City of Ink Art Show Brightens Up ATL's New Year's Eve's Eve

That tattoo shop/art crew known as City of Ink is one of a slim few who successfully merge the artistic intelligence with the style of the Dirty South. Everyone seemed so down-to-earth with no pretentious hipster-acting art aficionados or “Hollywood” socialites. And with the way times are now, they redefine what an ATLien should be, in an downhome, old school (circa, '90s Outkast to put a timestamp on it) kind of way.

The artwork here was vibrant and swirly, brightening up the Castleberry Hill corner of Peters and Walker on New Year’s Eve’s Eve. The City of Ink collective filled up most of walls, including Miya Bailey, Cake and Melvin Todd, plus Paper Frank and a special collaborative project by photographer AD and Cake.

Live music and DJ sets filled the airwaves with a fairly equaling sonic candy to the dope paintings that filled the walls. It was a smooth live mixture of radio-played hiphop and original soul from Atlanta’s own Ill Will and the MusiQ KorneR Productions band, with hopping turntable sessions from DJ Genesis and DJ Krillz. Altogether, the music catered to what seemed like the audience’s taste, and most certainly the blend of all the artwork showcased in this art show.

Killer Mike made an appearance – a reminder of how down-to-earth he really is. From chopping it up with Miya about his old and new artwork to hi-fiving and snapping photos with fans, Mike quickly blended in with the rest of the crowd, despite how huge he is in comparison with other art show attendees.

I guess that’s the joy within the mixture of contemporary urban art with that down-home, Southern warmth – those City of Ink cats (and the folks affiliated with them, for the most part) can mix those things the same way they mix acrylics. They turn five in February, so let’s see what’s in store for these cats through 2012!