Shenandoah Murder Trial

Last night I made these photos at the Schuylkill County Courthouse in Pottsville, PA in reference to the upcoming murder trial beginning on April 27, 2009, in the ethnic intimidation case of two white teenagers (four were actually involved--one pleaded guilty in federal court to violating Ramirez's civil rights and the other teen is being tried in juvenile court for aggravated assault and ethnic intimidation) charged in connection with the July 12, 2008 beating death of 25 year old Luis E. Ramirez. 

Justice 4 Ramirez, 2009

Hates Crimes Kill!!, 2009

Shen-Doe Shame, 2009

Blue Devils Guilty, 2009

We Speak Your Name

Graffiti writers write their names more than they write anything else. Seeing a name advertised or in lights is associated with a feeling of success and stardom. Your name here. Your name on the wall. Your name in lights. Light graffiti allows that to happen just about anywhere you want. 

Name, 2009

On the Street..Brooklyn

I love all types of graffiti..as long as it's not being spray painted or plastered on my property. Light graffiti is great because it can't get you in trouble for vandalism. And you can visit the same location over and over, each time making a fresh new work. 

Bedford Avenue, 1985

Stock Market Crash, October 2008

When the stock market crashed in October, 2008 I began my 'Financial Meltdown' series by making light graffiti photos at the Charging Bull sculpture by Arturo Di Modica, more popularly known as the Wall Street Bull, in Bowling Green Park in the Wall Street neighborhood of NYC. On Sunday, October 12, 2008 I made these photographs.

Paper Panic!, 2008

Bailout Bull!, 2008

An Evening @ AIG Headquarters, NYC, 4/9/09

For those of us who want to participate in social and political commentary through art, light graffiti is a vehicle that allows a legal solution to access otherwise prohibited locations. By following the established regulations and obtaining permits when necessary, work can be made almost anywhere. It is a form of visual protest and activism that is growing globally.

These photos were a comment on AIG's signage being taken down on their corporate headquarters building at 175 Water Street, NYC as they have changed the company name to AIU.

AIG=FML, 2009

AIG=AIU=IOU, 2009

Derivative Demise, 2009

Cassano Crook!!, 2009

AIG=IOU, 2009

Kodachrome

Back in the day when I first began making light graffiti photos in 1980, while an art student, there was no digital anything. There was film and a camera & that was it. The exposures were trial and error. It was necessary to really understand traditional photography and practice made perfect, especially since I have always shot transparency film instead of negative film. Kodachrome film. That meant the exposure had to be exact. I continue to shoot transparency film today, as well as digital. There is a beauty to film that lies in the beauty of photography. 

You Said, 1984

Safe, 1984

Spray It With Light

The light graffiti movement has been growing and continues to grow globally. It has a life of its own that is inspiring works in all disciplines, in people of all ages, in all parts of the world. All of it is documented through some type of photographic process. And most of it is being shared online. The community is growing everyday. The potential is endless. The digital revolution has enabled the technique of light graffiti to explode in every imaginable direction from amateur to professional, from art to advertising. It is as popular as it is effective in terms of expression. 

Keep it lit.