Oak Street Cinema

Saturday, September 21, 7:30pm
Wednesday, September 25, 9:30pm

Joey Garfield, 2002, 80 mins
Beatboxing is the art of making sounds with the mouth that are normally made by machines. The human beat box is one of the key elements in the development of Hip Hop culture, along with Dj-ing, Graffiti, Breakdancing, and MC-ing. Its contribution has been largely overlooked, as has the fun, expressive, human, and spontaneous dimension of Hip Hop that it represents. As the first documentary of its kind, Breath Control: The History of the Human Beat Box uses interviews, live performances, archival footage, and animation to bring to light this important and neglected ingredient of Hip Hop's identity. With the help of Beat Box pioneers Doug E. Fresh, Biz Markie and The Fat Boys, the documentary traces the art form from its basic beat beginnings in the 1980s to its present day multi-layered, polyrhythmic figureheads such as Rahzel, Scratch of the Hip Hop group The Roots, and Zap Mama. Breath Control is a half historical, half tutorial look at humans as actual instruments.

“This is the real Hip Hop: no turntables, no band, no type of mechanical devices. Just the mic in my hand.” – Rahzel, the Godfather of Noize



 

Matt McCormick, 2001, 16 mins
Graffiti removal: the act of removing tags and graffiti by painting over them. Subconscious art: a product of artistic merit that was created without conscious artistic intentions.

It is no coincidence that funding for "anti-graffiti" campaigns often outweighs funding for the arts. Graffiti removal has subverted the common obstacles blocking creative expression and become one of the more intriguing and important art movements of our time. Emerging from the human psyche and showing characteristics of Abstract Expressionism, Minimalism and Russian Constructivism, graffiti removal has secured its place in the history of modern art while being created by artists who are unconscious of their artistic achievements.