NEW YORK -- A dozen graffiti artists surrounded their target - "The Cube" - a well-known Manhattan sculpture, waiting for the signal to begin tagging.   It was going to be anything but easy, as the 15-foot metallic sculpture in Astor Place had recently been coated with a graffiti-preventive paint.

A 'close-up' of the 'LED Throwie' - which is basically a bundle of batteries, magnets and light-emitting-diodes of various colors.

      But seconds after the signal was given, The Cube was covered in glowing LED Throwies, the most recent brainchild from Graffiti Research Lab, (GRL), which refers to itself as 'an open-source think tank dedicated to developing new methods and tools for street artists'.

An inside look at a Throwie assembly lab - Throwies are being readied for a 'non-destructive' assault on a billboard, or other metallic surface.

      In spite of The Cube's coating of Acrolon paint, the sculpture wasn't protected from the magnetic, multicolored LEDs, which are capable of attaching themselves to any surface.   The glow-in-the-dark spectacle in Astor Square soon attracted a throng of passers-by, many of whom joined the 12 artists in throwing Throwies at the sculpture.

Members of the Geek Graffiti class at Parsons and members of the graffiti group Visual Resistance pepper The Cube in Astor Place with Throwies.   They were soon joined by passing youths, and it wasn't long before the sculpture (previously coated with anti-graffiti paint) was covered with glowing multicolored clumps of light.

      The GRL was started by graffiti writers Q-Branch and Fi5e (probably their real names) after a brainstorming session on the perennial question of how to get around ever-developing anti-graffiti measures being employed by the authorities.   The lab is a part of the wider see-saw 'war' that graffiti artists constantly wage with municipalities and campus authorities.   Various anti-graffiti paints are the most recent weapons in the authorities' battle against the artists.   But GRL co-founder Fi5e. summed it up, ".... if the cat ramps up, so does the mouse."

      The LED Throwies cost only 75 cents to make and continue to glow for two weeks.   They are one of a growing handful of do-it-yourself street-art innovations that have emerged from the twisted minds of the terrible GRL twins since they ramped-up last February.

      (Another recent revelation is the Electro-Graf, an application technique that attaches LEDs, tiny electric motors, and even solar panels & other electrical devices onto a wall using a conductive spray paint.   Needless to say, Electro-Graf-ing can give your tags a a blinking, or vibrant shine, and even moving parts.   Electro-Graphing will be covered in detail in a future MIDNITE HOUR article.)

*The above has been sourced from articles by David Cohn and other reporters (See <links>, below). Graffiti Research Lab <link> Instructables.com <link> Wired.com <link>

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As a matter of general interest, below is another recent publication by an author and publisher who are among the growing number of people who see a social significance in graffiti as an art form -

Belong: A TV Journalist's Search for Urban Culture by Jennifer Morton In paperback (2004) ISBN 1894663780

Graffiti #085 Almost Me, Almost You 7 ft high x 7 ft Graffiti #086 Clearing The Tubes 10 ft. high x 8 ft. Graffiti #087 Corner Tag 3 1/2 ft. high x 5 ft. Graffiti #088 Haze Days 7 ft. high x 10 ft. Graffiti #089 Urban Herbie 7 ft. high x 30 ft. Graffiti #090 Pinched 7 ft. high x 5 ft. Graffiti #091 Shock-A-Block 10 ft. high x 18 ft. GRAFFITI ARCHIVES : Graffiti, Graffiti, and more Graffiti - Bangkok's original and ONLY Graffiti Site ! Graffiti ARCHIVES <link> Graffiti's HISTORY <link>    The MIDNITE HOUR Graffiti Page is prepared by Staff Contributor "Boge" Hartman. (The above photo is not a graffiti per-se, although there are those who have insinuated....)

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