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| Editor | Allen Benedikt |
|---|---|
| Categories | Graffiti / Street Art / Urban Culture |
| Frequency | unknown |
| First issue | 1993 |
| Company | AKA Projects, LLC |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Website | www.12ozprophet.com |
12oz Prophet, 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 an online forum and store.
History
12oz Prophet Magazine was conceived in early 1993 by Allen Benedikt, while he attended the Rhode Island School of Design. The first issue of 12oz Prophet 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. This was also the last issue to be released.
In 2000, the same crew behind 12oz Prophet released a new zine entitled, TheVapors Project, which focused entirely on the illegal aspects of graffiti (vandalism), as opposed to the artistic side that had been thoroughly documented in 12oz Prophet. The concept of focusing entirely on the illegal part of the graffiti subculture was also a new concept for the time, and TheVapors Project became immediately relevant as the graffiti scene was also transitioning back to its more illegal roots after suffering increasing scrutiny and infighting due to several years of huge interest and popularity. It is unknown why 12oz Prophet Magazine never saw another issue after #6, or why TheVapors Project never continued past the premier issue.
Paralleling their work with 12oz Prophet Magazine, the crew also founded the first major graffiti mail order company operating under the name Straight From The Bottom (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 product with broader appeal. 7th Heaven was shut down suddenly in the summer of 2000 when the 12oz Prophet offices officially closed, and the remaining crew moved to New York City. The mail order company founded by 12oz Prophet saw a rebirth in 2002 as an online shop operating as fourthehardway.
The website
Building on the cult following type audience of 12oz Prophet Magazine, the website (launched in early 1998) became increasingly popular as the Internet's popularity grew. Taking an entirely different approach than graffiti.org] (also known as artcrimes.com), which was built to be a world-wide graffiti photo repository, 12oz Prophet sought to establish itself as a virtual "writers bench" or meeting place since alt.graffiti had lost its relevance. The message board component known as The Writers Forum has remained the hub of the site almost since its beginnings, and for several years (particularly after the Magazine was out of publication), was the the only section. As such, it's the longest running active graffiti community online, and also the largest. Over the years, The Writers Forum has seen notable figures pass through and participate in discussion including Futura 2000, Susan Farrel (founder of artcrimes.com), Marc Ecko, and many others. The Writers Forum has also seen its share of police detectives, community activists, and protesters.
Most recently, 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.