STREET ART WITH STRONG SOCIAL UNDERTONES
Chris Stain’ Long Short Story was presented at the Wooster St. Social Club, site of the television show NY Ink, on March 14th 2012 where an exhibition of all the works took place for the occasion. Chris Stain grew up writing Graffiti in Baltimore, MD in the mid 1980s. Through printmaking in high school he adapted stenciling techniques, which later led to his work in street stencils and urban contemporary art. Stain’s stencil work explores inner city life from both inside and outside individual. In Long Story Short, he examines the architecture of emotion, inspiration, and creativity that comprise his artwork and his life. In this aesthetically DIY autobiographical reflection, Stain shares writings, letters, photographs, artwork, and memorabilia that illuminate the inspiration for his poignant imagery. Marked with strong social undertones, his work has at times been compared to the themes echoed in the American Social Realist movement of the 1930s and 1940s and is filled with the adversity that one faces in the intercity.
The book clearly demonstrates how Stain’s dedication to both his craft and his message has led him to become a prominent figure in the American street-art scene. In Long Story Short, his first publication, Stain continues to illustrate the struggles of the unrecognized and underrepresented individuals of society. In today’s delicate social environment, where the sentiments of social and economic injustice embodied by the Occupy movement continue to run high, Stain’s work has never felt more relevant.
