From Punk Bars To Art: Decoding The Rebellious Underground Language Of Stickers

You don't need to be a punk or a skater to know that any Lower East Side bar without a bathroom mirror rendered useless by a cacophony of stickers and tags is not a spot worth hanging at.

Stickers (not the Lisa Frank ones that might have covered your binder in elementary school) have long served as a rebellious territory marker, especially on the downtown New York scene. If you've been around enough, and kept your eyes open, you'd notice the slapped-on work of the same crews, artists, activists, and bands staking their claim on everything from bathroom walls to telephone poles. For some, it's a secret language. For others, it's peak underground pop culture. For DJ and nightlife figure DB Burkeman, it's a collection worth sharing.

To celebrate the release of his second volume of stickers and their stories, Stickers Vol. 2: More Stuck-Up Crap, published by Rizzoli, DB was joined by skaters, graffiti artists, and a slew of downtown cool kids for a preview of his personal collection and a Q+A with NYC graffiti writer and designer Claw Money and graffiti legend, David "Chino" Villorente. 

Presented by Lower East Studios at Privilege New York, the distinctly LES version of a book launch featured slices from Scarr's Pizza, a DJ set by Stretch Armstrong, and a live performance by Deem Spencer. A-Trak, who is featured in the book, even made an appearance.

With more than 3,000 images of sticker graphics, organized by categories and themes, the book includes works by artists including Tom Sachs, Jenny Holzer, BANKSY, and Marilyn Minter, introductions by INVADER and Jeffrey Deitch, along with 125 removable stickers for your own tagging pleasure. 

Get it HERE and click through for an inside look at the bash!

[Photos by David X Prutting/BFA.com]