all sorts of places. Believe me, once you start looking you’ll never be able to ignore postal sticker art. Of course, the book is available, too . . .
A huge round of thanks to everyone that came out in support of the Martha, the artists and the book!
-BP
