AKB Group Show "From A to B" July 20, 2005

All Kings at Dactyl Foundation

Since its height in the mid 1970s, graffiti has served as street culture?s primary underground medium of visual and literary expression. Whether making a political statement, marking one?s territory or experimenting aesthetically, graffiti writers have revolutionized endless public spaces into personal galleries full of color and vitality. Inspired by music and urban life, bombing is one of the only art forms that announces the individual artist to the world while maintaining an inherently disguised identity. In the constant debate over what constitutes contemporary art, graffiti writers are both active participants and artistic outlaws.

In honor of their contribution to the form, Dactyl Foundation for the Arts & Humanities presents All Kings, an exhibition featuring the artwork of the AKB graffiti crew. While few graffiti writers make the transition from the street to the studio, even fewer bring their creativity into the professional world. Formed in Minneapolis and St. Paul in the late 1980s, many AKB members are successful within art and design as painters, graphic designers, illustrators and tattoo artists. AKB members have spread across the country influencing other graffiti writers as well as growing artistically in their own right.

Graffiti writers are essentially anonymous to the general public, yet their ?tags? or linguistic representations are identifiable and unique. Like Dactyl?s fine art exhibitions, viewers are invited to approach each work with themes of progression, divergence and unity. Dactyl Foundation will showcase the diverse talents of these artists exploring their stylistic development individually and collectively.