Image via Complex Original
Jim Joe is a mysterious and curious graffiti writer, who has been spreading his name across the streets of downtown New York for the past four years. His scribbled handwriting dots the urban jungle of the Lower East Side and the East Village, making him a compelling, memorable presence on the city streets. This month, at New York's The Hole Gallery on the Bowery, Jim Joe has an exhibition fittingly titled "January 2014" containing new drawings, paintings, and installation pieces.
Jim Joe's select gallery shows in Paris, Toronto, and New York have shown a different level of quality in his work. The context of his drawings and arrangements allow them to speak more freely. Exaggerated portraits, found material sculptures, and other readymades comprise Jim Joe's portfolio, and the artist draws inspiration from Marcel Duchamp and the Dada movement. Jim Joe has also worked with the likes of Kanye West, showing the breadth of his talent as an artist. Famous for dodging interviews with decoys, however, Jim Joe remains anonymous. We did some digging on the enigma to give you 10 Things to Know About Mysterious Street Artist Jim Joe.
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He's originally From Montreal.
According toThe Local East Village, Jim Joe attended McGill University along with Leah Pires, the publisher of McGill's Folio magazine. Folio is a student-run publication that features anonymous submissions by fellow students. Jim Joe became a bit of a cult figure right after his work was featured in Folio, an obsession that continued to grow when his work appeared on the streets of New York. Folio's student staff selected a cut-out series of found objects covered in Jim Joe tags and comments for the Fall 2009 issue of Folio.
Marcel Duchamp is one of his main influences.
According to the press release for his show at The Hole and Subway Art Blog, Jim Joe is inspired and influenced by Marcel Duchamp. Tagging can be about owning public property and/or becoming a recognizable name, and Jim Joe seems to do both, turning the debris of the city into signed readymades. By tagging a suitcase with his name, Jim Joe mimics Duchamp's signing of a urinal with "R.Mutt."
He's been spotted in New York since 2010 and has since grown a cult following.
Jim Joe has been tagging in New York since 2010. His almost childlike handwriting and quirky comments pop up on busy city streets, and his humor has become a welcomed presence on dirty street corners and dark subway stations.
Yet, because his works are easy to overlook and not much is known about the artist, a select group of fans have become dedicated to following the work of Jim Joe. Jim Joe's cult of followers have created several Tumblrs to his tribute, including Cult of Jim Joe and Not Jim Joe.
He was commissioned by Kanye West for Yeezus' iTunes page.
You probably remember this simple Yeezus cover that went viral quickly—a sketch that resembles the very popular portrait of Kanye West wearing a mask by Nick Knight for his New York Times interview. Jim Joe put his own spin on Knight's photograph for Kanye.
He's collaborated with Virgil Abloh's Pyrex Vision clothing.
Kanye's creative director Virgil Abloh enlisted Jim Joe for the launch of his clothing line Pyrex Vision's "Youth Always Wins" campaign, hiring the street artist (who was at the time going by the name Young Man) as the creative director for the promo video above. The two exchanged ideas via email.
He was also unimpressed with Shepard Fairey's 2010 mural on the Bowery.
A large group of writers were thoroughly unimpressed with Shepard Fairey's mural on the Bowery Wall in 2010. Considering Jim Joe's simplistic style, we can't be certain he was as angry with the wall as other artists, who took large pieces of the wood paneling off and tagged over the base of Fairey's work. But Jim Joe did leave his usual scrawl in the large white space above Fairey's mural.
He answers emails and interviews in unconventional ways.
Though we haven't been able to get in touch with him ourselves, it seems that Jim Joe is known to reply to emails in riddles and all capital letters, as noted here on Subway Art Blog. His quirky method of communicating definitely adds to his mysterious image as an artist.
He also wrote this strange poem (spoken word piece? avant garde movie script? manifesto?) for Purple.Fr about his show in Paris last year:
The Month Inhabited
For Yes Or For No
Locked
And With 2 Many Keys
Each Date Again
Pointed
And At The Walls
In A Line
Furtive Efforts
Begs The Question
Please Or Thank You
The Answer Is Always Yes
One At A Time
None At Any Time
Never Enough Time
Only Enough Time
- Written by JIM JOE for Purple
He's camera shy.
Jim Joe is not comfortable in the spotlight, even though he has had several major shows in the past few years. The artist goes to great lengths to hide his identity. Above is a very awkward interview with Gavin McInnes who ended up questioning a Jim Joe impostor.
Despite his lack of social skills, he has had some major shows.
Jim Joe made his gallery debut in New York at The Hole with his show "JIM JOE YES 1 2" in 2012. Last year, he opened "NOT HOME 2013" at Cooper Cole gallery in Toronto and "JIM JOE LOST 2013" at Galerie du Jour Agnès B in Paris. His increasing presence in the gallery circuit shows that the street artist is moving into other mediums and is becoming more open to selling his work in commercial settings.
He's definitely here to stay.
It's hard for street artists and graffiti artists to make a name for themselves while remaining anonymous. The New York street artist has returned to The Hole this month with the exhibition "JANUARY 2014." Jim Joe's appearance in the gallery scene as well as on the streets only speaks to his increasing popularity.