Henry Chalfant

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Henry Chalfant (born January 2, 1940 in Sewickley, Pennsylvania, USA) is a well known and highly regarded urban culture photographer and videographer most notable for his graffiti and breakdance photography and film.

His photos are in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, and the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

A graduate of Stanford University who majored in classical Greek, he co-authored the definitive account of New York graffiti art, Subway Art and a sequel on the art form's world-wide diffusion, Spray Can Art. Chalfant co-produced and did the background research and photo-documentation for the film, Style Wars, first shown on PBS television in 1984. One of the foremost authorities on New York subway art, he has published articles and lectured extensively on urban culture. More recently he has lectured on the aspects of conflict in the Middle East, in particular the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.

Chalfant has stated his influences are varied:

"In College my mentor was Charles Rowan Beye, the Greek scholar. I really didn't have a mentor for my art work, but I was influenced by great sculptors I admired like David Smith and Eduardo Chillida. For visual Anthropology, I was influenced by the ethnographic filmmaker, Jean Rouche."

Contents 1 Published works 1.1 Books 1.2 Film 2 Gallery events 3 References 4 External links

[edit] Published works

Cover to Spraycan Art showing graffiti around the world

[edit] Books Subway Art, Martha Cooper and Henry Chalfant, Thames and Hudson, London, 1984, Henry Holt, New York, 1984. Spraycan Art, Henry Chalfant and James Prigoff, Thames and Hudson, London and New York, 1987. [edit] Film Style Wars, a PBS documentary film with Tony Silver, New York, 1984; Flyin' Cut Sleeves, documentary on South Bronx gangs co-produced and directed with Rita Fecher, 1993. Produced and directed music videos for the rap group, The Latin Empire, Puerto Rican and Proud for Atlantic Records and Asi Es La Vida, chosen as one of the ten best videos on International MTV in 1990. Produced and directed Visit Palestine: Ten Days on the West Bank. 2002. From Mambo to Hip Hop, a documentary on the South Bronx produced by City Lore Inc.

Cover to Subway Art showing many of Henry's subway photos

[edit] Gallery events

• "Ten Years: 1977-1987", The Prosper Gallery, New York, 2002.
• "hip hop display at the Experience Music Project", Seattle, Washington 2000.
• "Urban Mythologies", the Bronx Museum, New York, 1999.
• "Hip Hop: A Cultural Expression", The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland, Ohio; 1999.
• "Art of the American Century Part ll", Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY 1999.
• "Urban Mythologies", The Bronx Museum, New York, 1999.
• "Since the Harlem Renaissance, 50 Years of Afro-American Art", Bucknell University, 1985.
• Hirshhorn Museum, Washington, D.C. 1984.
• "Content, a Contemporary Focus 1974-1984".
• "The Comic Art Show", Whitney Downtown, New York, 1983.
• Addison - Ripley Gallery, Washington, D.C. 1991.
• Instituto de Cultura Norteamericana, Barcelona, 1985.
• Riverside Studios, London, 1985.
• Canton art Institute, Canton, Ohio, 1981.
• "Graffiti in New York", OK Harris, New York, 1980.

[edit] References

• Henry Chalfant @149st - Very brief bio.
• "Henry Chalfant: Granddaddy of the Graff Flik," by Vee Bravo, in Stress Magazine, no. 13, 1998.
• New York Folklore Society 2001-02 Documentary Heritage Project Documenting Hip Hop - Biography and other collection information.
• E-mail interview with Henry Chalfant.

[edit] External links

• Henry Chalfant at the Internet Movie Database
• BackJumps No. 19 - Brief interview, contains photo of Chalfant throwing up graffiti.
• Hip-hop snapshots - contains an audio interview with Henry Chalfant.