jesse emailed me this photo. it was originally taken by lewis hine when he was working on the child labor series. i stenciled the words lost souls into the image but it doesnt refer so much to the kids themselves as much as it does the feeling that comes from meaningless work. in the background theres a piece of a print josh did from the winter in america theme we've been workin with. the whole thing is on rusted, scratched up steel.
7 ' x 13 ' wheatpaste by me & josh macphee. it was one of those nights where the weather was just startin to break. lets hear it for spring! the piece, for me, has a lot to do with all the coal mining mess thats goin on.
this is the poster finalized. to read more on Blair Mountain go to : http://www.rootsweb.com/~wvcoal/red.html to purchase this poster go to : www.justseeds.org
first we stopped to get donuts and coffee on orleans streeet. then pat & i squeezed into bill's pick up and headed out to the erdman avenue yard. it was the first time i had been out in awhile. we mostly did tags-- just wanting to get out in the night air and be alone in the yard. after some time a train pulled in and a man swinging a lantern came walking through the yard on the other side of the cars from where we were. so we cut out. not many people know it but, there is a fountain of youth buried beneath the steel rails in a train yard.
In the summer of 1984 the art of graffiti writing spread throughout my neighborhood like an epidemic. It captured the imagination of many pre-adolescent youth looking for ways to express themselves outside the norms of school and mundane playground sports. I was one of those kids who became infected by graffiti's bold colors,striking form, and independent nature.
As time went by I investigated other avenues of art as well, such as print making and graphic design.
In high school I learned screen printing which would later help me in the separation of line and color that aids in the process of cutting stencils.
My work is a direct reflection of the people, neighborhoods, and struggles, that are swept along with the every day lives of the common american.
It is my hope that through the work I will be able to convey the importance of the role of the less recognized individual of society.