When photographer Janette Beckman arrived in New York City from London in the early ’80s, the concrete jungle was her visual playground. Known for her edgy photographic portrayal of musicians, Beckman painted pictures with her camera — placing everyone from rappers to punk rock heads in their natural gritty elements. Three decades later, Beckman’s work has been reimagined in a mash-up series curated by Def Jam exec turned artist Cey Adams. The series takes Beckman’s legendary Hip-Hop photos and layers them with the work of graffiti artists.
“I was kind of walking around New York City in the ’80s and there were all of these graffiti backdrops painted for me,” Beckman says. “So I was already photographing people in front of art. In some ways, this is like full circle.” The concept arrived when Cey suggested Beckman reach out to renowned graffiti writers to offer their take on her classic flicks. The results were innovative, as Morning Breath transformed a notorious black and white Slick Rick photo with bursts of colorful typography. An LL Cool J signature pose became an emo representation of his song “I Need Love.” Cey himself even added to the mix, writing over one of his favorite photos of the late Keith Haring on a bike in his apartment.
The greatest aspect of this mash-up series is that it keeps growing. Beckman has held multiple gallery viewings of the work, and with each event new art arrives. The most recent was held earlier this week at New York City’s Gansevoort Market, where DJ Stretch Armstrong deejayed and seminal graffiti artists like Zephyr showed up to support (Zephyr may be the next artist to work his magic into the art). “This is becoming more than I ever imagined,” Beckman says. “It’s one of my most favourite projects that I’ve ever done.”
Credits
Text Kathy Iandoli