Urban Drawing Board: Images of Free Expression: October 2010

"The People's Prose"

Graffiti, public marches and other free expression on the streets are captured in my photography in this blog. Each “expression” represents a raw energy, a need to speak out—what I call “the people’s prose”—whether by word, illustration or voice.

It comes from folks who felt compelled to say something about their own conditions, the political mood of the time, or the cultural climate they live in. Others just wanted to leave their mark—an “I was here” affirmation. Could have been a teenager who took chalk or a can of spray paint in hand to speak his/her mind, in his own language. Or protestors and parade walkers brave enough to say “This is who I am, this is my liberation.”

“Urban drawing boards”—my term for alternative means of expression—capture the feelings of helplessness and anger when no reform seems likely. They set the record straight. They poke fun. They encourage empowerment.

Monday, October 4, 2010

YNOT: Atlanta graffiti

Here's a "drawing board" I found two weeks ago, across the street from the Edgewood Retail District. "YNOT" is gone now, not just painted over but plastered over. "1,000,000+ Iraq Citizens Killed" was painted on brick in Little Five Points, along with "Cut From a Different Cloth," appearing in the front window of Stratosphere Skateboards. Finally, "I sold all my BP stock ages ago," in Cabbagetown, is part of a short series of frowning and tearful animals that reads "Beautiful fishes...all gone."