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Graffiti artists TATS CRU visit MIT
Free presentation:
Sept 20
For Immediate Release: August 16, 2005
Contact: Mary Haller
Director of Arts Communication
MIT Office of the Arts
20 Ames St., Rm E15-205
Cambridge, MA 02139
(617) 253-4006, e-mail haller@media.mit.edu
Cambridge, MA.... Bronx-based graffiti artists TATS CRU, whose work in aerosol paints has raised the status of graffiti as an art form, will give a free talk about the evolution of their work on Tuesday,
September 20, 2005 at 7 p.m. in the MIT Stata Center’s Kirsch Auditorium (Room 32-123, 32 Vassar St.). The presentation,
entitled, "The Journey from Subways to Urban Media Marketing," is part of the Abramowitz Artist-in-Residence
Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. As visiting artists at MIT from September 20-23, five
members of the group--Bio, Nicer, BG183, How and Nosm--will visit
classes and labs and meet with faculty, staff, and students.
Twenty-five years ago, the three founding members of TATS CRU, Bio, BG183, and Nicer, were struggling inner city
teenagers who expressed their artistic talents by creating subway graffiti in the subway tunnels connecting the Bronx and
Brooklyn. Then working as a covert operation, the three hardly imagined that their artwork would evolve into a financially
viable business that would someday attract attention throughout the world.
Now as "muralists," the ten-member TATS CRU has been commissioned to create works for numerous corporate
companies including Coca-Cola, Firestone, Reebok, The Bronx Museum of Arts, and Chivas Regal. The Cru have also been
commissioned to do murals for hip-hop and rap artists like Grand Master Flash, Zulu Nation, Fat Joe Da Gangsta, KRS One,
and Busta Rhymes. One of their R.I.P. murals appeared in Spike Lee's movie "Clockers," and they have been
featured in New York Times, USA Today, Vibe, NPR radio, ABC Nightline, CBS Sunday Morning, CNN, BBC Talk Show, to name a
few.
For more information and a sampling of their work, see
http://www.tatscru.com/.
No tickets or reservations are necessary for TATS CRU's September 20 presentation at MIT. Info: (617) 253-2341.
The Abramowitz Memorial Lecture, presented by the Office of the Arts, was established at MIT through the generosity and
imagination of William L. Abramowitz '35 as a memorial to his father. It has been sustained since his death by the devoted
interest of his wife and children. Since 1961, the Series has brought renowned performing artists and writers to MIT to perform,
present public lectures, and collaborate with students in free programs.
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