Street artist Dan Witz: 30 years of transcendence

November 9, 4:51 PMGraffiti ExaminerCarly Beetsch

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Photo courtesy of Carmichael Gallery

During birth of the 1970’s hip-hip movement, a time where graffiti, break dancing, beat-boxing and rapping were spreading rampantly through the lower class neighborhoods of New York City there was an artist traversing the streets already stretching and redefining the boundaries of a movement that had just started taking shape. Dan Witz, a street artist in its most primal form, has been painting publicly since the conception of hip-hop graffiti in NYC but while most where scrawling pseudonyms with aerosol cans Witz was out with a palate and brush painting impressionist and realist style creatures.

Whether called writing, tagging, street art or vandalism, graffiti are an undeniable element in both antiquated and contemporary society. No matter your perspective, graffiti have the ability to define both societal and political climates in cities all around the world and Witz was one of the first to use a cityscape to openly yet anonymously defy cultural norms and protest commercialism. While he may not have had a central role in the development of what is considerably the most popular form of graffiti, the bomber and tagging style of the hip-hop movement, he certainly was influential in the No Wave anti-culture of the 1970’s, the punk era and most notably in graffiti realism.

Witz’s first large scale project, “The Birds of Manhattan”, in 1979 set a standard for street artists for decades to come as he painted over 40 life size hummingbirds in lower Manhattan, specifically below 14^th Street. With a tiny brush and acrylic paint, Witz painted the colorful, iridescent birds on a variety of surfaces ranging from metal doors to cinderblock walls, each appearing to pop-out of their surface and hover just as real hummingbirds do.

Since the iconic hummingbird project Witz’s work has continued to push the boundaries on the street and more recently in galleries across the world. While his work was born and is directly rooted to the freedom and rawness of the streets Witz’s artistic talent is so palpable that it only seemed inevitable for his work to land in gallery settings. 

Witz’s current exhibition, “Dark Doings” at the Carmichael Gallery in West Hollywood, California showcases an expansive selection of a street art project of the same name. Inspired by a recent visit to the red light district in Amsterdam, the collection of haunting images, mostly digital prints mounted in frames and on wood doors, portray both human and animal faces trapped behind dingy, graffiti-ridden windows. The exhibition will run through December 3. Witz explains the philosphy behind this project as an attempt to exploit the "collective tendency towards sleepwalking by inserting outrageous things right out there in plain view that are also practically invisible."

If you are in the area this showcase will not disappoint, please go! For those less fortunate a semi-comparable alternative is Gingko Press’ recently published “Dan Witz — In Plain View 30 Years of Artwork — Illegal and Otherwise”, a comprehensive medley of Witz’s varied projects with an interview by Marc and Sara Schiller of The Wooster Collective; a great online resource for the street art enthusiast.  “In Plain View” can be ordered online through Gingko Press or found at local bookstores.

For more information on Dan Witz check out his website.