One of Philadelphia’s characteristics that I first fell in love with when I moved here were its murals and graffitis. On the sides of buildings, and many buildings might I add (almost every couple of blocks), are paintings that cover concrete from ground to second, third, fourth, fifth, or ten floor. In many colors too! The gigantic paintings mush together many images and usually center around one theme – living green, racism, women’s rights, etc. Wrapped up in my own little world, I never questioned or researched this city, my city’s, quirk. I just looked and thought, “how pretty.”
Last week, light was shed on my secluded little life. As part of story (or post) for work, I interviewed Roger Gastman, the curator of an installation currently on display at our home offices. A graffitti artist during his teenage years, Roger switched focus from artist to collector, collecting music posters from the Go-Go scene, a world renowned punk and hardcore music scene where graffiti ruled. As part of one of his answers, he touched upon the history of graffiti. Technically, graffiti, or writings and drawings that are put on the surface of a public place, originated in Ancient Greece and Egypt. But modern day graffiti began… where… Philadelphia! In the 1960s, artists such as Cool Earl and Cornbread bombed the city with their tags. Ahhh… so that explains the murals around town!
Just like Karen wrote, most of us wear many hats. My main hobby is sewing but that doesn’t mean I’m not into other forms of art. Actually, I find most of my inspiration for sewing from other forms of art. So even though Roger and his installation have nothing to do with SPI, interfacing, or stretch factors, he still inspires me. You never know how this interview will seep into my sewing life.
