Specializing in art forms from paper cuts to music and puppetry, there are numerous unknown artists in Philadelphia who perhaps do not deserve to be. Here are just five of those people you should familiarize yourself with.
1. Aaron Cromie (above) is a theater artist who has worked as a performer, designer, director, writer and musician for several companies. He most recently directed the highly-touted Saint Joan, Betrayed, which featured actress Mary Tuomanen in the lead role. Cromie is in the midst of designing the masks and puppets for his next project, The Body Lautrec, which also features Tuomanen and is set to open in September. He first came to Philadelphia in 1995 to accept the Dorothy Haas Acting Fellowship to the Walnut Street Theatre.
2. Chris DiPinto is the owner of DiPinto Guitars, a small family-run shop situated at 407-409 E. Girard Ave. in Fishtown. The company started as a repair shop in 1995 before evolving into a showroom that specializes in vintage guitars and DiPinto’s own guitar creations. It has since grown into a full-scale guitar manufacturing operation, while the guitar gallery remains open; DiPinto also offers guitar lessons. Former War On Drugs guitarist Kurt Vile, Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen and The Cars’ Elliot Easton have played DiPinto guitars.
3. Casey Lynch is one of the co-founders of Street Glitter Gallery, located at 306 E. Girard Ave. in Fishtown. The shop, which opened its doors just four months ago, features work from more than 50 local artists. Lynch’s forte is paper cuts, while co-owner Tami Horvath focuses primarily on jewelry. Lynch and Horvath also curate “Glitter on the Go,” where they attempt to sell some of the gallery’s art throughout bars and restaurants in the city. The first show is set for April at the American Sardine Bar in Point Breeze.
4. Dave Moyer is one of five tattooers and artists at Black Vulture Gallery, located at 208 E. Girard Ave. in Fishtown. The shop, which is owned by a man who simply goes by the name “Hoode,” is known for its large, ambitious tattoos as well as the homemade art hanging up for sale in the gallery. Moyer joined the gallery shortly after it opened in October 2010 and has become a staple in Philadelphia tattooing.
5. Ryan Carlin is one of the leading members of Broad Street Line A Capella, an all-male group of Temple University students. The group was formed in 2003 and has since performed all along the Eastern seaboard, in front of crowds as large as 85,000. Winners of numerous accolades and awards, Broad Street Line A Capella most recently performed at the White House and released its first professionally recorded album, “No Girls Aloud,” with Carlin, a junior, on baritone.
Text and images by Tyler Sablich and Maxwell Reil
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