...and in Queens

if you hop on the Number 7 subway train in Manhattan, when you come above ground in Queens, the first thing you'll see is a the five-story, block-long Technicolor industrial complex called 5Pointz. it is a building covered from top to bottom with some of the world's finest street art.

"On any given day, 5Pointz visitors can expect to find prominent artists, musicians, deejays, Emcees (rappers), and B-boys (break dancers) on site, in addition to filmmakers, photographers, and entire tour buses full of admirers soaking in the more than 350 murals."

The building is privately owned and used as a art enclave. 5Pointz gallery curator, Meres, intends to convert the complex into a graffiti museum.

In addition, he plans to open a school for aspiring aerosol artists, complete with a formalized curriculum that imparts lessons in teamwork, art history, and entrepreneurship in addition to technique.

http://5ptz.com/graff/about/

also if you're ever in DUMBO...

walking around in Brooklyn, my attention was grabbed by some really awesome artwork posted in a storefront window. so i walked into the gallery and "OH SNAP! guess what i saw!"

(except from http://www.leaguetreatment.org)
LAND, the League Artists Natural Design, located at 67 Front Street, enables emotionally disturbed, neurologically and developmentally disabled adults to develop and showcase their artistic talents. LAND is the newest project of The League Treatment Center, a non-profit agency that has been working with mentally disabled adults and children for over 50 years. Currently, it hosts arts classes in a variety of other venues.

“Too often the focus is on disability, now we are focusing on abilities,” says Hannah Achtenberg Kinn, executive director of the center.
“Many of our clients have been doing absolutely fantastic work that was not being recognized,” Carol Kasmin, director of Strategic Planning at the center, said. “We needed a venue to display their work, and this is what we came up with.”
“Before this, no one ever appreciated the work our clients did. This gives them a sense of dignity, a sense of self worth that they have never experienced before. Now they are seeing their work being admired, and they are feeling excited for the opportunity to be a part of the community.”
“Everyone responds to color, design, and beauty. How wonderful not only to be surrounded by it, but to have created it.”

Street art in BROOKLYN (DUMBO neighborhood)

"DUMBO, an acronym for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass, is a neighborhood in New York borough of Brooklyn. It is located between the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges." Apparently this is where Mos Def lives, and so this was my first stop in NYC. unfortunately, i could not kidnap the Mighty Mos or Kweli, but while i was in dumbo i saw some awesome artwork.

NYC...

finally... i've been able to edit my pics from my trip. it was good to be back. the trip as a whole was very refreshing. even the "odd" smells. here's some random shots i got while roaming the streets.

can't wait (well, actually, i have to)

tomorrow night, i'm rollin' to nj/nyc!!
i haven't been back in 2 years,
i can't wait to be back in my natural habitat.
all i know is i have a way there, a way back,
plenty of memory cards and battery chargers,
enough clean underwear and something to read.
it's gonna be an interesting ten days. if anything
particularly noteworthy happens, i'll make sure to keep you posted.

AphroWoman: circa '91

there's this dude walking around charlotte in a weird mexican wrestling mask. i never see him bothering anybody, but that doesn't make him any less creepy. if you see him around try and take his picture. i want to create a post of sightings on my website. i'll give you photo credits and everything. it'll be cool.

behind the scenes: tomika elise

this is what it looks like when cool artists produce cool art work.
so don't say you've never seen it.

behind the scenes

yeah... so this is what it looks like when i'm in
the YMCA art studio working on art and stuff (so articulate).
these were two of the three pieces i submitted for the Gentrify Me
show. the big one was in progress, but that's been done for a while
now. i just built 10 18" x 27" boxes in preparation for the
"Mac Pro for My Big Bro" Campaign.

Gentrify Me (the morning after)

oh it went soooo well yesterday!

i love standing off at a distance and observing the response
to my work. i talked to a number of people and made a few connections.
people gave me awesome feedback. i overheard someone describe one of
my pieces as "brilliant"! one artist shared a thing or two i could improve.
in the end it's my work and the final decision as to what it looks like is all mine,
so what it's gonna be in the end is always
my final decision. but i appreciate suggestions and the ones i received last night
were very helpful, and i plan to put into practice.

Gentrify Me

Check me (and a host of other local artists) out April 3rd
at Dialect Gallery (3024-C North Davidson St, Charlotte, NC)
to see our perspectives on community decay and gentrification.

Feelin' Good

"It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
For me
And I'm feeling good"
-Nina Simone

this "warm six days - cold and rainy the next" weather
has gotten me physically feeling a lil' funky, but i really
couldn't be in better spirits. i'm riding this streak
of productivity and creativity and i am loving the feedback
i'm getting.

having a website has been
such a validating experience, and it inspires me to
create new things. i'm trying to jump on every cool idea that
has recently passed through my head. and i'm trying to
collaborate with everybody on everything.

my mini jobs aren't paying the bills, but being able to work
in the arts is a privilege - something i want to hold onto,
so it's motivating me to press harder to make myself more
valuable as an artist, employee, and person. it's also making
me look harder at how to brand myself and develop an
entrepreneurial spirit and work ethic.

among the few things i want in life is to put things out into
the world that garner positive attention. and it's beginning to
happen. image - this time last year i was...
what was i doing?

Gentrify Me

i was honored to be invited to be a part of an art show dedicated to the artist's experience and perspective on community change and neighborhood redevelopment.

artists’ culture and creative entrepreneurship are often catalysts for community revitalization, while the realities of rapid economic development and displacement are often the outcome. the show is relevant to NoDa, along with many arts communities and cities across the country.

Gentrify Me will be held at dialect gallery, located at 3204-c north davidson st, for the month of april. please join myself and a host of local artists for the opening on april 3rd at 6pm.

the show features artwork of myself, jasiatic anderson, dia1518, meika fields, laura grosch, john hairston jr., marcus kiser, tomika elise, moye, antoine williams, jen woods, and wolly vinyl.

have you ever...

paid $6.99 for a cd, and asked yourself,
"Damn! why couldn't this cd be $14.99?"
pick up that janelle monae at target and you will.

CHDWCK.com

OH SNAP!! how could i forget?!
last month i finally started working on my website.
well, on feb 28, 2009 i officially launched my personal
website, CHDWCK.com
it's great to have a place to call my own.
posting my work on myspace is alright.
it's a nice way to alert people that you're doing something new.
but the work looks horrible in that setting.
and people aren't really on myspace to see me.
i post pics here on my blog, but i doubt people really search through
past posts to see what they may have missed.
well, anyzwayz... i will updating CHDWCK.com every wednesday
with new work, and you can also contact me through that page.
um, that's it.
latr.