Searching for a Destination Unknown: Graffitti Art

Panel of current artists, art dealers, graffiti teachers, and one lonely lady from the DC program that cleans up graffiti

I found a really interesting event that was coming up and I knew JUST the person to ask to attend with me.....Hannah! (Duh), she is artsy fartsy and can explain just about anything art related to me when I think its just a bunch of swirly patterns on canvas.

The panel was made up of:

Cory Stowers, Co-Owner of Art Under Pressure, WBL Art Director, Writer
Nancee Lyons, Department of Public Work
Philippa P.B. Hughes, Chief Creative Contrarian, The Pink Line Project, www.pinklineproject.com
Tim Conlon, Writer, http://www.conoperative.com
Saaret Yoseph, Director/ Producer of The Red Line D.C. Project, redlinedc.wordpress.com

It was a fantastic mesh of people and I enjoyed learning about different graffiti artists and the history when stems back to pioneer times when people would travel great distances and leave their names places in hopes their family members would one day come across it and have some connection. It was interesting to think that graffiti started off as just someone writing their name down. Now its emerged into colorful art that captures so much more than that. From defying authority to creating their brand, graffiti is more than just anarchy and gang symbols.

We had a great time listening to the panel and audience discuss their thoughts on graffiti, art, and the DC political environment. THe only part that sucked was the ghetto table directly across from us who thought it was okay to TALK.THROUGH.THE.ENTIRE.2.HOURS. Seriously?!?! Not only are you being ghetto triffe but you're ruining it for the rest of us. Not cool!

The discussion took place in the U Street Bus Boys and Poets location. They had a separate room for us where you could listen to the discussion and even purchase dinner and drinks! SCORE! According to Wikipedia.org:

Busboys and Poets is a restaurant, bookstore, lounge, and theater in DC, founded in 2005 by Andy Shallal. It has been described as a haven for writers, thinkers and performers from America's progressive social and political movements.
The name refers to American poet Langston Hughes, who worked as a busboy at the Wardman Park Hotel in the 1930s, prior to gaining recognition as a poet. Rejected ideas for the restaurant's name include Writers Block Cafe, Broken Bread Cafe and White Rabbit Cafe, the latter inspired by The Matrix.
Shallal painted the giant civil rights movement-themed mural covering one wall of the restauarant, titled Peace in Struggle Wall. He refuses to sign the mural, saying this would be a "final gesture" that would preclude him from making revisions later. The collage depicts civil rights icons including the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Nelson Mandela. It features the words of Langston Hughes, "Let America be America again / Let it be the dream it used to be."