Henry Chalfant

Henry Chalfant (born January 2, 1940 in Sewickley, Pennsylvania, USA) is a well known and highly regarded urban culture photographer and videographer most notable for his graffiti and breakdance photography and film. He is highly regarded for his wide knowledge in hip hop and the underground culture.

His photos are in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, and the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

A graduate of Stanford University who majored in classical Greek, he co-authored the definitive account of New York graffiti art, "Subway Art" and a sequel on the art form's world-wide diffusion, "Spray Can Art". Chalfant co-produced and did the background research and photo-documentation for the film, "Style Wars", first shown on PBS television in 1984. He is one of the foremost authorities on New York subway art. Other films include "Flyin' Cut Sleeves", a documentary about Bronx street gang leaders in the 1970's; "Visit Palestine: Ten Days on the West Bank", based on his visit to the occupied territories in 2000; More recently he has completed a documentary about the South Bronx, "From Mambo to Hip Hop; A south Bronx Tale". The film chronicles two generations who grew up literally on the same streets of the Bronx, NY, and both used rhythm as their form of rebellion - for the older generation of the 1950’s it was the pulsating rhythms of Cuba; for their children of the 1970’s it was the rhythms of rap.

He is married to the actress Kathleen Chalfant (née Bishop) ; they wed in 1966. They have two children, David Chalfant, who is a record producer and was the bass player for the folk-rock band The Nields, and Andromache Chalfant, who is a set designer in New York.

Chalfant has stated his influences are varied:

"In College my mentor was Charles Rowan Beye, the Greek scholar. I really didn't have a mentor for my art work, but I was influenced by great sculptors I admired like David Smith and Eduardo Chillida. For visual Anthropology, I was influenced by the ethnographic filmmaker, Jean Rouche."

Published works

Books

*"Subway Art", Martha Cooper and Henry Chalfant, Thames and Hudson, London, 1984, Henry Holt, New York, 1984.
*"Spraycan Art", Henry Chalfant and James Prigoff, Thames and Hudson, London and New York, 1987.

Film

*"Style Wars", a PBS documentary film with Tony Silver, New York, 1984;
*"All City", a documentary about Hip-hop focusing on graffiti, New York, 1983; View it on [http://www.youtube.com/results.php?search_query=all+city YouTube]
*"Flyin' Cut Sleeves", documentary on South Bronx gangs co-produced and directed with Rita Fecher, 1993.
*Produced and directed music videos for the rap group, The Latin Empire, "Puerto Rican and Proud" for Atlantic Records and "Asi Es La Vida", chosen as one of the ten best videos on International MTV in 1990.
*Produced and directed "Visit Palestine: Ten Days on the West Bank". 2002.
*Directed "From Mambo to Hip Hop: A Bronx Tale", 2006, a documentary on the South Bronx produced by City Lore Inc.

Gallery events

*"Ten Years: 1977-1987", The Prosper Gallery, New York, 2002.
*"hip hop display at the Experience Music Project", Seattle, Washington 2000.
*"Urban Mythologies", the Bronx Museum, New York, 1999.
*"Hip Hop: A Cultural Expression", The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland, Ohio; 1999.
*"Art of the American Century Part ll", Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY 1999.
*"Urban Mythologies", The Bronx Museum, New York, 1999.
*"Since the Harlem Renaissance, 50 Years of Afro-American Art", Bucknell University, 1985.
*Hirshhorn Museum, Washington, D.C. 1984.
*"Content, a Contemporary Focus 1974-1984".
*"The Comic Art Show", Whitney Downtown, New York, 1983.
*Addison - Ripley Gallery, Washington, D.C. 1991.
*Instituto de Cultura Norteamericana, Barcelona, 1985.
*Riverside Studios, London, 1985.
*Canton art Institute, Canton, Ohio, 1981.
*"Graffiti in New York", OK Harris, New York, 1980.

References

* [http://www.at149st.com/chalfant.html Henry Chalfant @149st] - Very brief bio.
* "Henry Chalfant: Granddaddy of the Graff Flik," by Vee Bravo, in "Stress Magazine", no. 13, 1998.
* [http://www.nyfolklore.org/progs/hiphop/chalfant.pdf New York Folklore Society 2001-02 Documentary Heritage Project Documenting Hip Hop] - Biography and other collection information.
* E-mail interview with Henry Chalfant.

External links

*imdb name|id=0149916|name=Henry Chalfant
* [http://www.deace.com/article.php3?id_article=584 BackJumps No. 19] - Brief interview, contains photo of Chalfant throwing up graffiti.
* [http://www.signonsandiego.com/citysearch/feature/201/030513.html Hip-hop snapshots] - contains an audio interview with Henry Chalfant.