Anybody Know Elmer/Porab/Gasm Tag artist in Detroit?

**Wild** · September-21-12, 12:26 AM

Grand River is a nightmare to drive through. The graffiti makes the area look even more feral.

I hope that some of the "artists" are on the receiving end of the local white t-shirt wearing young and restless.

**KJ5** · September-21-12, 03:25 AM

Originally Posted by Wild

Grand River is a nightmare to drive through. The graffiti makes the area look even more feral.

I hope that some of the "artists" are on the receiving end of the local white t-shirt wearing young and restless.

So, wait, your screen name is Wild and you're complaining about how graffiti makes Grand River look "feral". Ironic much?

**Wild** · September-21-12, 09:19 AM

No irony. There is a story behind it that I won't share. I stick by it; the graffiti is feral. Furthermore a lot of it is around a beautiful historic area and the ugly images do not reflect it nor do those images reflect anything positive.

**rex** · September-22-12, 04:33 PM

so lets get this straight. You wish harm on people you dont know for things that have nothing to do with or affect you? out of spite? just because? I see.

**Lt. Dan Bassett** · September-23-12, 04:16 PM

Originally Posted by Jaybiz

Haha, bounty on my head! Tell em to bring it, I ain't never scared!! Elmer and Gasm are white and so are these New York and LA dudes like Revok and all the artist he brought in for the Detroit Beautification project all white boys, the artist I know who spend hundreds of dollars on paint for one tag in Eastern market, Packard, dequindre cut, train station etc are majority white. I never said it was all white but for a city that's over 80% black it's ironic these guys are tagging hoods they probably didn't grew up in and probably don't know anybody who lives in them. At one time a graffiti artist tagged his own area so all his people would see it and he would be a local celebrity of sorts but I highly doubt anyone in my old neighborhood off 7 and Gratiot knows who the fuck gasm is. But like I said I don't have a problem with any of this but I find it interesting and I'm not saying I'm a 100% right either; I'll stfu and admit I'm wrong if you can name me 3 major players in the Detroit Graffiti scene who are African american and are from the city proper.

@jaybird: heh. well there are Sintex, Shades and Kobie Solomon for starters -- all well established local writers who are not pink. so STFU please. Beautification project imports do not count in this piss match.

**mauser** · September-24-12, 03:13 PM

ARMY, Jaunt, LOAF. all non anglo.

**deep6six** · January-01-13, 06:11 PM

Originally Posted by Fulcanelli

My original intent for posting this thread was about a small group of taggers who have plastered their banal crap all over the city, clearly the product of their vast wasteland of imagination. Fifth grade bubble letters, repeated hundreds of times all over the city is more territorial pissing than 'art.'

Would anybody here be willing to contribute to a bounty for these hooligans? I will check with the police to see if such a thing is possible. And with police pay cut, perhaps we could offer a reward to the officer who arrests the 'artists,' leading to a conviction?

Talking about Heidelberg is a diversion, to sidetrack the real issue here. Porab/Gasam/Elmer/Chaos have totally defaced entire neighborhoods.

I do like the positivity of the site, what it was intended for. So sorry my first post is negative, but i agree…. these dudes, do in fact, blow.

I was brought here to Detroityes after seeing GASM all over the city. Googled Gasm, and started to find out more about this guy. Looks like a little beef brewing with a maybe little less mediocre grafitti artist [[PEAR), but other than that, pretty uneventful existence. You can't compare this stuff to Wynwood in Miami! Totally different level, the vision/scope/talent in those walls is world class. Gasm's rinky dink tags are not on the same level. The ElmerxGasm tag on Gratiot is what? an ode to KR? Seems fanboy ode is as deep as this guy gets.

Grafitti to me seems like one of those subcultures where everyone who participates gets a prize, by this I mean, outside of the "battles". You can survive and be known as "a legendary [[fill in city name here) writer" just by being really active. No matter how unoriginal you are.

I challenge two things, first. The concept of these taggers being called "writers"", A writer implies that the reader will be exposed to some sort of commentary or context.

And then they're referred to as "artists", 90% of Gasm's bullshit is just replicated over and over…if this shit is art, Joumana Kayrouz is Detroit's most prolific writer.

Look, maybe a bounty is a bit much, but i'd be willing to put in for a fund to get these guys some art classes. Get their fucking skills up to Wynwood level.

I would love to hear an artist statement from any of these people, i really would. Because their art" smacks of nothing other than vanity. And it's insane to me that these people are just putting up their name, when there's so much stuff to talk about. Concepts about life that are inherently Detroit!

And I know @mauser is not a big fan of Tyree Guyton, but i see Detroit in his work. I did the first time i checked out Heidleberg in 99.

**Zacha341** · January-01-13, 08:26 PM

I wonder who is doing the large scale lettering on some of our taller abandoned structures. Someone put a massive four or five letter white paint tagging on one of the Brewster Projects tower facing east side by 94.

The letters are a story or so tall each, very wide and broad stroked - seems like some sorta scaffolding would have been required?

I cannot make out what the words is or acronym is... The same with the huge abandoned 10+ story apartment building on southwest side of Seward off Woodward. They must work fast, at night and not afraid of heights!

**Kathleen** · January-01-13, 08:45 PM

We were wondering the same thing last evening as we drove out Michigan Avenue near I-75. There is an abandoned building, maybe 6-stories tall, with huge lettering right below the roof on both sides. Can't recall what it said...two words... something SUEY on one side. Not only did we marvel at how these letters could be made without someone getting hurt, but we wondered what the sentiment means!!

**Zacha341** · January-01-13, 08:52 PM

^^^ Yeah maybe it is some coded message for our extraterrestrial visitors K! Who is 'spider-man-ing' these buildings to do this?

They've all appeared within the last three-four weeks I'd say.

**KJ5** · January-02-13, 01:51 AM

Originally Posted by Kathleen

We were wondering the same thing last evening as we drove out Michigan Avenue near I-75. There is an abandoned building, maybe 6-stories tall, with huge lettering right below the roof on both sides. Can't recall what it said...two words... something SUEY on one side. Not only did we marvel at how these letters could be made without someone getting hurt, but we wondered what the sentiment means!!

Some are impressive in their scope and execution, but, unfortunately the sentiment is nothing more than some childish ego word, repeated ad nauseum.