BUFFALO —
Some might say Angelo Ashker, owner of Ashker’s Juice Bar & Cafe, had a bit of a situation on his hands Jan. 10 when about five graffiti artists took over his restaurant and started spray-painting one of the walls of his establishment.
No, they weren’t there to vandalize the cafe, which has been open since the end of the summer they were there getting ready for the upcoming exhibit, “The Fine Art Graffiti Show.” The timing is good for a little splash of color on the walls, Ashker said, pointing out he had planned some renovations for the cafe this spring anyway.
“After each show we plan to work with the artists and if that means repainting the walls, that’s something we’ll do,” Ashker said of the open all-purpose space adjacent to the dining area.
Ashker is hesitant to call the area strictly a gallery space, though — the room has been used for dance classes and themed dinner nights.
“Elmwood Avenue has been an area where the demographics are so varied. It’s probably the only place in Western New York where you can hold a graffiti exhibit one night and have salsa dancing classes the next,” Ashker said.
“We don’t charge any rental fees for (the space), it’s just an open-source platform for others to come in and share what they’re doing ... the only criteria is that it has to be healthy and positive.”
Until Feb. 10, the platform will be used by several graffiti artists in a show curated by Daemen College graduate student Anna Todaro.
The group, known as BU — which stands for Born Urban or Be Yourself, explained Ashker — will display a rotation of some 50 or 60 canvases of their work. Todaro said the artists, which hail from Buffalo, Pittsburgh and Cleveland, are so prolific because of the quick-drying nature of spray paint.
For them, she said, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance.
“They’re very excited to work and not have to look over their shoulder,” Todaro said. “I don’t think they’ve ever been given such a positive opportunity.”
“They never use their real names ... they’re mysterious in their own way. We’re hoping that people don’t frown on graffiti art as much in the Elmwood village area. There has been some activity where people’s businesses have been vandalized and it sends the wrong message about graffiti art.”
Ashker is quick to draw the distinction between graffiti taggers or bombers who illegally vandalize public property and BU’s methods.
“The focus of the show is to transcend the typical graffiti scene into the larger art world,” he said. We want to “legitimize it as a an art form ... the type of art that can inexpensively add character or cover urban blight.”
Todaro believes graffiti art is the new avant garde, something that is finally being accepted in fine arts galleries. She equates graffiti artists’ struggle for acceptance with the argument some people made — and in some cases still do make — against photography as an art form.
And is graffiti on a canvas still actually considered graffiti?
“It’s something we’ve thought about and talked about,” Todaro said. “I believe it is because it’s a type of style ... I believe that graffiti can hold up as an art form on or off of a canvas.”
“There are going to be opinions ... that’s what’s great about it,” she added.
The show will conclude Feb. 10 with a closing reception featuring DJ Lopro, though Ashker said other special activities will be planned to coincide with the exhibit, like a workshop with the Boys & Girls Club.
IF YOU GO
• WHAT: “The Fine Art Graffiti Show”
• WHEN: Cafe and exhibit open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week; closing reception is 8 p.m. Feb. 10
• WHERE: Ashker’s Juice Bar & Cafe, 1002 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo
• MORE INFORMATION: Call 886-2233 for details about special events planned to coincide with the exhibit.
Contact features editor Danielle Haynes at 693-1000, ext. 4116.
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