To celebrate America’s birthday, the Salamatina Gallery hosted an unprecedented installation, Calligraffiti: Letters of Independence, by the cutting-edge artist Niels Shoe Meulman. The exhibition opened with a live Calligraffiti performance on Thursday, July 1st, demonstrating how Meulman literally re-wrote the 1776 Declaration of Independence on site at the Salamatina Gallery. Meulman completed his Re-Declaration over a period of days, highlighting all 1,337 of the historic words in 262 works of art, executed in ink on U.S. letter-sized paper. These “Letters” were exhibited throughout the holiday weekend, and remained on view and for sale until July 27th.
Meulman, who lives and works in Amsterdam, has been a legend in the graffiti world since he was 18, tagging under the name Shoe. He is a pioneer of Calligraffiti, a revolutionary art form which combines the lyricism of traditional calligraphy with the speed and immediacy of modern-day graffiti. The artist broke new ground with this project, by interpreting a document of the length and cultural significance of the Declaration of Independence. He also explored his dedication to the art of writing, by choosing a document noted for its flourish-filled quill letters, as well as for its powerful - and universal - expression of human rights.
