5 Pointz:
aerosol art epicenter

f you’ve taken the number 7 subway line to Queens, you’ve seen it. The train rounds the bend near the 23^rd St. - Ely Ave. station in Long Island City and there it is: a huge factory building slowly becoming dressed in aerosol art (formerly known as graffiti).

The building known as 5 Pointz, a.k.a. Institute of Higher Burnin', is being transformed through the vision of Meres, an aerosol artist from Queens who’s been "writing" for 17 years. After the Fun Factory lost its space about 3 years ago, Meres approached the landlord and obtained permission to start turning this working factory building into the largest museum of its kind in the world. It would become an outdoor exhibition space where anyone who, as Meres put it, "has an itch to do something," can be assigned a spot in which to express themselves as an aerosol artist. Even a beginner gets a rooftop spot to paint a piece that will stay up for a couple of weeks.

The bottom of the building is the showcase where, increasingly, full-scale productions with well-thought-out characters and themes cover the walls. They will remain up for a year. "The aim is to cover the whole building with high-end murals," Meres explained, "not just lettering, but words intertwined with art work and beautiful backgrounds. That way people who don’t necessarily understand the lettering can appreciate the artwork and perhaps come around and study the aerosol art a little more."

Meres himself did the master production - which is equivalent to the creation of an entire world - on the front of the building. With its motto, "The hardest challenges in life are those we place on ourselves," it took him about 150 hours to complete, since it runs an entire block and is about two stories high. "I wanted that wall to act as the attention getter, so people going to the PS1 museum across the street will see it and say, ‘Wow, what is that?!’ Then they look down the street and see more art, which makes them want to come over and then walk around the entire building since the bottom in 100% covered."

Beginning with 5 Pointz’s first big event when Meres got 40 to 50 writers all in one day to come out and paint, the idea has been first to simply get the aerosol art up, and then to upgrade it. The purpose is not only to lure people to view the work, but to attract world-class aerosol artists to come and use the space so they keep pushing up the level of the art form. "That’s what it’s all about," said Meres. "Somebody comes and does a new production that’s insane and it pushes the levels. Everything just keeps upgrading and upgrading so that by the time the whole building is done, it will be a beautiful work."

Meres hopes that in time 5 Pointz will include a store, a school and be recognized as an important art destination just like the Museum of Modern Art. It already is world renowned among aerosol artists, who come from all over the United States as well as Canada, South and Central America, Europe, Australia, China, and elsewhere to paint.

Through the website at www.5ptz.com, artists and other interested parties contact 5 Pointz’s Co-Art Director, Nic, an aerosol artist from the Bronx. He assigns wall space and, like Meres, gives tours to groups from camps, schools and youth organizations – as well as individuals (like this reporter) who were so intrigued when they saw the place from the subway that they got off for the express purpose of exploring it.

Nic also coordinates all events taking place on the grounds, such as Old Timers Day, held a couple of times a year for the pioneer aerosol artists from the late 1960s, when this art form was born, through the 1980s. On a recent Saturday, these artists brought their paint supplies and spent the day eating pizza, enjoying a few brews and swapping stories about the past while they each claimed a space on the building’s long back wall and did a new piece.

Most of the old timers started out "tagging" subways, but later turned their efforts to creating art, which is the direction they steer the younger aerosol artists towards. They also impart to the new generations whatever expertise they’ve obtained in their art.

"Without these guys, I wouldn’t be here," Nic declared, sweeping his arm towards the old timers. "They inspired people who came after them, who inspired me and now I’m trying to inspire the new generation. It’s always a thing that’s passed down. You’ve got to pay respect to the guys that came before you because they’re your history."

As to why he was drawn to becoming an aerosol artist, Nic said that his reason for doing it has evolved. "In the beginning I wanted to do it for the same reason as everybody else - fame. To get my name up and have it seen by 50,000 people a day. But that changed over time," he continued. "You end up wanting to do it because it makes people happy to look at it. And having a place like this is a blessing because you can come and do your artwork and you know you’re going to make someone happy. It’s great to be able to move into that."

Nic said that years ago he never thought he’d be at the level where he was painting something other than just his name and abstract letters. "Now I’m doing something that constitutes thought and depth," he stated proudly.

There are other beautiful walls all over New York, but there is nothing like 5 Pointz where you have such a large variation of different aerosol artists all in one place. "Anyone who hasn’t been here, I encourage them to come down," says Meres. "Anyone who has been here and had a good time, come back!"