DeBeer and Collins in The Buffalo News

DeBeer and Collins to speak at Burchfield Penney tonight on the Gusto Blog by Colin Dabkowski.
Read more at www.BuffaloNews.com.

Ian DeBeer and Max Collins, two Buffalo street artists from disparate backgrounds who have found common ground in their shared desire to break into the mainstream art world, will give a moderated talk tonight in the Burchfield Penney Art Center. The event will begin at 6 p.m. with a screening of Nate Peracciny's half-hour documentary "Streets of Art" about the newly formed Allen Street Street Art Collective. They are seen above discussing their collaboration at Elmwood Avenue and Breckenridge Street earlier this year.

DeBeer, the partially redeemed graffiti artist whose tag "HERT" can be seen on structures across the northeast, is in the midst of meticulously crafting his new public image: that of a former outlaw making a tongue-in-cheek effort to establish himself in the lucrative fine art world. Collins, a gifted photographer known for hits commissioned wheatpastes, is a happily playing along. Expect their talk to be at least as preformative as it is informative.

Here's one of many Instagrams on DeBeer's account promoting the event, in which Collins poses with the event poster, created in the style of the artist Christopher Wool. See the picture at www.BuffaloNews.com.