Roger Gastman

Roger Gastman (born 1977 in Canton, Ohio) who grew up out outside of Washington,DC. He is a US curator, filmmaker, and publisher specializing in graffiti and street art.

Gastman... has made a career of being the cultural connector between street artists and the art world

— Tom Teicholz, Forbes

Gastman began While You Were Sleeping, a graffiti magazine, in 1997 and in 2001, Gastman published his first book: Free Agents: A History of Washington, DC Graffiti.PBS stated that his book The History of American Graffiti (HarperCollins): "comprehensively documents the evolution of this often controversial art movement across the United States."

In 2004, Gastman moved to Los Angeles and published Swindle Magazine with Shepard Fairey. He has consulted on the Mr. Brainwash show Life is Beautiful, and organized exhibitions with museums, galleries, and at one-off locations. He has worked with a number of prominent graffiti and street artists including Banksy, RISK, Barry McGee, Os Gemeos, Shepard Fairey, and Mister Cartoon.

In 2013, Gastman produced The Legend of Cool "Disco" Dan, a documentary film that premiered at the AFI Theater in Silver Spring, Maryland accompanied by the book Pump Me Up: DC Subculture of the 1980s, along with an exhibit of the same name at the Corcoran Gallery of Art.

Art In The Streets

Gastman, with MOCA director Jeffrey Dietch and director Aaron Rose, curated a survey of graffiti and street art at the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles in 2011 titled Art in the Streets.The exhibition featured a wide-range of mediums in separate installations by artists or 'crews' and was held in the 40,00 square foot Geffen building, off-site from MOCA. It included over 60 artists from around the world.

The show generated controversy according to the Los Angeles Times "mostly because some see it as a glorification of vandalism".The LAPD reported an increase in vandalism in the vicinity on buildings, lampposts and mailboxes.Katsu tagged the Geffen building before the opening with a fire-extinguisher and French street artist Invader was arrested as a result of the show. A second showing of the exhibit scheduled for later in 2011 at the Brooklyn Museum was cancelled. The show is also noteworthy for being the most attended in the history of MOCA.

Beyond The Streets

Gastman curates and produces Beyond The Streets, large scale exhibitions of street art.The 2018 edition of which was held in downtown Los Angeles, CA, and the 2019 edition was held in Brooklyn, NY.

• Wall Writers: Graffiti in Its Innocence, a documentary film about 60s and 70s-era graffiti, narrated by John Waters, Director / Executive Producer, 2015
• The Legend of Cool "Disco" Dan, narrated by Henry Rollins, Executive Producer, 2012
• Exit Through the Gift Shop, produced by Banksy, Consulting Producer, 2010
• Infamy, with director Doug Pray, Supervising Producer, 2005

• Beastie Boys Book 'Live & Direct' tour and exhibit, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, 2018
• Things That Can't Be Seen, DabsMyla, Los Angeles, 2018
• Beyond the Streets,Los Angeles, 2018
• Hello Kitty Con, MOCA, Los Angeles, 2014
• Cruel Summer, Jonathon Levine Gallery, New York 2014
• Pump Me Up: D.C. Subculture of the 1980's, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., 2013
• Art in the Streets, MOCA, Los Angeles, 2011

• While You Were Sleeping, 1997 - 2002
• Swindle, 2004-2009