STEVE POWERS - STUDIO GANGSTER GINGKO PRESS

STUDIO GANGSTER published on the occasion of

STEVE POWERS: THE MAGIC WORD Academy of the Fine Arts October 20, 2007–January 27, 2008

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts 118 North Broad Street , PA 19102 OPENING IMAGE

For my family, thanks for the baggage, and PAFA graduate Don Martin. Steve Powers: The Magic Word by Alex Baker

Steve Powers is a pop artist in reverse. Instead of several years preceding the ICA exhibition. A Harvey, , Nicole Eisenmann, Adam by Disney in 1997, peep shows and pornographic Powers ruminations on aspirations for success, using the current modes of expression associated cacophony of ESPO, REAS, and assorted found Cvijanovic, the Gents of Desire, Swoon, Gary Panter, movie theaters along 42nd Street near Times Square invention and reinvention, and the attendant with the advertising industry, he draws from an signs were anchored to the roof of the bodega and and Os Gemeos, among many others, created new (vacated by the stateʼs right of eminent domain tortures that come with the turf will soon be earlier era of words and images—the bygone the adjacent gallery walls, mimicking the visual signage and identities for businesses who could not during the real estate recession in the early 1990s) leveraged for social good—in marginalized youth idiom of the handpainted sign. Powers strives noise of the cheap urban-retail experience. Powers otherwise afford major facelifts.* In summer 2005, served as temporary public art installations and communities in Dublin and Belfast, in southern for authenticity in reviving this artisanʼs pursuit, hilarious phraseology was underscored in signs Powers opened the Dreamland Artist Clubhouse, interim artistic outposts courtesy of Creative Time, and northern Ireland, respectively, the result of a employing the richly vibrant, albeit highly toxic, like “ESPORAMA/Sensibly Slum;” “Fast Nickʼs in which customers can buy ready-made signs, but the same public art organization that spearheaded Fulbright fellowship he recently received. Working One Shot sign painterʼs enamel in his artistic Dust Spot/A Philly institution since Friday;” and an most importantly, serves as a residency program the Dreamland Artist Club. The 42nd with troubled youths, Powers will paint murals that endeavors. The feel of Powersʼ painting is outdoor billboard installed in a West Philadelphia for artists interested in the tradition of handpainted project drew so much favorable attention he hopes will, at the very least, provide a positive simultaneously “now” and “then”—a clever neighborhood near ICA proclaiming “Open to get advertising. The Clubhouse also offers artworks as from both a general and contemporary art audience role model for disenfranchised kids to make things balance of traditional graphic styles and methods you open/ESPO creative outlet/Where stupidity is prizes at selected amusement stands, rather than that major corporate interests took notice. Is it ironic happen for themselves. As a teenager raised on the usual stuffed animal or goldfish in a plastic bag. of application with a narrative sensitivity that always in stock.” Inside the bodega, Powers and that a former graffiti writer working in Coney Island the streets of Philadelphia, a self-made artist with *Powers credits Dick Zigun, a graduate of Yale is decidedly of the moment. It is no surprise that James designed mock-consumer items, identified Powers refers to painting the cars of the Cyclone in might have enticed developers to notice the real exhibitions in prestigious galleries and museums, Universityʼs theater department, as an early visionary Powers has dubbed his Pennsylvania Academy by their trademark tags and characters, and/ 2004 as a highpoint of his artistic career. The iconic estate potential of an increasingly attractive, yet still corporate clients, and the author of two published in Coney Islandsʼ aesthetic revival. In 1980, Zigun of the Fine Arts exhibition—his first solo museum or invented product titles that referred to the wooden rollercoaster, which has been in operation somewhat blighted, neighborhood? Or, is this just books, Powers ability to transform street cred into established a non-profit organization to produce show—The Magic Word. When I was first feel-good states of being experienced when one for eighty years, holds a special place in New one more instance of the endless contradictions of an artistic livelihood seems particularly relevant plays about the history of Coney Island, eventually introduced to Powers nearly ten years ago, I was “purchases” their brands (products included cans Yorkʼs collective imagination. Since his involvement capitalism? and inspirational to young Irish hoodlums. Indeed, struck by his dexterous and witty verbal skill, a of “Street Cred,” “Dignity,” “Sarcasm,” “Guilt,” in Coney Island, he has also painted new graphic his witty insights on the trials of selfhood smacks reviving the 10-in-1 sideshow with its legions of freaks, kind of hybrid poetry that blends the locution of and “Delusion,” among several others; all the identities for the Eldorado Arcade, bumper car Powers most recent body of work both swaggers of a deep Irishness that is confirmed by the name re-energizing the boardwalk with this nearly forgotten hip-hop bravado with a tough-talking sensibility of labels were professionally designed and printed, rides, and several food concessions. and self-deprecates and is deeply confessional. “Powers”—just like the whiskey. populist theatrical form. His efforts served as a a 1940s film noir character. This idiolect is total and seamlessly blurring the distinction between real and But who is doing the confessing? Are these template for what Powers initiated years later. dynamic: it not only defines his speech and writing, fictional brands). The bodega is a fitting metaphor Powers has always been fascinated by the autobiographical missives from the frontlines of but it is deployed along with visual elements in for the graffiti writer: what is perceived as ugly, intersection of art and commerce, citing the Powersʼ despair and beaten- down outlook? Or are his painting. underground, and an affront to the quality of life, masterful marketing of 19th century entertainment these emotional icons the sum total of omniscient, Alex Baker is Curator of Contemporary Art at the continues to exist alongside the gentrified. Later, entrepreneur P.T. Barnum as exemplifying the universal angst that permeates all strivers trying to Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Powers embrace of the word undoubtedly comes at Deitch Projects, the Venice Biennale and several blurring of advertising and the spectacular move forward in a perpetually self-absorbed New where he has organized projects with artists including out of his graffiti background where words—names, other venues, Indelible Market morphed into Street experience. Coney Island harkens back to the pre- York—a cognitive map of a particularly virulent Robert Ryman, Phil Frost, Marcel Dzama, Monique really—are front and center. In the mid to late-1990s, Market, in which overturned trucks, a taxi dispatch Disney days where spectacle was created through strain of social Darwinism? Powers best leaves these van Genderen, and Adam Cvijanovic, among others. after moving to from his hometown of stand, and a liquor store, among other elements, competing typography and garish images—the questions unanswered and that is why his text/ He recently curated Ellen Harvey: Mirror, a major Philadelphia, Powers, known as ESPO in the graffiti joined the bodega in a post-apocalyptic vision of a domain of signpainters, the first “imagineers” (to image equations hit home so hard. At times sharing site-specific installation by the artist that explored world, embarked on his last largely illicit sweep— world gone marketing mad according to the likes of borrow a phrase from Disney). Coney Island retains an ironic kinship with self-help literature, as well as the Victorian Gothic architecture and teaching the Exterior Surface Painting Outreach (ESPO) TWIST, ESPO, and REAS. an out of time, gritty authenticity of carnies, barkers, the mass appeal of self-identification conveyed in practices of the Pennsylvania Academy. A former project in which Powers “improved” paint-peeled and snake handlers, as well as amusement owners the best pop songs, Powers addresses addiction associate curator at the Institute of Contemporary Art, rolldown shop security gates with his ESPO moniker In around 2002, Powers began experimenting with who were at first wary of the overtures by Powers (“My hobbies include quitting stuff,” accompanying Philadelphia, Baker curated Indelible Market: Barry throughout greater New York. Evoking advertising storyboard painting—employing individual panels and fellow artists offering to paint signs for free. images of pills, a bottle of booze, and a burning McGee, Stephen Powers, and and East as well as the benevolence of community art as sequential segments relating a narrative, much But Powers experience in the world of graffiti and cigarette in a composition reminiscent of an old Meets West: “Folk” and Fantasy from the Coasts, programs, Powers saturated the public sphere with in the fashion of a comic strip. These works tell his brushes with the law enabled him to deal quite grocery store sign complete with spray paint fade); among other exhibitions. He has a Ph.D. in visual his tag. Powers called this “building the brand.” stories of the bullied, shoplifters, and addiction- well with individuals suspicious of his motives and the cut-throat art world of unreturned phone calls, anthropology from Temple University. Powerʼs self-assured legitimacy and his articulation addled superheroes—the misfits of urban lore that he was eventually able to convince vendors that flash-in-the-pan ideas, and disposable personalities of graffiti as a gentrification tool were soon parlayed Powers identifies with. While originally viewed in nothing was expected in return for his services. (“You have one new message” painted on an arm into museum and gallery projects, and even official galleries or as outdoor installations (Weylon Saul, with an upturned middle finger; “Thereʼs nothing public art. Powers exegesis on bully vs. underdog, was first In November 2006, a developer who is proposing more sad than a good idea gone bad” alongside seen in the 2002 Liverpool Biennial, installed on a billion dollar year-round entertainment and two lightbulbs fighting each other; or, for example, Powers major art world debut came in 2000 at the the façade of a building), Powers capitalized on the amusement district bought the Astroland amusement the painted phrase “Hipster you have had your Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA), Philadelphia in printed possibilities of these paintings as stories on park, home to 35 rides, and continues to acquire moment”); the trials and tribulations of the creative the exhibition Indelible Market, which also included the page, and published them as a series of graphic land underneath and around the boardwalk. act itself (“Pen in my hand,” “Lump in my throat,” Todd James (REAS) and Barry McGee (TWIST). vignettes in a book entitled First & Fifteenth: Pop Art This may mark the death of the rough-around-the “Heart on my sleeve,” “Block in my head” painted The central element of the show was a bodega, Short Stories. edges spirit that has long characterized Coney on four sides of a rotating aluminum sign cube or urban cornerstore, the brainchild of Powers Island. In a scenario that has been repeated straight out of old school retail); tense relationships and James, and the site where Powers signature In 2003, Powers made good on his Exterior Surface in New York several times in the past, art and (a matchbook denoted as “His” juxtaposed with enamel on aluminum text/image painting style Painting Outreach moniker with the Coney Island artists unknowingly pave the way for larger scale a “Hers” gasoline can); cynicism (“Bitter, jealous, was basically forged. It should be noted, however, project, Dreamland Artist Club, bringing the public gentrification. SoHo in the 1970s was where artists resentful—thanks for asking”); and the expectations that the conceptual underpinnings of Powersʼ art organization, Creative Time, on as co-producer. found cheap industrial lofts for rent, followed by art and fears of what the new day might bring handpainted sign aesthetic was first tested on actual Working with low-income amusement vendors gallery tenants in the 1980s, and then retail chains (“Tomorrow—youʼre my only hope” and “Mister derelict storefronts and old shop signs, transforming along the Coney Island boardwalk, Powers and in the 1990s—forcing artists and galleries to move Monday—always early”). urban abjection into ESPO-brand markets, in the a number of artists such as Dana Schutz, Ellen elsewhere. Before being acquired and developed The world, as I see it, is love, hate, confusion, joy, anger, sadness, jealousy, revelation, destruction, self-destruction, eating, sleeping, working, learning, earning, playing, getting over, getting caught up, spending, screwing, fighting, killing, birthing, learning, teaching, growing, dying, understanding, being confused, longing, laughing, crying, bragging, peeing, shitting, farting, cursing, talking, talking, talking, yelling, fighting, seeing, and listening. Iʼm sure I missed something(s), and its not in order of importance (except for the first), or in the order we do it (except for the last two). This is what I concern myself with when I work.

I paint from life the best I can. No filter, no question, I just get it down on the surface as fast and as clear as possible. Sometimes its wrong, but thatʼs a large part of the human experience. Iʼm just feeling my way through life and recording the feelings visually. I strive for a synthesis of word and image that creates emotional revelation. The downside to making work about feelings is that most people are as shallow as a kiddie pool. The upside is when somebody asks “Whatʼs so important about art?” I get to tell them “If you have no empathy, I can sell you some at a reasonable price.”

We are at a critical point in human relations that finds us on a very precarious precipice. Iʼm sure weʼre not doing enough to understand each other and less to understand ourselves. My paintings work at both tasks. They are the record of my efforts to glean some understanding of who these people are that have a good thing going and do everything they can to sabotage it. The result are maps of the emotions that guide us toward divinity and doom. For all the cynicism that is on display jn my paintings, there is an equal amount of faith and love. I believe the work depicts both sides of humanity; Weʼre capable of greatness but we usually just screw things up.

When you look at these paintings, there will be some things you love and hate, some things you knew all along and some things you donʼt understand. If thatʼs the case, welcome to my world. Like the radio said to the signal, thanks for coming through.

Steve Powers Manhattan August 14, 2007

Poster for the film Dedication. Ultimately, the film company went with a poster that showed off Mandy Moore (good call). The brain hates the heart and loves the mouth. The heart hates the brain and loves the mouth. The mouth hates and loves them both. This is everybody's story.

Jeffrey Deitch: “Whats Firmy?”

Me: “Its Firme, and its Chicano slang for hot.” Graffiti Lifetime Acheivement Award

Everything you did got painted over, nobody remembers you (not even the kid thats writing your name now), no royalties are coming in on that style you created, and all you got left of the years you wrote is your flicks and your criminal record. Hopefully, youʼre like me and its enough.

Mr Friday and Mr Sunday Morning.

Thereʼs nothing I like better than putting work in a nice spot.

A place of great honor where it will bless and be blessed in return. A place where people will look upon it with respect.

How about your back? That would be perfect. You would look great in a yellow slicker covered with the art of Americaʼs greatest post-street/skate artist. It would be like putting a diamond in a sunbeam.

My name is Steve Powers, and I am that diamond and you, ______are that sunbeam.

I donʼt want money, I just want the time it takes to meet you and discuss design options for the raincoat, and a photograph of you wearing the finished project. For me, itʼs a really upscale public art project. For you, itʼs an expensive piece of artwork you can wear when you go out to get the paper.

Call me now, I am ready to serve you.

Steve Powers 917.541.0604 Once in a while I paint something that gets immediate and frequent response and becomes a meme. The Holler Back Pigeon, The Broken Bad Idea Light Bulb, and You Have One New Message all started on a napkin in front of me and have gone on to be imitated and replicated in the world outside of my studio (In all fairness I stole Ass, Gas Or Cash). Whatʼs communication without reception? I donʼt know. Another satisfied customer.

The banner above the can manʼs head should read STRIVER NOT AN 85ER. Just so you know. Tommorrow, I learn to spell, I hope.

Cease is a bottle of booze and Desist is a 2mg Xanax, which Chief Running Mouth has nibbled off a piece. It wont slow him down, it just makes him harder to understand.

Youʼve been kicked out of the Garden of Eden, what else are you going to do? I suggest Takahachi on Duane Street.

This page: Thats the Sword of Damocles. I always took it to mean that we are always a second away from our fate, but the original tale is about being careful about wanting to be in another personʼs position, and the precarious nature of power. In any case, be easy.

Opposite page: Wise in the foxhole, “War is hell, have refreshments.”

FYI: Thatʼs a shit talking shit.

I love my wife, weʼve been together for almost 20 years. I fell in love with an amazing woman who was down for me and thatʼs that. I canʼt understand the compulsion to mess up a good thing, but its rampant in the world. Just as rampant is the compulsion to link up with someone thatʼs bad for your health and stay faithful to them. Whatʼs wrong with you people?

Painted on top of the Vice store on Sunset Boulevard in LA. It lasted a couple days before the owner painted it over. Feelings, apparrently, were hurt. Philly rowhome, a little lysergic and lethargic. Those are bills, not Netflix envelopes.

“I think the best of you, even your worst will do, even when you do more than you should, Glad we made it happen when we woke up from the trance. Iʼm with you. The easy world, Iʼm thinking of, I take it all, I want to be, come with me. Shake it girl, youʼre not losing anything but your fresh start, you can come to Hunting Park without getting married to the wind, the rain, and the dark.”

Will My Lord Be Gardening, Lilys. Lyrics Kurt Heasley. Opposite page: If youʼre lucky you get to solve a new problem every day. If youʼre unlucky, you get stuck trying to solve the same one again and again.

This page: Sleep and Repeat. Cigarettes are a good metaphor for people. Get ʻem going and they go till theyʼre gone. The Stepping Razor, even though he walks through the valley of death and he fears no man because hes the baddest motherfucker in the valley, is thinking, “maybe Iʼll start a family, that would be nice”

Thats a Walther PPK. If you see a skull on the horizon of your day, youʼll be glad to have one of these. Or does being strapped bring trouble? Thats two too many questions.

Justin Green painted these. He invented a few things that other people are eating off of, least of all “being an artist that paints signs” I woke up after a full blackout and found myself in no pain, still in pos- session of my wallet and keys, and my girl friend wasnʼt upset with me. VICTORY!

Hank Williams has the best face. it says, “Sure I might shoot myself with morphine and B12 before heading to a gig, but I know Iʼm one of Godʼs children”.

Previous spread, left: Tommorrowʼs bad too. Check back Nevurary 32nd. I might be less busy then.

Previous spread, right: You can flip this around depending on the status of the relationship.

This page: Thats Bez from the Happy Mondays with the maracas. Careful where you spend your holidays, you may end up retiring there.

Failure stars golfer Phil Mickelson. He blew the 2006 US Open with a few disasterous shots, of which he said “I still am in shock that I did that. I just canʼt believe I did that. Iʼm such an idiot”. He showed a lot of grace in the loss, so I made a better version of this with Mr. Mickelson and the words Coping Skills Donʼt Fail Me Now. Seriously, Iʼm waiting by the phone. Itʼs never time when the bottle is half empty.

You know the kind of people that burn themselves out? Theyʼll tell you that itʼs not their fault they got matches for hands, and they were born to sulfer. That strikes me as pre-phosporous.

I think the signal icon is supposed to be a telephone pole, which makes no sense for a wireless network. I was arguing with Kunle once and he shut me down saying, “Iʼm not having this conversation”; Once again reminding me that just because we have all these ways of communicating doesnʼt mean weʼre going to use them.

Previous spread: The third of the trio says THANKS FOR NOT INVOLVING ME.

This spread: True Story. The letters are painted by hand and screened onto plastic. When you get enough letters, you can see variations in form between different manufactuers. From 20 feet away they all look the same. Bashed out on illustration board. Terrible. If I practice everyday, in 10 more years Iʼll be merely awful. Opposite page: Check Writers are great. Thats a Phil Leeds term. I gotta call that guy.

This page: When I would ask mom for money, sheʼd grab her purse and say “Lemme consult the financial oracle”. The only reason I asked her is because I checked the purse first and knew she had some cash. Ass Gas Or Cash Limo. The ego machine full of gas makes perfect sense. What kind of an asshole is rolling in a limo anyway? If youʼre not at a prom or just married, youʼre a needy shithead. I showed Scott a bunch of sketches of the male character, he hated all of them as none really met his demand that it should look like “The South Bronx meets the West Village”. Coney Island Sign Mechanics: Valentino, Finally I said, “look around, who should it look like?” Justin Green, Phyn and Valentino, and He pointed out a guy that worked in his arcade. Problem The Master: Henry Wallace. solved haha. The sign shop - 1206 Surf. Designed by Matt Wright, with excellent lettering by the same. The Cyclone is 80 years old. The cars are original, except for the padding and the safety bars they added to make the ride a little more comfortable and safe. Its a back- breaker as it is, but I still feel cheated out of the ride Charles Lindburgh said was more thrilling than flying solo across the Atlantic. 3AM is supposed to be burnt toast. "You're spilling my personality" courtesy of Richard Thomas in "Living Proof: The Hank Willams Jr. Story”.

Steven Morrissey was never called a loser. Not in New York. Orville Wright with a 6 pack of Rolling Rock, on his way to Belaʼs Birthday Bar-B-Que Dayton, Ohio 19-something and five. Agua is 25. He was born on drugs and grew up under pressure that has made him a diamond. One day he asked me if I heard of Yummy Sandifer. I soon found out that he was an 11 year old Chicago youth that killed a 14 year-old girl and after the resulting press and police pressure, was murdered by fellow gang members in August, 1994. Apparently, Aguaʼs wifey had clippings of the case all over her wall growing up. Itʼs a stretch to say that Haelinn found Yummy in Agua, but I painted this as if that was the case. She is the Firewall. Heʼs capable of extraordinary feats like fatherhood and dumb fumbles like felonies. Can he resist compulsion to realize his potential? The Vegas line is 10-1 againist, but all the safe bets are cornballs.

Index p.6 Roaming (Detail) p.40 Tommorow Youʼre My Only Hope (Detail) p. 73-75 Hell Raiser (Detail) p.108 Dedication (Detail) p.11 Dedication, 2007. Enamel on aluminum, 40” x 26” p.41 Tommorow Youʼre My Only Hope, 2004. Enamel on aluminum, 40” x 25” p.76 Under The Gun, 2006. Enamel on aluminum 24” x 24” p.109 Roaming, (Detail) 2007. Enamel on aluminum, 48” x 48” p.12 Feelings Free For All, 2004. Vinyl Awnings, lights 12ʼ x 16ʼ p.42-43 Tommorow Youʼre My Only Hope (Detail) p.77 Its Not You Its Me, 2007. Enamel on Aluminum, 48” x 48” p.110 Agua Caliente (Detail) Installed at Deitch Projects, 76 Grand St. Photo: Tom Powell p.44 Block, 2006. Spray paint and enamel on powder-coated steel cube, p.78 Happy Monday, 2006. Bulletin Enamel on Illustration Board. 22” x 30” p.111 Agua Caliente, 2005. Enamel on powder-coated steel, 48” x 48” p.14 People To Do, Things To See, 2004. 12” x 12” Enamel on Duraboard, plastic trim 18” x 18” p.79 Happy Monday (Detail) p.112-113 Agua Caliente (Detail) p.45 Co-Defendant, 2006. Enamel on aluminum, 48” x 48” p.15 Sketchbook, 2004 p.80 Higher Power (Detail) p.46 Seeking Rush, Finding Ruin, 2004. Enamel on aluminum, 25” x 40” p.16 My List Of Demands, 2004. Enamel on aluminum, 25” x 40” p. 81 Higher Power, 2006. Enamel on aluminum 24” x 24” p.47/48/49 Seeking Rush, Finding Ruin (Detail) p.18 Remember, 2004. Enamel on Duraboard, plastic trim 24” x 48” p. 82-83 Higher Power (Detail) Graffiti Lifetime Achievement Award, 2004. p.50 Irreconcilable Differences (Detail) Enamel on Duraboard, plastic trim 24” x 24” p.84 No Place Like Misplaced, 2006. Enamel on aluminum 18” x 36” Baby, 2004. Enamel on Duraboard, plastic trim 24” x 24” p.51 Irreconcilable Differences, 2006. Enamel on aluminum, 20” x 36” p.85/86/87 No Place Like Misplaced (Detail) p.9 Baggage, 2004. Enamel on Duraboard, plastic trim 26” x 24” p.52-53 Irreconcilable Differences (Detail) p.88 Please, 2007. Enamel on aluminum 48” x 48” p.20 Drifter, 2004. Enamel on Duraboard, plastic trim 20” x 24” p.54 Love Letter, 2007. Enamel on aluminum, 12” x 12” Bill, 2004. Enamel on Duraboard, plastic trim 24” x 32” p.89 Sorry, 2007. Enamel on aluminum 48” x 48” p.55 Sketchbook, 2006 p.21 The Wedding Present, 2004. Enamel on Duraboard, plastic trim 30” x 48” P.90/91 True Story, 2005. p.56-57 True Hollywood Story, 2002. 3938 w. Sunset Blvd, LA CA. Road side signs and plexiglass letters, 25ʼ x 12ʼ p.22 Meditation, 2004. Enamel on Duraboard, plastic trim 24” x 48” Enamel on painted steel, 36”x 60” p.92 Happy Hour, 2005. Spray paint and bulletin enamel on board, 15” x 24” p.23 Loveʼs M.O., 2004. Enamel on Duraboard, plastic trim 18” x 12” p.58-59 Front and back cover art of the Lilys Will My Lord Be Gardening 12”. Free News Projects. Enamel on aluminum 24” x 24” p.93 Blame Machine, Funny Car, 2005. p.24-25 Nothing More Sad, 2004 Spray paint and bulletin enamel on board, 12” x 15” Enamel on Duraboard, plastic trim 24” x 48” p.60 Our Puzzle Paradise, 2006. Enamel on powder coated steel, 24”x 24” p.94 Money #1 (Detail) p.26-27 Saturday Night Sunday Morning, 2004 p.61 Sleep and Repeat, 2007. Enamel on aluminum 11.7”x 8.3” Enamel on Duraboard, plastic trim 24” x 48” p.95 Money #1, 2002. Enamel on aluminum, 24” x 48” p,62 Stepping Razor (Detail) p.28 Thank You, 2004. Enamel on Duraboard, plastic trim 24”x 24” p.96/97 Ass Gas Or Cash Limo, 2005. Balloon, 5ʼ x 20ʼ p.63 Stepping Razor, 2006. Enamel on aluminum, 24” x 24” p.29 Producer, 2004. Enamel on Duraboard, plastic trim 24”x 24” p.98 Eldorado Signs, 2003. 1220 Surf Ave, Coney Island. p.64/65 Stepping Razor (Detail) Enamel on aluminum, 24” x 60” ea. p. 30/31 ESPO Service. Cut adhesive-backed vinyl on raincoats. Model: Ari Forman Photo: Kai Regan p.66 Hobbies, 2007. Acrylic and tempra on board, 12” x 12” p.101 The Surf Avenue Outreach Sign Shop, 1206 Surf Ave. Coney Island p.32/33 Partial inventory of imagery available for raincoats p.67 2 Dollar Whore, 2007. Acrylic and tempra on board, 12” x 12” p.102 You Had Your Moment (Detail) Thank You Al Baker, Tony Smyrski, Maryanne and Malcolm, David Lopes, p.36 Alzheimers, 2004. Enamel on Duraboard, plastic trim 24”x 30” p.68 Convincing Rationale (Detail) p.103 You Had Your Moment, 2004. Enamel on aluminum 48” x 48” Guess RFC, Wise RFC, Justin Green, Agua, Haelinn, , everybody at Deitch Projects, Tim Walkewicz, Ned Vena, Ilya Lipkin, Coney Island, Coney p.37 Sketchbook, 2006 p.69 Convincing Rationale, 2004. Enamel on aluminum, 25” x 40” p.104-105 You Had Your Moment (Detail) Island USA, Ari Forman, Matt Goias, Dan Murphy, Nick DiFalco, Diesel Gene, Max Lawrence, Kurt Heasley, Bob Pollard, Mimi Gross, Rebecca and Laura, p.38 Sketchbook (Snowman), 2005 p.70-71 Convincing Rationale (Detail) p.106 Roaming, 2007. Enamel on aluminum, 48” x 48” Craig Costello amd Jen Dwin, Kunle, Dash, Kenji, Kent, Gary, Mike Tesi, Justin Theroux, Eddie Bezazel, Quest Love, The Long Family, The Leeds Family, Mon- p.39 Hotel Room Sketch (for Arkitip magazine), 2003 p.72 Hell Raiser, 2006. Enamel on aluminum, 24” x 24” p.107 Roaming (Detail) ster Children Gallery, and most importantly, MUSIC.

All artwork by Steve Powers Art Direction by Smyrski Creative

Ginkgo Press 5768 Paradise Drive, Suite J Corte Madera, CA 94925

Telephone: 415.924.9615 Telefax: 415.924.9608 [email protected] www.gingkopress.com

Published in 2007 by Gingko Press

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