A bit about each artist; Claw began making her mark in graffiti in the early 80's and is known as the "first female of graffiti," who is a writer turned fashion designer and has been internationally recognized and acclaimed within the street art movement. She has been influenced by numerous other graffiti artists such as Zephyr, Dondi, Revolt, Sharp, Dontay, Devo and MQ.
In 2012, she was the subject of the short documentary Claw by the digital channel WIGS. Doug Pray's seminal graffiti documentary, "Infamy" from 2005 in part, is an homage to Claw. Her first book, Bombshell:The Life and Crimes of Claw Money was published in 2007 and is much sought after by curators of popular culture. In 2009 Tag au Grand Palais in Paris, France named Claudia Gold a/k/a Claw one of the most influential graffiti artists of all time.
ELLE, originally from northern California, is a famous NYC street artists who has not only adorned the streets but also the galleries here and world wide. She also frequently travels the globe painting everywhere from Miami, Mexico, Israel to Malaysia with an array of fellow artists. ELLE was recently featured in Yoav Litvin's "Outdoor Gallery" book documenting the most prolific street artists in New York City. Her talents range from large scales murals outdoors to wheat pastes of her iconic images of strong women characters, to the contemporary gallery scene.
The Claw brand; Claw's iconic "Claw," brands CLAWMONEY and Claw&Co., have become a magnet for an array of internationally renowned brands seeking to associate with her. Those arrangements have not only changed the game for women artists, but have impacted all artistic collaborations. She has done collaborations with companies such as Calvin Klein, Mark Ecko, Lord & Taylor, rag & bone, Ugg Australia, Nike, Vans, Converse, K2 Snowboarding and Boost Mobile to name just a few.
Have a look at the mural in progress and the finished piece...
Elle also collaborated with Martha Cooper in Spring 2014 at Mecka Gallery in Brooklyn featuring Martha's iconic photos mixed with ELLE's paintings, wheat pastes, and fire extinguisher sprays painting for a one of kind show. Most recently, she was featured in a documentary on street artists by DEGA FILMS.
The ladies also completed another mural at 166 Mott St., in Chinatown recently and I, for one, hope this collaboration continues!
You can follow Claw Money here; http://www.clawmoney.com and on Instagram at @Clawmoney and ELLE on Instagram at @Ellestreetart.
