Danny Simmons has been an important voice on the New York art scene for the past 20 years. The brother of Russell and Joseph “Run” Simmons, Danny’s abstract art and poetry influenced the creation of the Rush Arts Gallery and HBO’s “Def Poetry Jam.” Danny recently teamed up with Bombay Sapphire for the Artisan series to discover several premier artists across the nation. Simmons spoke with rolling out about his collaboration and gave insight on street art.
–amir shaw
How did the collaboration between Rush Arts and Bombay Sapphire come about?
I’m the artist of the family and I’m here to represent the partnership between Rush and Bombay Sapphire. I’m one of the judges for this art contest and I’m here looking at a lot of wonderful art. The concept is Bombay wanted to go into their eight markets around the country and find which artist best represented what they believe is excellence.
How are the winners determined?
We have some of the top artists and their work is represented around the walls of each art gallery that we visit. We are now [in] our semifinals round, so the great artists who are picked will go to the national finals. And through Rush Philanthropic and Rush Arts Gallery we are going to have a show in New York, [and] then Miami.
What is your definition of street art?
I think street art is any art that represents the energy and creativity that comes from the urban community. It has a certain vibe about it. It’s usually young, fresh and innovative. It’s usually the next thing to come. Spoken word poetry, graffiti and break dancing [are] street art. It’s always fresh and new. It doesn’t come out of academia; it comes out of the hearts and souls of people who are creative in urban areas.
