Shades Shades of the Future DETROIT - A coat of fresh white is covered in the blink of an eye, a vision emerges, and years of development, dedication and skill converge in a perfectly formed letter. In an instant, he is gone, characteristically nonchalant. Yet, he leaves a wake of bright murals casting light onto drab concrete canvases. Shades is back, innovating aerosol art on Detroit walls and canvases mosaics of the moment. His presence is felt across city street canvases from Jefferson to Cass Ave, extending to New York and Tokyo. Old school meets new school graffiti artistry evolves. Fresh off of a mural he designed for Detroit, commemorating the city's 300th birthday, making art history. "One day I felt it it was time to come back," says Tony Agee, the everyday identity of Shades. Fervently intense, when he speaks, as he paints, Shades reaches out, truly attuned to the people and world around him. From street side panels, to subway trains, to thirty foot commissioned murals, "Shades" has honed his talent over the past fifteen years. Attending art school, brought Shades to Detroit from Brooklyn. Shades saw something very different in the underdeveloped urban tapestry that surrounded him. Here was a city ripe with abandonment, a dark protruding canvas, fresh for expression. In between art history courses, Shades hit the streets, mentoring Cass Corridor's young artists, showing kids as he had learned that artistic expression with an aerosol can was a more fruitful alternative to gangs, drugs, and trouble. In 2001, he brought young artists from Southwest Detroit to the Detroit Electronic Music Festival, incorporating them into a large mural, reaching a global audience. As his reputation spread for billowy lines, balance of colors and a steady hand, Shades developed a strong following. His works commissioned (and those painted on the sly) brighten Detroit's cityscape. His art knows no boundaries, proving that aerosol art has a much broader application than opponents would counter showing in internationally in galleries, salons, benefits and commissioned by city governments, including Detroit, but extending far beyond to the Orient. Over the course of ten years in Detroit, Shades has bombed over one hundred walls with living strokes of words and visions. Yet, the reality of graffiti art is that it is a mortal medium. For example, The World Cup Soccer Wall on Cass Avenue commissioned in 1994 is scheduled for destruction to make room for housing developments. Though noticeably irked when his work is destroyed, Shades has but one alternative - what aerosol artists do best - spray fresh paint. One by one, pieces continue to emerge on streets, on canvases, in homes, in the underground and beyond. His latest projects are centered in elaborate murals that incorporate both old school and new school. His work is currently on display in CPop Gallery. Shade's artistic development, experience and vision, taking the bounds of aerosol art in his own unique direction. This work has grown from his work with Detroit's young artists, incorporating fundamentals of graffiti can control for various interactive mediums, teaching youth the power of art. Shades can be contacted at shades_agee@hotmail.com.