last week our friend amy forwarded us a post from brooklyn street art that was a bummer. jeff campion, known among lovers of street art as army of one, had died. well, this was a case of the good dying young. i never met him personally but we discoursed a few times when he commented on this blog, and he was a private inspiration to me.jeff tried to ignite political action through art. i don't know if he really hoped to spark a pacifist revolution, but from what he had to say in response to my posts it's certain he wished for one.
perhaps his overwrought language, his manifesto... was a sign of unbalance. perhaps it was an artistic persona, his jc2 army of one character. and perhaps it was meant be taken with a degree of humor. i suspect a little of each.
all i know is in a cynical world his was an urgent unashamed plea for peace. to this end his iconic image, the imploring "grenade boy," modified from a diane arbus photo, appeared wherever the army travelled, from coast to coast in this land, and beyond.
i loved his work, and his message. an exciting contrast to the usual jaded urban pessimism. tender amidst the hip tough street art milieu.
but jc2 was a very tough guy. a new york city firefighter, in his fifties, he was a ground zero responder in the aftermath of of the 9/11 attacks... they profoundly affected him. being himself no stranger to ptsd, abuse, addiction and recovery, jeff devoted his life to protecting others, and in his spare time he volunteered for children's charities.
this post is about the army's message, i'll have more on his art and monikers in future.
rip jc2. i wish a thousand armys could rise to take your place, but i know you can't be duplicated, even by one.
