Moving towards a new fusion with street culture

Eric Haze (center), talking in front of the special Exige he hand painted, after it’s unveiling. Born in New York, he has been an influential figure to art and graphic design for over 30 years, and is an artist who visualized the golden age of the hip-hop culture. His own apparel line started in 1993 was the predecessor to today’s street fashion.

The special Exige being unveiled by Jeff Staple, Eric Haze, and Kazunori Yamauchi.

The other special Exige displayed at the event, and it‘s 10th year anniversary badge. The artwork for this car was provided by Gran Turismo.

On October 16, 2008, in New York, New York, Polyphony Digital held a anniversary event commemorating the 10th year since the release of the “Gran Turismo” Series.

The stage for this event dubbed the “DOWNSHIFT SESSION 2008” was at the “Classic Car Club Manhattan”, an automotive membership club in the SOHO district of lower Manhattan.

The key concept for the event, was to merge world leading art, music, and street culture of New York, with new elements: automobiles and video games.

Gran Turismo co-produced the event with Staple Design, a design agency producing collaborations between NIKE and Burton, Apple Computers and other global clients. The president, Jeff Staple himself was the MC for the event.

The one-night only club built for this event was decorated with massive panels tracing 10 years of “Gran Turismo” history, with a demonstration corner where you can play all the titles from the past. Also on the display on the floor, was two Lotus Exiges’ that were prepared especially for this event.

One of the cars on display, was hand painted by Eric Haze, a leading street graphics artist of New York. This Exige was unveiled here for the first time, then placed in a charity auction. The proceeds will go to New York’s “Studio in a School”, which is an organization who actively works to provide children with high quality artistic experiences.

Starting from just past 6pm, celebrities, art/music lovers, and game freaks gathered, immediately raising the temperature of the dance floor. At 10pm, Chicago’s leading hip-hop artist “Kid Sister” and DJ Neil Armstrong took the stage, providing fantastic entertainment for the guests this night.

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