By Mary Barrett

You stop at light, and as you glance around you notice that some graffiti writing on the corner building looks much different compared to the one a few blocks back. If you’re curious about this art form, which is plastered all over our city, you’ll want to check out Foundations of Style Writing at DB5K Gallery in Fells Point.

Style writing began in the late 1960s in New York. It is a studied and artistic form of handwriting generally done on a variety of large outside surfaces. Since it‘s early days, “a whole language as been created” said Kim Sutter, DB5K Gallery’s art director.

The gallery’s exhibit will reveal the history of this street movement and will feature influential artists including Martha Cooper, a photojournalist who has documented the graffiti scene for decades, and Charlie Ahearn, director of Wild Style. The show sets “out to change minds and cut through the myth,” Sutter said.

Guest curator and prominent artist, Adam Stab, points out that style writing is “the most difficult to define of all the street arts. This exhibit should give history to those who misconstrue the genre.”

To create their murals, artists must work in difficult and often dangerous situations. This movement began to become more accepted by the mainstream during the 1980s and can be seen in fashion, language, and even candy wrappers.

For artists, Stab points out that “nothing represents us more directly. It is confrontational; you must define possession and free, right and wrong, releasing and shame.”

The very nature of the art form is transient. Images are painted quickly; frequently on “canvases” which may move or be removed such as trains or boarded buildings.

This makes Baltimore a prime microcosm for how the style writing process works.

In addition to the gallery’s artwork, visitors can take a map, and visit four full-size murals painted around the city specifically for the exhibit.

The Info:
Foundations of Style Writing
DB5K Gallery
1800 Fleet St., Fells Point
Now through June 28
Regular gallery hours are:
Tuesday-Saturday 1-7 pm

Photo by George Hagegeorge