A new graffiti magazine out of Des Moines immortalizes the work of anonymous artists

Wall featuring work from TNR (of which PHATE is a member) and LETTER CRUSHERS in El Paso 2023. — courtesy of Innocent Display “Coming from Iowa, we sometimes have a bit of a chip on our shoulder,” the Des Moines hip-hop artist ASPHATE told me, “but, you know, magic can occur anywhere.” “When it comes to graffiti right now, we’re rocking,” he continued. “I think the [Iowa] scene is energized in the street, both legally and underground. These days, I’m happy to see and hear people taking more pride and more ownership in the scene and representing our own history and our own development in it.” Des Moines artist ASPHATE. — photo courtesy of Clear Haze Creative Stay in the know: Sign up to our free newsletter to get the latest news delivered straight to your inbox. ASPHATE dove headfirst into graffiti writing after his first clandestine bombing mission one snowy night in 2007, when he was 25. It was a relatively late age to embrace an illicit artform that occasionally requires running from railyard dogs or security officers assigned to guard freight trains, which often serve as canvases for writers, but he didn’t care. #placement_726461_0_i{width:100%;margin:0 auto;} “I went really...