Despite the holiday-themed wordplay of its title, Subliminal Projects' new show Wreck the Walls has almost nothing to do with honoring traditions like Christmas carols and holiday decorations and a lot to do with paying homage to the age-old practice of breaking the rules.

Highlighting what may at first may seem a motley crew of artists, the show, which is on view through Jan. 15, is bound by a common cause: Subversiveness. And, this being legendary street artist Shepard Fairey's gallery space, that rebellious spirit is more often than not expressed in writing on the walls, literally.

The show features more than 30 artists, who run the gamut from Billy Al Bengston, Ed Moses, John Van Hamersveld and Larry Bell to Retna, Ryan McGinness, Skullphone and Swoon.

"The whole concept was to mesh the two worlds--the older, more established artists and the younger, up-and-coming artists--and look at how they influenced each other and how the older guys paved the way for the new guys to come in and do what they are doing," explained gallery manager Marissa Textor.

In some cases, the show takes this comparison literally. An untitled lithograph by veteran artist Ed Moses hangs across the gallery space from two paintings by his son, Andy. The elder Moses' work features plaid-like layers of black lines criss-crossing a white background. The younger Moses seems to respond to his father's geometry with psychedelic blue swirls and abstract fuchsia waves.

For the most part, though, the connection between artists is less of the DNA kind and more of the shared aesthetic and attitude variety.

Take iconic album designer John Van Hamersveld's 1972 ink on paper drawing Black Sabbath, which hangs across the white-walled gallery from street artist Skullphone's 3G (Diptych). Black Sabbath depicts a devil holding a record, while 3G (Diptych) shows a skull holding a cell phone superimposed on a stylized image of an iPhone, complete with text message. Some things never change, it seems.

"John Van Hamersveld and Billy Al Bengston's work is iconic," Skullphone wrote in a recent email. "Of course that is respected. Creating something equally as relevant has meant blending that spirit with a text message. Seriously!"

"It's great to think, 'Oh, Larry Bell's in this show,' then you see the work, and it lives up to the hype. If you call it hype. Do kids know who Larry Bell is?" he asked. "Regardless, the cool school that's been grouped with the new school works, it's all rooted in the dirt."

Another artist in the show, Retna, who hails from what Skullphone dubs the "new school," summed it up this way: "I definitely feel that I come from the artistic craft of people who did break the rules. As a traditional graffiti writer for the past 20 years, my whole introduction into art has always been doing it the way I wanted to do it. My whole artistic career has been based on that rebellious spirt."

As a wink to the mainstream, the show does feature one jolly Santa complete with fire-engine red suit and cottony beard. Of course, the Santa in Martha Cooper's photograph Happy Holidays by Jayson & Richie (Seen) is spray-painted on an elevated train track in the South Bronx. Happy Holidays to you, too--in graffiti-style bubble letters.