I feel a wild mix of emotions after watching Duality, A Graffiti Story (released October21st) the documentary produced by Buffalo 8, an LA-based production company. It feels dense and packed, like the works of graffiti it’s presenting, so much story to tell, in too little time. It feels like life on the edge, just barely making it, but so much love, community, and burning talent. I’m mad at the circumstances that block such amazing forces of good in the world. But inspired at the evolution of this craft as well and the beautiful passing down through the generations of this art form, and the synergy that can happen with business at times. Damn! Powerful stuff.
The documentary truly takes us on a journey – one of the first artists we see is tagging trains (Jaber – LA), which serves as a useful metaphor for this most amazing ride we are about to take.
A theme emerges right from the start; Graffiti as a great unifier, empowering those who didn’t feel their power in society. There are paradoxes as well; It’s anti-elitist, anyone can partake in it, and yet it was also super competitive. The word “addiction” comes up a number of times in the film, with graffiti described as a “positive addiction,” perhaps a powerful distraction to otherwise challenging lives. Tagging can engender an intense adrenaline rush and doing so illegally required massive risk taking, and yet it wasn’t hurting anyone. By definition, it’s rebellious. “We did it for us…we didn’t care that the public didn’t understand it.” (Sloke – Austin)
What is the form and style of graffiti and what is it not? I thought I knew, but I most certainly did not. The main types of graffiti are – tags, throw ups, pieces, and wild style. Letters are a major central focal point. The letter motif made me think of the connection to traditional Islamic art, where it’s sacrilege to depict human representation, thus, patterns and letters become important structures in art. Throughout the film, I was struck by my unconscious bias surfacing around formal and informal art as it relates to graffiti – these artists impressed me so much in the way they thought about and expressed color, shape, form, composition, and style. I was also blown away by their drive, discipline and integrity. Why had I expected any differently? The documentary also touches briefly on the difference between graffiti and street art – “Street art is like a kiss on the cheek, graffiti is like a punch in the mouth.” (Sloke)
I loved hearing about their varying paths in terms of careers in art – Dual (Houston) was disappointed at not getting into graduate school, understandably, but still went on to be successful, he didn’t let the formal establishment’s assessment discourage him – he found his way. The film transmits the hunger and creative drive of these artists, Sloke talks about branching out into handbags, textiles, “ I want to paint everything…” You feel the honor, integrity and allegiance of staying out of the corruptive forces of commercialism juxtaposed with the need to make a living – “if you don’t sell out, you’re not gonna survive.” (Dual) Businesses started sponsoring this art (e.g. google, Facebook…) and yet that became conflicted too. “The money was good… but there was no soul in it and I felt like I started to lose why I got into this in the first place.” (Sloke)
In a beautiful moment, we see the owner of Rice Box in Houston, Texas (John Pederson), commissioning a wall of graffiti (by Dual); he does what the best patrons throughout history have done, he has great respect for the artist’s work and gives him a few notes of his own inspiration (Blade Runner, Tron) but empowers the artist to fully run with it, with stunning results.
Fivepointz, a 12 factory building that became a mecca for graffiti artists from all over the world, and the challenges it went through with gentrification, were a final climax in the film, heartbreaking and tragic. But, like the artists and the history of this art form, it refused to be put down and defined by the narrow-mindedness of others. Meres One is featured in this section and you feel his creativity completely interwoven with empowering community and standing up for the legitimacy of this art form. Like the name of the film, Duality, there can be no separation.
The film pivots in the end asking – What is our legacy? What do we leave behind? A beautiful moment in the film is when Sloke is with a young man, who is obviously a huge fan. Sloke is giving the young man a job to do on his work in progress and the kid can barely hide his huge smile and excitement, it’s touching to see how carefully and with such reverence he approaches his simple task.
There is no point in trying to encapsulate the images in this beautiful film with words,
you have to watch it for yourself.
But, safe to say, they blast you out of your comfort zone, they are funny, heavy, paradigm-shifting, like epic poetry in motion on the wall. Everyone who watches this film will have their favorites. They remind me of riding on the subway above ground in NYC in the 80s and rolling by a beautiful, shocking tableau of massive graffiti on abandoned buildings. The art belongs to the streets and to the public and it is, by definition, temporary, but also so powerful and cinematic.
“A city not having graffiti is basically a city with no soul,” says Jaber. This film condenses the gravity and magnitude of a powerful street-borne art form in the most heart-pumping way. Just like each artist developed an iconic symbol of their own, each city bares its soul and forges its identity through the lens of its graffiti.
About the Production Team
Buffalo 8 was founded in 2010 by partners Matthew Helderman and Luke Taylor and is a full-service film and media company focused on production, post-production, distribution, design, and finance based in Santa Monica, California.
Buffalo 8 projects have been premiered and been awarded at Sundance, Berlin, Toronto and SXSW. In their own words “At Buffalo 8, we are the fusion of an entrepreneurial culture fused with a love of storytelling and the creative arts and a passion for delivering original stories.”
