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12ozProphet, created in 1993, is an online magazine featuring articles, pictures, and interviews related to graffiti. In the past it was a print magazine; however, today it exists in the form of an online magazine with blogs, online forum and store.

History

12ozProphet Magazine was conceived in early 1993 by Allen Benedikt, while he attended the Rhode Island School of Design. The first issue of 12ozProphet was created as a design project for school credit and with the intentions of sparking competition among the graffiti zines of the time.

Midway through development of the third issue, Caleb Neelon, a comparative classic literature major attending nearby Brown University joined the team as copy editor. Cody Hudson also joined as a chief collaborator. By the time it was published, the magazine had come into its own. The issue was among the earliest interviews with Barry McGee (also known as Twist), who was largely unknown outside of San Francisco at the time.

Benedikt, Hudson, and Neelon continued their work with the magazine for another several issues, until releasing the sixth issue in 1998. The main feature of this issue was a feature on twin brothers from São Paulo, Brazil, calling themselves Os Gêmeos, who had been introduced to Benedikt by Barry McGee several years earlier. This issue had the first interview of Os Gêmeos, and also the first images of their artwork shown outside of South America. The sixth issue was the last to be released, and the first to list the URL of the website.

In 2000, the same crew behind 12ozProphet released a new zine entitled, TheVapors Project, which focused entirely on the illegal aspects of graffiti, as opposed to the artistic side that had been thoroughly documented in 12ozProphet. It is unknown why 12ozProphet Magazine never saw another issue after #6, or why TheVapors Project never continued past the premier issue.

Paralleling their work with 12ozProphet Magazine, the crew also founded the first major graffiti mail order company operating under the name Straight From The Bottom (a name also sued as the publisher of the early issues of the magazine, presumably in reference to its geographic location in Miami) in 1994. This company eventually evolved into 7th Heaven several years later after expanding beyond graffiti paraphernalia to also include early street wear brands, books, and other products with a broader appeal. 7th Heaven was shut down suddenly in the summer of 2000 when the 12ozProphet offices officially closed, and the remaining crew moved to New York City.

The Writer’s Forum and Blogs

For many cities’ graffiti subcultures, 12ozProphet’s Writer’s Forum serves as an electronic medium where graffiti’s practitioners can discuss and debate graffiti. As of Summer 2010, the discussion board has accumulated over five million posts. Caleb Neelon: “Art Crimes and The Writers' Forum are likely the two most heavily visited graffiti websites, and both are underwritten by businesses and individuals who take their costs on as a public service.” Because members of the Writer’s Forum often choose to remain anonymous, either because of their graffiti or because of their reluctance to reveal their identity in an online community, it is difficult to ascertain which figureheads within the graffiti subculture maintain a presence in the Writer’s Forum. However, 12oz Prophet’s Blog section features many of the most famous and prominent graffiti writers in the world, whose viewpoints are displayed alongside those of many designers that enjoy broad recognition throughout art, culture and fashion circles. Among the blog writers are many graffiti writers that have achieved admiration by other writers, animosity by police departments and attention by the press. Skuf YKK was termed “the supreme Skuf” by the Village Voice in 2000, as it notes that “writing is a culture without surplus value, something that can only be said of folk traditions that remain under the media's radar” (Village Voice, November 2000). Another blogger, Alan Ket, who has worked as an artistic consultant for companies like Atari, Moet & Chandon and MTV, opted to plead guilty to three felony counts relating to graffiti rather than risk a trial to charges that could have amounted to several decades in prison Another blogger, Cope2, has repeated clashed publicly with City Councilman Peter Vallone over the role graffiti can play as an instrument of public art in murals and other installations in New York City . KRINK, another blogger, has successfully traversed the divide between graffiti and pop culture, a divide that 12oz Prophet has sought to navigate, speaks on how he began to market a new brand of ink, KRINK, that is now found in many boutiques throughout North American and Europe: “'Krink… is a homemade silver ink that was developed in the KR kitchen. Back then, KR, who says he stopped writing graffiti years ago and is thus more comfortable being known as Craig Costello, never figured his Krink would be known beyond that circle -- let alone that it would become a brand name on his custom-designed ink and markers, sold in boutiques and specialty shops in the U.S., Europe and Japan.” .

Publications

Benedikt, Hudson, and Neelon have reappeared under the name Also Known As, and in September 2005, they released the premier volume of a self titled book series, again focusing predominantly on graffiti and popular culture. AKA Projects have gone onto release more publications, such as Million Dollar Vandal.

1. www.12oz.com
2. Twelve Ounce Prophet Magazine, Issue 3, Straight From the Bottom, 1996
3. http://slamxhype.com/art-design/12ozprophet-circa-1997-brazil-graffiti-film/
4. http://en.wikipedia.org/Os_G%C3%AAmeos
5. Twelve Ounce Prophet Magazine, Issue 6, 12ozProphet, 1998
6. The Vapors, theVapors/12ozProphet, 2000
7. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/05/nyregion/05graffiti.html
8. http://www.mail-archive.com/medianews@twiar.org/msg10688.html
9. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/24/magazine/24wwln-consumed-t.html
10. http://www.akanyc.com/
11. Alan Benedikt, Also Known As AKA Projects ISBN 0-9768516-0-1
12. Alan Benedikt, Million Dollar Vandal AKA Projects ISBN 0-9768515-3-6

External links

• 12ozProphet
• The Writers Forum
• 12ozProphet Supply Shop
• Also Known As

• Art websites
• Graffiti and unauthorised signage