The “GV” of the title stands for Graffiti Verité, Bob Bryan’s eye-popping endeavor to document the world of aerosol art. On his website, GraffitiVerité.com, Bryan quotes from Bertolt Brecht: “Art is not a mirror held up to reality, but a hammer with which to shape it.” Through Bryan’s GV series of instructional videotapes, the outsider can glimpse a part of this shaping which is commonly dismissed and (in some cases erroneously) regarded as vandalism.

Bryan’s subject in GV4 is the spray can artist Sano (at work in the photo to the right and below), who points out that the concrete he works on here is indeed legal. The Graffiti Pit walls in Venice, California, are approximately sixty feet long by six feet high, and are open for community expression.

In a three-part format -- preliminary sketch, painting the wall, and painting on canvas -- the film balances tutorial with cultural observation, becoming a miniature portrait of Sano in the process. “Aerosol art saved my life,” he reveals. “It gave me a foundation and a focus.” Explaining technique, can control, detailing, and embracing Wild Style as “a new form of communication,” Sano’s an engaging personality driven by an infectious enthusiasm.

He creates two pieces in GV4. The sixty-foot mural links his signature with images that flow from atomic devastation to hints of erotica. While it echoes his many influences (spanning from Leonardo to anime), the work emerges as a vibrant personal offering. Graffiti is character and declaration bared for the masses. Sano exposes himself through a burst of imagination and color, and delivers it to the urban environment. That the piece is completed in one day -- and can be instantly eliminated in the sweep of a wet paint roller -- stresses its immediacy.

On a much smaller scale, Sano’s portrait of Tupac Shakur is beautifully rendered, using black and white spray paint on canvas. Although lacking the range of the mural, it’s far more intimate, and the evolution through shaping and outline becomes a quietly mesmerizing procedure.

Making excellent use of background music, GV4 has extended end credits for audio samples and information on all the songs used -- a thoughtful and welcome feature.

Bob Bryan is an unobtrusive filmmaker whose images and editing flow peacefully. He arranges facets of Sano -- philosophy, style, and humor -- with warmth and precision, welcoming those unfamiliar with his art. Following three earlier Graffiti Verité videos, and future volumes likely, Bryan is preserving statements and beauty that most people pass on the street without notice. Hopefully, our eyes may soon comprehend this art which is so freely given.

Above: Bob Bryan filming Sano

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For more information, or to order GV4, go to:

Graffiti Verité

FLICKHEAD

Copyright © 2003 by Ray Young