Boxes Full of Soul
A new piece by Zach Curtis showed up downtown Pontiac. It's directly across from the piece I shared last week. So that makes a fresh dog looking at a group of jellyfish.
A short tour through People's Records Detroit, which I make sure to pass through at least once a month. One section of the store has an entire wall lined with boxes of 45s, all custom painted -- many after actual soul record labels.
And only a few blocks from Peoples is this absolute stunner. Dilla, Moodymann, Donald Byrd, Aretha -- note all the Detroit artists on the shelf.
Since this edition of E&E has a double portion of street art, it's appropriate that a landmark legal decision about artists' rights came down this week in a US appeals court. A judge awarded $150,000 to each of the 45 street artists whose pieces were destroyed by an overzealous and arrogant developer at the legendary 5Pointz spot in Queens. Eileen Kinsella writes:
In a sweeping 32-page decision eviscerating the legal arguments of a disgruntled Queens real estate developer, a US Appeals Court affirmed the rights and monetary damages awarded to a group of graffiti artists whose works were destroyed without warning or consent in 2013.
Status Board
Writing: Putting final touches on a grant application that might just bring a Native-designed hip-hop and electronic music album/curriculum into community and school spaces.
Reading: The grant budget. Over and over.
Listening: A chronological listen to Busta Rhymes catalog. His early stuff was so good.