Validaton

Graffiti gossip washed a hater-wave up to me recently. Apparantly, Mark Ecko, hip-hop fasion extroardinaire and rhino obsessed millionaire created more than just some cool Kangol caps this summer. A new video depicts him and a Blair
Witch styled camera man hopping fences and hiding from cops as they sneak in to tag Air Force One. ( www.stillfree.com ) It seems to good to be true right? Well, it was and we learn later that it is not in fact the President's atmospheric Escalade, but a San Bernadino
747 painted to appear as Air Force One. An expensive hoax to say the least.

Although the video is fascinating in a film-noir type of way it is more interesting how the context of this video changes after we learn of its making. How many times have you been completely fascinated by a work of art only to realize you
have been duped? I've had my fair share of it. I'll never forget when I realized Dale Chihuly didn't fabricate most of his glass sculptures, or that Andy Warhol didn't pull the screens on most of his work, or even that Keebler cookies weren't really made by Keebler Elves. This type of thing must happen all the time, right?! So what does this say about society...and our attachment to authenticity. Will we ever let the concept outweigh the creation? Or will we be too busy looking for a loophole to enjoy the idea inherent in all art.