Revok1

-SAKE.

LOS ANGELES — Not so long ago, Cristian Gheorghiu roamed the streets of Los Angeles at all hours, black marker in his pocket, hunting for walls and street signs where he could scrawl his graffiti moniker, “Smear.”

These days, he’s working in his garage, splashed in paint and surrounded by canvases, paint cans, markers and odds and ends he uses to fashion abstract mixed-media artworks, which have been exhibited in galleries from California to Europe, fetching up to a couple thousand dollars.

“Painting is a good way to wean yourself off graffiti, get that bug out,” said Gheorghiu, a slightly built 34-year-old with shoulder-length hair. “It’s kind of evolved. I’ve had some moderate success.”

Although he says his tagging days are past, Gheorghiu’s past is now tagging him.

The Los Angeles city attorney’s office has filed a lawsuit against Gheorghiu and nine other graffiti writers associated with the MTA tagging crew, charging them with violating California’s unfair competition laws because they’re selling art works on the strength of their outlaw names and reputations.

“They’ve obtained an unfair advantage because they gained fame and notoriety through criminal acts,” said Anne Tremblay, assistant city attorney. “This is unlawful competition.”

The argument is a novel one in the legal annals of efforts to prevent criminals from profiting from their crimes, and represents a new weapon in the city’s long-suffering battle against graffiti vandals. It also comes at a time when the market for so-called street art is growing exponentially.

But Peter Bibring, Gheorghiu’s lawyer, says the city attorney’s lawsuit is a thinly-veiled end run around the First Amendment right to free expression.

“This is an extraordinary overreach,” said Bibring, staff attorney of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California. “The government cannot say who can be an artist.”

-FULL STORY HERE.

-MORE HERE

-SAKE

Fighting back tears and speaking eloquently before a rapt and silent audience in the packed chamber of Miami City Hall, Sheila McNeil spoke of her fear of a pattern of abuse by Miami police officers, and of her lengthy search for answers.
“Today I know no more about what happened to my child than the night he was murdered,” McNeil said just barely loud enough to be heard.
Her son, Travis McNeil, 28, was shot and killed by Miami police officer Reinaldo Goyo in February, the seventh black man killed by Miami police in the inner city over a seven-month span. Police had stopped McNeil in Little Haiti for driving recklessly. While he remained in his car, police said he reached for something against an order. No weapon was found.
His cousin Kareem Williams, 30, a passenger in the car, was also shot three times. He survived but a bullet remains in his back.
“I feel mistreated in so many ways by those who are supposed to serve and protect us,” McNeil said of the lack of answers regarding her son’s death. “That’s all I wanted to say,’’ she added, her voice trailing off, “Thank you, I appreciate it.”
McNeil was the first family member of a group of a half dozen who spoke in front of city commissioners Thursday. They wanted to know what happened to their children, and to ask for the removal of Police Chief Miguel Exposito.
The chief, who did not respond to the emotional charges, stood silently in uniform against the chamber’s south wall, hands clasped behind his back. In the past few weeks the chief has met with some of the surviving family members. None say they’re satisfied with his response to questions.
“They’re crying out for justice. They’re crying out for closure,” said Lyn Culmer, whose son, Lynn Weatherspoon, was shot and killed in Overtown on New Year’s Eve. “He didn’t deserve to be shot down like a dog.”

-MORE

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/03/24/2132895/families-of-men-killed-by-police.html#ixzz1HncFhVPB

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE.

-Thanks JEFF.

what the fuck…

-Gracias Andres.

-Thanks Connor.

-I love these guys, they are so talented yet soo humble. Literally the nicest and most generous dudes on the planet.

THE MIAMI DREAM Part1 from Askew One on Vimeo.

TMD CREW

ASKEW

Limited Edition PATRICK MARTINEZ tee now available at Known Gallery, Los Angeles exclusively.

GET YOURS HERE

LOW END THEORY