the streets A
S t r e e t
P h o t o g r a p h y
M a g a z i n e
issue seven
PERSPECTIVES
44
6
14
26
34
62 60
80
TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S 4 Editor’s Letter
PERSPECTIVES Photographer Series 6 Keith Jackson 14 Lorenzo Durantini
26 Alexandra Chalaud 34 Susan Smith
INTERSECTIONS Conversations with strangers (and sometimes friends) 44 Bhargava Chiluveru
80 Shanequa Gay
60 Forward Warrior Editor and Creative Director: Meredith M Howard Creative and Digital Assistant: Eva Howard Special thanks to Elise Howard, Greg Howard, Bhargava Chiluveru, Peter Ferrari, and Shanequa Gay Front cover photo: Keith Jackson Back cover photo: Meredith M Howard Contributors: Keith Jackson, Lorenzo Durantini, Alexandra Chalaud, Susan Smith, Bhargava Chiluveru Contact THE STREETS: info@thestreetsmag.com www.thestreetsmag.com Follow us on Instagram @thestreetsmagazine All work is copyrighted to the photographer, artist, or author. No part of this magazine may be used without permission of THE STREETS. THE STREETS
3
EDITOR’S LET TER Similar to past Issues of THE STREETS magazine, in Issue Seven we run the gamut from the delightful to the deeply serious – because that is our public life together on the streets. Sometimes I feel like I live in a bubble, so my favorite part of THE STREETS is hearing different perspectives from people in other parts of the world and other parts of my own city. The contributors in this Issue gave me a lot to think about. I will now get out of the way and let them speak. Look, listen, and enjoy... – Meredith
4
PERSPECTIVES
perspectives P h o t o g r a p h e r
S e r i e s
PERSPECTIVES PERSPECTIVES PERSPECTIVES PERSPECTIVES PERSPECTIVES
5 Photograph by Meredith M Howard THE STREETS
Keith jackson Photographer
You grew up in East Point. How do you describe Atlanta and do you feel like it has changed over the course of your life? Atlanta is very unique. It has a lot of history. It’s definitely a melting pot for people across the country– especially with it being in the south – it gives the city a different dynamic. The diversity here –people from all over the world, different racial and ethnic backgrounds, large LGBT community. Atlanta is home to me... 6
PERSPECTIVES
Keith Jackson
THE STREETS
7
Keith Jackson ...Yes, it’s changed a lot. Atlanta has grown, not only geographically, but also the population has expanded. There are way more people living here now. With so many people and businesses moving here it’s become a desired location in the country. Some landmarks and neighborhoods that I grew up accustomed to seeing have been replaced by new developments, and certain segments of the population have been pushed out of those neighborhoods. But with all of that being said, the city continues to grow and change. There’s a lot of opportunity in the city. My only hope is that we continue to honor the legacy of the city, and we continue to remember where the city started and continue to pay homage to those who helped make it what it is today.
You write in “My Story” on your website that you started following National Geographic on Instagram in order to improve your photography. What did you see in those photographs that helped you improve as a photographer? Actually, I started following National Geographic to change my social media experience to get a more diverse experience from social media. I wanted something more fulfilling out of the pages I was following. That is what sparked my interest in pursuing photography, being exposed to the rest of the world – different countries and cultures, nature and wildlife.
Keith Jackson You recently had a show called “Colorblind”. What gave you the idea for this series and what was your intent in creating these images? I was working on a coffee table book and putting images together. I was struggling to come up with a name. Because they are all in black and white, I decided to call it Colorblind. After coming up with the name I was trying to figure out a way to express that in a different way and expound upon the name itself. I came up with the idea that a portrait series would be good to help represent that word. And I thought it would be a good idea to get a diverse group of people from all walks of life, and it would be even more symbolic of the word to use a blindfold. That’s how Colorblind came about.
10
PERSPECTIVES
What kind of responses have you been getting from “Colorblind”? I had over 40 people participate in the project, and once I started to share the idea with people, I’ve received a ton of support from individuals and organizations. The show itself had an amazing turnout, and it was overall positive feedback from the show in general.
THE STREETS
11
Keith Jackson It’s interesting that the phrase came to you with regard to your black and white photography. It automatically makes me think of race relations. Do you think people should be “color blind”, and do you think people can be “color blind”?
I don’t think people should actually be “colorblind”. I think that we should celebrate our diversity and be blind to our differences. I think we should acknowledge that we are different in many ways but recognize what makes us special is our individuality. I believe that it is possible to be “colorblind” and truly see the beauty in others, but I know that as a society that is something we are very far away from achieving. I know there will always be people that resist that, but all we can do is continue to spread the message of unity and equality. 12
PERSPECTIVES
Keith Jackson
You have captured humanity on the street, interesting perspectives of the city and its architecture, and now concept pieces like “Color Blind”. What is your favorite type of photography to shoot? My favorite type of photography to shoot is life itself. I really enjoy capturing the essence of what makes us human. For me it’s all about making that connection with my subject whether I never speak to them or we have a two hour conversation. I just really love to put the viewer in my shoes and they can experience what I am seeing.
Follow Keith on Instagram @koolestkeith and on his website at www.keithshoots.com where you can see more of his photographs and contact him to purchase prints. THE STREETS
13
Lorenzo Durantini Photographer
THE STREETS
15
Lorenzo Durantini
16
PERSPECTIVES
Lorenzo Durantini
Where do you live and how do you describe your city? I live in Florence, Italy and if you take away the hordes of tourists, it’s the best place in the world. Having lived in London and New York, nothing can compare with walking down a Florentine street. Currently, however, the baseless hyper-consumerism that caters to mass tourists who spend maybe four hours in the city and then are herded back onto a bus to go to some other art city makes me feel like globalization can and will destroy anything that gets in its path. So in order to experience the city as it’s meant to be, I’m training myself to get up earlier everyday.
THE STREETS
17
Lorenzo Durantini How did you get into photography? I started with documentary and very quickly recognized the contradictory boundaries that define the genre, so I became an artist. Then after I saw first hand the philosophical solipsism in contemporary art I retreated back to photography, and I ask less questions now and focus on making the best image possible, regardless of whatever discipline it falls into. I’m more interested in the rapper Aesop Rock’s lyrics than I am in most exhibition press releases. I feel like the word representation has been so eviscerated, particularly in the last year, that finding some clever way to critique it is like chasing a headless chicken. It’ll be spectacular and spurt a lot of blood, but then pretty soon it’s dead for good. Personally I don’t feel invested in hanging out with dead carcasses too long because before you know it they start to stink real bad.
“I feel like the word representation has been so eviscerated, particularly in the last year, that finding some clever way to critique it is like chasing a headless chicken.”
18
PERSPECTIVES
Lorenzo Durantini I love your photos from Pitti Immagine Uomo. They are filled with layers of bright color. Are bold colors the current trend in menswear, or do you just seek out the bold colors? And what is the newest trend in menswear? I’m attracted more to the subject than to what they’re wearing necessarily. A gentleman in grey with a great expression and a great cut on their suit is as interesting to me as someone with bright colors. I used to dress like a dandy when I was younger, so that’s my trend forecast.
19
PERSPECTIVES
THE STREETS
Lorenzo Durantini You posted on Instagram that you were using a vintage lens from 1977. So, is that lens really “better than modern lenses on auto focus�? Do you shoot with vintage cameras as well? Modern auto focus lenses have 12 or so pieces of glass that the image has to go through before reaching the sensor. I find this creates really precise but flat images. My lens has only 6 glass elements which gives the subject a sense of three dimensionality in my opinion. I also shoot large format where the lenses are even simpler, and I can make a better image with the right film and scan than the latest 100 megapixel camera. Vintage lenses are also better for film because they are closer to cine lenses in the way they focus, so I can have one set of lenses for both cine and photo. I see that you also make films. What would be your dream film to make? I’m currently working on an acid spaghetti western set in Sicily that discusses the disintegration of the European project and looks at Medieval history for alternate models for multiculturalism, shot on black and white with anamorphic lenses like Sergio Leone used to.
22
PERSPECTIVES
Lorenzo Durantini
THE STREETS
23
Who or what inspires you artistically? For photography Jeff Wall and for film Michelangelo Antonioni.
24
PERSPECTIVES
Follow Lorenzo on Instagram @lorenzodurantini THE STREETS
25
Alexandra chalaud Photographer
26
PERSPECTIVES
THE STREETS
Alexandra Chalaud
Where do you live and how do you describe your city? I live in Paris in the 12th Arrondissement. How to describe my city? I can’t describe my city. There are so many things to say about Paris – the best and the worst – that’s also why she’s so full of charms. I just feel sometimes that I’m so lucky to be born and live in Paris. I don’t miss anything except maybe the sea.
28
PERSPECTIVES
Alexandra Chalaud
How did you get started in photography and then specifically in street style and fashion? I used to be a fashion stylist for magazines. I was very frustrated about the images, and my husband who is a photographer told me – ”You always talk about the mood and light but never about the clothes and the outfits, so do your own images.” I finally realized that I needed to create my images. THE STREETS
29
Alexandra Chalaud What was most challenging for you when you first started photography and what is challenging to you now? Honestly, nothing was very challenging. It was a real pleasure! The most challenging now is trying to keep a “fresh eye”.
One of your signature shots seems to be the windswept hair blowing across someone’s face. Is this something you try to capture or does it just happen? I love the wind in the hair. It brings something sweet to the image and also melancholic sometimes. I don’t like when it’s too static or too frontal. It’s not me. 30
PERSPECTIVES
THE STREETS
Alexandra Chalaud
I love the photographs you shot for “The Art of French” for Vestiaire Collective. So, how would you describe French style? I don’t know why everyone wants to describe the French style or are so in love with Parisian style. All the Parisian girls with good style know that less is more and also much better. Good basics! A nice pair of shoes or nice accessories make the difference. Nice skin with just mascara and sometimes red lipstick. That’s all!
Who or what inspires your photographic style? Photographers like Mark Steinmetz, Josef Szabo, and Eggleston as well as travels, music...just life.
32
PERSPECTIVES
Follow Alexandra on Instagram @alexandrachalaud and on her website at www.alexandrachalaud.com.
THE STREETS
33
34
Central State Hospital, Milledgeville, GA
Susan Smith
Photographer
PERSPECTIVES
Susan Smith
Detroit Masonic Temple, Detroit, MI
THE STREETS
35
Susan Smith
Where do you live and how do you describe your city? Atlanta, Georgia...but technically Stone Mountain, Georgia, a small suburb of Atlanta. I would describe it as a very diverse city that wants to disassociate from its past – a second rebuilding if you will.
Central State Hospital, Milledgeville, GA
36
PERSPECTIVES
Susan Smith
Birmingham, AL
How did you get into photography? I was an art major at Georgia Southern University and surprisingly photography was my worst class. After graduation, I didn’t take any photos that had any creative merit. It was just for fun. I didn’t get back into photography until I moved to Charleston, South Carolina in 2010 for a job. I had a BlackBerry, a small point and shoot digital camera and my film camera from college (ah...film).
THE STREETS
37
St. Agnes Church, Detroit, MI
Susan Smith How did you become interested in abandoned buildings and how do you find them? My best friend and I started this project based on the AIA Guide to Atlanta Architecture from 1992. It divides the metro Atlanta area into sections and provides history about the building and surrounding areas. Each month we take a section and spend the day photographing the area and we are surprised by some of the buildings we find. We took this project outside the state to Detroit, Michigan based on this photographer we found that does photography workshops in abandoned buildings. Best trip ever! We then took it to Birmingham, Columbus and Milledgeville. I find some of the buildings just by chance when I feel the itch to take a spontaneous drive. I have found some places through Pinterest, the Atlas Obscura website and the Explore Georgia website. I also traveled for six months, and I took every opportunity to explore the cities I was in.
Who or what inspires you? People that get out and explore, places that have an unknown or not well known history, nature, photographers I follow on Instagram, my friends and family, music. Westview Abby, Atlanta, GA
40
PERSPECTIVES
Susan Smith
How do you think your experience in life affects your photography? I use my photography as a stress reliever from my job in the Operating Room. In my mind, sometimes they’re intertwined. Just like the human body can become worn down, sick and forgotten if you don’t take care of it, so can buildings and structures.
How did you go from art school to working in the OR? That seems like a big shift. I started out my freshman year as a nursing major at a big out of state university. I didn’t do so well. I came home and changed my major to Art because I wanted to be like my best friend who was going to SCAD. I wanted to be a photographer for National Geographic or a sports team. I worked as a graphic designer for two years after college. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting when I got into graphic design. I realized my “skin” couldn’t take the critiques of my work. I went through a long period of my late twenties of not knowing what I wanted to do with my life. I went back to school in 2009 and graduated in 2010. I guess healthcare had a better fit with parts of my personality. Plus, my whole family is in healthcare, so I was almost destined to be in healthcare. Now, photography just keeps my creative juices flowing.
intersecti
intersections intersections ntersections ntersections intersection ntersections intersection
ntersections
intersections 42
INTERSECTIONS
s
ns
ns
s THE STREETS
43
bhargava chiluveru I met Bhargava at a photowalk with fourofour – an organization he created to empower Atlanta artists and showcase the best of the city. From his street photographs he creates imaginative pieces of art that have earned him recognition and a loyal following. He also runs Chil Media, which does everything from portraits to branding. Recently, I sat down to talk to him about how all of this fits together and about his journey from India to where he is today. – Meredith M Howard MMH: You moved from India to the United States when you were 13 years old. What was your childhood like in India? BC: My childhood in India was interesting because my dad was creative in a very non-creative space. Even by our standards, we would say he was a creative individual, but in India that’s not something you are. Most people are focused on being an engineer, doctor, or lawyer. Those are the main careers you want to go after. 44
INTERSECTIONS
Bhargava Chiluveru So my dad was definitely an outlier in the fact that he had an ad agency, which exposed me to creatives. We literally lived in the back of the ad agency. Eventually, my dad opened an institute called INMAC – The Institute of Mass Communications. I learned a lot through that because I used to sit in on classes at a young age. In those classes he would show advertising from all over the world like Swedish ads. We used to talk about Volkswagen – the big ad with the small bug car – those are the types of things I got exposed to in India at a young age, which is really strange. Once I moved here, there was definitely a culture shock. I think I grew up in a pretty sheltered environment. In India, my focus was on cricket (the only sport I ever played) and computer games, and I started using Photoshop around 11 years old. So, that was my world.
“My childhood in India was interesting because my dad was creative in a very non-creative space.” MMH: Why did your family decide to move here? BC: Those things weren’t working out. And that’s why I think people are jaded when they don’t think America’s special and think things are going down – which is true on a bigger scale – but what I’m doing right now my dad wasn’t able to do in India. I’m not saying I’m having an easy time (because being a creative individual in general is hard, let alone trying to make it as a business that’s doing creative things), but it just wasn’t the environment for them... They just couldn’t make that life work, and my dad needed new opportunities. THE STREETS
45
Bhargava Chiluveru
“We sold everything in India and basically moved here with $600.” 46
INTERSECTIONS
Bhargava Chiluveru But he had to literally switch careers. He had to try to learn programming to move here... We sold everything in India and basically moved here with like $600... He ended up just managing databases. I’m sure it was really difficult when it comes to ego because he was this smart, respected individual in India, and then coming here and having a lower level job and giving people rides in the morning to get paid and stuff like that. He’s back to where he was in India now because he has a successful business, but it took a while.
“I’ve always been a cultural observer.”
Of course, as a kid I was having my own kind of struggles. I wasn’t fitting in, but I’ve always had this “when in Rome” mentality. I tried really hard to get rid of my accent the first year. Just observing culture, the first time I saw two middle schoolers kiss I thought,“They are having sex in public!” That’s just taboo. You don’t even see people holding hands in India. And these kids just looked so much older than me, even though they were probably only a year older than me at the time. With regard to maturity, I feel like a 13-year-old Indian kid is equal to a 9- or 10-year-old American kid. And we lived in a decently rough neighborhood, so experiencing gangs for the first time... I moved here in 8th grade and that allowed me to watch enough TV to find out what high school was and what cliques were. I’ve always been a cultural observer. The kids that moved here in high school had a much harder time assimilating. THE STREETS
47
Bhargava Chiluveru MMH: And you went to Georgia State and majored in marketing? BC: Yes, that was a struggle, too, because I started as a computer science major, but I got a D in pre-calculus and thought, “I can’t make it as a programmer if I’m going to get a D in pre-cal.” I ended up changing my major without telling my parents. I thought marketing was the closest thing to advertising or design... But marketing is totally different. It’s not advertising at all. It’s not design at all. It is way more about business. I passed college because we had projects and I could make the projects look really good. I think I’m a little dyslexic, so I don’t think I did well in classes that were test-only.
“It was like boot camp for my agency because I do everything now that I did in that first job.” MMH: Where did you work after college? BC: As soon as I graduated I wanted a corporate job. I wanted to get an American corporate job. I wasn’t having any luck. And then the first people that offered me a job, I took it without even evaluating whether it was the right job for me...There I was doing everything I was good at – photography, product photos, editing. It was like boot camp for my agency because I do everything now that I did in that first job.
48
INTERSECTIONS
Bhargava Chiluveru
Collaboration between Bhargava Chiluveru and Shaun Lee (@_wndr_ on Instagram)
We used to make videos and slide shows. We were making ads. My ads were published every single month in local Indian publications. I made a billboard. There was a billboard in Tampa and one in Dallas. I never got a chance to see my own billboards, but it was still cool. For a 21-year-old to have a billboard is really cool, but I still discounted it. I’m just now realizing in this conversation – How cool is that? I haven’t gotten a chance to design another billboard. But at the time I thought – “What a waste. It’s an Indian place.” So dumb, right? I ended up moving to another job...I just wasn’t growing as fast as I wanted. I ended up quitting after my wedding in 2013…I couldn’t ever find another job that was satisfying enough, so I decided I was just going to do this on my own. I probably should have had a little more capital before I did it, but I started freelancing. THE STREETS
49
Bhargava Chiluveru MMH: What is the name of your company that you started? BC: Chil Media is the big company. It’s my wife and me...We needed to split the company because we were dealing with two unique audiences. Businesses didn’t care what we were doing for individuals, and individuals didn’t care what we were doing for businesses. But we were really doing very similar services. It’s all visual content. Everybody will tell you – “Pick one thing and get really good at it. And do that.” Constantly, during the last four years of the business, everybody’s told me that. I’ve been too stubborn about saying, “No, I think I’m going to try to pursue this.”
“Most people can learn on YouTube, but you need that community to push you forward and help you learn.” So, Chil Media is like the holding company. And then we have Chil Creative, which is the agency. And then Chil Studios. And then fourofour. To me, at the end of the day, Chil Media is just a visual, creative company. We pump out visual content that is backed up by strategy and execution. That’s always been the vision for me. And I think it just took a while to tell the story. Because I think it’s all about how you frame it to make it simpler for people to understand. And fourofour is basically my way of enabling the community to kind of have a similar experience as I did. I was able to learn through community. Most people can learn on YouTube, but you need that community to push you forward and help you learn. 50
INTERSECTIONS
Bhargava Chiluveru MMH: When did you get into photography originally? BC: My dad had a darkroom in our home when we were growing up... So, I was exposed to photography very young...He didn’t really help me fine tune it because even though he was creative, he wanted me to be more of the programmer. I think he knew it was a hard life and didn’t want me to experience that. It wasn’t that he held it back. It just wasn’t something that he helped nurture. In high school, I was part of the yearbook and was the number two photographer. I never considered myself that good because the number one photographer was always putting out artsy stuff. And they always used to make fun of me. Of course as kids they don’t understand the cultural barriers. They just expect you to know everything. So, that was frustrating but at the same time a learning experience.
THE STREETS
51
Bhargava Chiluveru At GSU I didn’t really do much photography…but I was always really into editing. I was always retouching photos. I used to get photos off the internet and just retouch them. I think I liked Photoshop more than the act of photography after a while. I would create fantasy realms. There used to be this website called Worth1000. I don’t think it exists anymore, but it was like the first Photoshop battle website. They would come up with themes and you would just create things like a fake movie poster…It’s funny because some of the interns who are 19 or 21 say, “Man, you’ve been using Photoshop since I was born.” I never saw the value in my experience, but maybe I am like a Photoshop expert in the five mile area. That’s why I’ve been leaning more into that with my art because if everybody’s doing the same type of photos, why don’t I just showcase what I’m really good at.
“I think I liked Photoshop more than the act of photography after a while.” I saw this HDR photograph that was amazing – it was a desktop wallpaper of New York. I didn’t know what it was at the time. I just knew it looked very similar to the movie “300,” which had a very distinct look. It was gloomy HDR. I really got into this idea of making that kind of look. I figured out how to do it, and that’s what really sucked me back into photography. For the longest time, all I was doing was HDR photography. There was a huge population that just didn’t get it. They decided it was over-processed. I really felt like I was getting better at it. I figured out how to tune the photos enough to make them look like paintings... 52
INTERSECTIONS
Bhargava Chiluveru
THE STREETS
53
Bhargava Chiluveru When I was leaving my job, I knew I could make money at wedding photography, but the more and more wedding photographers I started talking to, they all discouraged digital manipulation. They all wanted me to be more a traditional photographer. So, I started getting more into camera work at that time and just picked up a ton of technical proficiencies… I used to hear comments like – “Oh, that’s a little too Photoshopped” – and –“That’s a little too edited” – even at photo meetups here. And it always made me feel like I should pull back on that stuff a little bit more. That’s why I started presenting myself as more of a traditional photographer who just does HDR rather than someone who can do these amazing edits.
“You can’t jump the shark. You have to stay ahead of the curve.” Lately – and it’s probably not good – anytime somebody comes up to me and says, “You’re the guy that does those buildings breaking off,” then I’m like – “I’m doing something else now.” You just can’t jump the shark. You have to be ahead of the curve. So whatever people start identifying me as, I’m just like – “Nope, that’s not me. I’m going to do something else.” Because that’s the pursuit of art. One of my recent trips was to the Art Institute of Chicago and I finally got to see Picasso’s entire [portfolio] …You know you associate artists with a certain style so you think Picasso’s style is a certain style. But if you go look at his work, it’s so evolving and changed from time to time. There’s no reason I can’t do that. So, to stay one step ahead of everybody, that’s what I’ve been doing...I’ve been really liking my new project so far – the buildings breaking off. I think that’s really unique. 54
INTERSECTIONS
Bhargava Chiluveru MMH: I wanted to ask what inspired you to create the photos of the buildings breaking apart? BC: From the beginning, one cool thing about HDR is that you can create environments that look futuristic...After moving to Midtown, I got on my bike and had my camera on me... I got to Piedmont Park and I thought, “Man, this looks so futuristic.” This is when I started falling in love with Atlanta. And your regular eye doesn’t see this, so I’m going to make you see Atlanta in a different way. [See the first photo in the interview.] That was my whole idea of showing Atlanta in very much a futuristic sense because it played so well into what I started believing and what I started seeing.
“Your regular eye doesn’t see this, so I’m going to make you see Atlanta in a different way.”
One of the biggest advantages I’ve had after breaking off from the corporate world is being able to travel. We’ve traveled quite a bit – New York, Chicago, LA, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Miami, Austin, New Orleans, Chattanooga, Jersey, Michigan, Toronto, San Diego. I had a chance to experience a lot of different ways of life. What I realized, though, Atlanta – at least comparing it to New York, Chicago, LA – is starting to have something special happen.
56
INTERSECTIONS
Bhargava Chiluveru After traveling to all of those spots, you could see why culture is being created in Atlanta. It happened because there were people from all different cultures moving to New York and LA. The world moved there and that collision created new culture. Creativity is a culmination of all your ideas. You get more ideas when you are around more people. So, diversity itself is how you create culture.
“Diversity itself is how you create culture.” After I started traveling and coming back to Atlanta, I realized we are the city of the future. That’s why whenever I did HDR photos of Atlanta, it just looked like the future. It looked like every futuristic movie, and I started pursuing that idea...And all of this comes from the idea of showing the city from a different perspective...Ultimately, that’s what I think about – creating new and different things that nobody’s done before. The thought process is like –“Is this different enough?”
“After I started traveling and coming back to Atlanta, I realized we are the city of the future.”
THE STREETS
57
Bhargava Chiluveru MMH: What is your vision for fourofour? BC: In the simplest way, I say it’s a brand trying to empower local artists through a new form of learning. So, eventually – if you were to ask me for a long term vision – I see fourofour as a physical space with a storefront along with a free or subsidized studio for creatives with tools and equipment. A physical, creative workspace that through community and free workshops empowers creatives that not just couldn’t get into art school but meant for people who couldn’t afford art school. It will be there to help them with their side hustle using stuff they create through the education they take away from us. It’s just a natural form of learning because you learn through the community. You can learn anything on the internet, literally, if you have the passion. Because I’ve learned everything I know on the internet...I don’t think GSU actually showed me what I do on a day to day basis now. Everything that I do on a day to day basis now is stuff that I’ve learned myself. So, I think there needs to be something that helps that happen.
“If there is a creative out there that never went to art school that wants to learn...and wants a community and a network, it’s available.” It’s just barely touched its potential. It’s just a matter of time. It’s really about not letting other people go through the struggle that I went through. If there is a creative out there that never went to art school that wants to learn a bunch of stuff and wants a community and wants a network, it’s available. 58
INTERSECTIONS
Bhargava Chiluveru
Follow Bhargava on Instagram @b.chil and @fourofour . Hire him at www.chilcreative.com or 17.chilstudios.com Join the community and buy a t-shirt at www.fourofour.co. THE STREETS
59
60
INTERSECTIONS
Phillip Oliver THE STREETS
61
forward warrior Artists have always been the speakers of culture – both descriptive and prescriptive – showing us what exists and what can be. As a native Atlantan, I have enjoyed the effects of the public nature of the murals painted at Forward Warrior for several years now. I recently had the chance to sit down to talk to Peter Ferrari, the founder and organizer of Forward Warrior, about its history and its future. Interview and photographs by Meredith M Howard MMH: When was the first Forward Warrior? PF: The first one was in 2012. We did two of them in the first year, and it was literally in the back lot of Lady Bird. It wasn’t Lady Bird then. It was Melvin Gallery. I said, “Let’s just do sort of painting performance” – that’s what we wanted to bill it as. I had a lot of friends who were musicians and they have shows, so I thought, “Let’s do an art performance show.” We had 12 artists the first year. It was great. We bolted up big pieces of plywood along the fence. We had a DJ. I think we charged $5 to get in, and we tried to auction them off at the end. In 2013, we did the first one that was public in Castleberry. And eventually we transferred into Cabbagetown, and that was the perfect fit for us.
62
INTERSECTIONS
Forward Warrior
Mural by Matt Letrs (@letsgopaint)
MMH: What was your original vision for Forward Warrior and has it changed over time? PF: The original idea has always remained the same – to bring artists who maybe don’t know each other together and people who appreciate art to see the actual artists who are making it. I try to mix it up as much as possible. I always have new people and then also people who have done it before to stir the pot a little bit. It’s sort of become this notch on your belt in Atlanta. If you’re an Atlanta artist and you do this it’s sort of like – “OK, now I’ve arrived.” And that’s cool. That wasn’t intentional at all. I never would have guessed that this is where it is now. Next year... I probably shouldn’t say too much... but we have a lot of really big stuff planned for next year. We are going to try to make it much more of a festival. It will hopefully be competing with some of the bigger festivals in Atlanta. THE STREETS
63
64
INTERSECTIONS
Travis Smith (@13_robots)
Forward Warrior MMH: It almost started to feel like a festival this year. It seems like it is organically headed in that direction. PF: Yeah, so many people come out. People kind of take over the streets anyway. So, we could ask for street closure, or we could just let people do what they want. It’s sort of a de facto street festival already.
“Next year...I probably shouldn’t say too much... but we have a lot of really big stuff planned for next year.”
THE STREETS 65 Alea Hurst (@aleahurstart)
INTERSECTIONS
66
I asked this artist how he was feeling at the moment and he said, “I’m having a little party in my head.” – Seven (@theartistseven)
Forward Warrior
Forward Warrior
Janice Rago (@janiceragoart) THE STREETS
67
INTERSECTIONS
“Hey, I’ve got this wall if you want to paint it.”
Forward Warrior
William Mitchell (@williambrucemitchell) MMH: So, how did you get into art originally? PF: I was always drawing and painting as a kid. I did some graffiti as a teenager. My mom wanted me to get away from that and decided to get me some canvases and acrylic paints. So, I would do some similar stuff to what I was doing in the graffiti world on the canvases. Then, I had a show at Octane seven years ago, and I had a really good response from it. I had a guy basically say, “Hey, I’ve got this wall if you want to paint it.” THE STREETS
69
Forward Warrior
Michi Meko (@michimeko) and Mike Black (@blackmike_art) PF: So, I painted the wall in October, and Living Walls had happened earlier that summer. Monica Campana immediately reached out to me and said, “Who are you? And where have you been?” Because it was my first big mural. It’s off Freedom Parkway... So, I got involved with Living Walls. I did two pieces for them over a couple of years. I was a school teacher before that. I was teaching for six years, and these opportunities just kept coming slapping me in the face. And I thought, “I have to answer the door when opportunity knocks.” I realized pretty quickly that this is something I could do for a living.
70
INTERSECTIONS
Forward Warrior
“Who are you? And where have you been?”
THE STREETS
71
Forward Warrior
72
INTERSECTIONS
Forward Warrior
Austin Blue (@proper_blue) THE STREETS
73
Forward Warrior MMH: You mentioned in the November 2015 Atlanta Magazine article that “Forward, warrior” was a phrase that you and a roommate would use to encourage each other when times were tough. How do your challenges as an artist at this stage in your career compare to your challenges back then? PF: Now, I’m seeing my role as more of somebody who’s good at organizing people – sort of like a hub – where people know they can come to me if they need advice or if they’re trying to break into the art world. Because people saw what I did as a sort of taking things into my own hands – doing it on my own. And that, I think, inspired a lot of people to do that as well.
“Initially, the intent was to break down some of the walls in the art community.” Initially, the intent was to break down some of the walls in the art community. There’s definitely some of “that group paints with those people” and “that group shows with those people”. Especially in the Castleberry Hill event we did in 2013, I was deliberately going out to groups that I had never interacted with before... And some of that divide had to do with geography. Some of that divide had to do with race. Some of that divide had to do with gender. All of those things are things I tried to flatten out and just say, “Let’s all come together and let’s paint.” I do curate with that intent, so I’m not going to just pick the first 30 white guys. Because there is imbalance in our world, and you have to sort of acknowledge that and work against it. And that’s something I’ve been much more conscientious of recently – just seeing the event as an opportunity to break down those barriers to all enjoy something together. I think showing the public that this is how we function is important, too. We get great responses. And it’s not something that we advertise – “Hey, come look at our diverse artists.” That’s the world I want to see, so let’s just do it. And it’s been working out great. 74
INTERSECTIONS
Forward Warrior MMH: Well, I grew up here in Atlanta, and I feel like the art community is helping with that. PF: I go back and forth because I have some pretty hard core activist friends who are like – “We have to be in the streets.” Activism doesn’t always come about that way and that isn’t always the most effective way. Sometimes it’s just in how you live your day to day life. The choices you make. Where you put your effort. And that’s something I’m trying to be more conscious of. This is a role that I can play, so let’s stay on track. I’m definitely viewing this as bigger than me.
“Sometimes it’s just in how you live your day to day life. The choices you make. Where you put your effort.”
THE STREETS
75
76
INTERSECTIONS
Sanithna (@sanithna)
THE STREETS
77
Forward Warrior
Shanequa Gay (@shanequagay)
78
INTERSECTIONS
Forward Warrior MMH: I live in Sandy Springs and the people around me don’t even know that this exists. So, I’ve started putting together an Atlanta Street Art Guide to show them where it is because they have no idea. And I’ll bring people down here, and they are blown away. PF: I kind of like that it’s sort of word of mouth. That you have to know about it to come down and then once you’re here it’s so glaringly everywhere. I like that. Because we don’t have huge budgets to promote. It’s just about this event and then once the event’s done, we’re left with this sort of evolving landmark and every year it changes, which is cool. So, there’s a motivator to get down here and see it before it changes. So, get down here before it changes. (Wylie Street and Tennelle Street SE Atlanta,Georgia) Follow @forwardwarrior on Instagram to find out about future events. Follow Peter @peterferrariart and @facetgallery to find out about gallery events.
(If you are as intrigued by the mural on the previous page as I was, read the next interview with Shanequa Gay.)
THE STREETS
79
INTERSECTIONS
shanequa gay There were so many great murals at Forward Warrior, but the one that intrigued me the most was Shanequa Gay’s mural pictured on page 78. Men with antlers running away from a police car. It was jarring. I wanted to know exactly what she was trying to say. So, I asked her. She told me that the piece is based on the fact that many privately run prisons have contracts with the state that guarantee a certain capacity and require the state to pay for unoccupied beds. This could provide a strong incentive to keep the beds full. She titled the piece “Get That Doe” as a play on words. As an example of questionable arrests, she told me about a friend of hers who was arrested for jaywalking on Edgewood Avenue in downtown Atlanta. “He’s an upstanding citizen. A teacher.” In my research, I discovered that the Justice Department announced in August 2016 that they are phasing out the use of private prisons by not renewing contracts when they expire. They said they no longer need the private prisons because the prison population has declined. However, NPR investigative reporters found other reasons for the phase-out such as overcrowding and abuse. In November 2016, the government renewed its contract with CoreCivic, Inc. – a private company that runs McRae Correctional Facility in Georgia. That’s the opposite of a phase-out. I had never heard about any of this before. So, I went to talk to Shanequa about her life, her art, and to find out what else I might be missing. Interview and photographs by Meredith M Howard THE STREETS
81
MMH: How did your art career start? SG: I would make these note cards and small works and sell them to friends and family or at church functions and I had a friend say to me, “Shanequa, how long are you going to just have pictures on your wall and just selling it to us and never sharing your gift with the world?” Do you ever have people that are nice/nasty? It was her nice/nasty way of saying, “You need to go after your gift.” I thought, “Ooo, that hurt.”
MMH: So, when was that in your life? SG: I was a mom at that time, and my husband and I had possibly separated by then, and that was not on my list of things to do. I have to provide for myself, and I have to provide for my son. I can’t eat off of this. I thought, “Why would you tell me to do something like that?” But she gave me a template for a business plan, and I did that. She told me to write down some goals, and I did that. 82
INTERSECTIONS
Shanequa Gay
SG: There used to be a very popular print market on Bankhead Highway, and I went there to take my original works to see if I could sell them to have them created for this mass print industry. And I met this guy Doyle. He said, “Before you do that, let me introduce you to some people and get you into some group exhibitions to kind of get your feet wet.” He took me out to Castleberry Hill, and I met all these cool artsy folks. He got me accepted to some group shows. He introduced me to this guy named Soji. Soji purchased my original artwork for print, and he was giving me anywhere between $1500 and $2500 per painting. So within three to six months span of time I had made about $15,000. I had never made that much money off of my art! I thought – “They’ll pay me to do this?”...That floored me. You mean I can eat off this? They lied to me my whole life! It has not always been lucrative financially, but creatively it’s been great. THE STREETS
83
Shanequa Gay MMH: I read that you went to SCAD. Did you go to SCAD after you started selling your artwork? SG: I did. I made a transition. Art was my side hustle. I was working for a nonprofit organization called Creating Pride. They hired me on full time after being a volunteer. They went into Atlanta public schools and helped teachers integrate art into the curriculum. If you were losing art courses in your school, then teachers could integrate art into the classrooms. From there I got hired to be a production manager, and I worked for the nonprofit for three years. In 2008, I lost my brother to a car accident. That whole year was really difficult because I was not a functioning human being. My brother and I were very close. We actually lived together, and not only that, when he had his car accident, if he had just turned the curve, he would have been home. So, that was devastating. I was really grief-stricken and depressed. After a year I resigned from my position and needed to do some soul searching. But for two and a half to three years after my brother died, I didn’t paint anything, which was really difficult because I usually went to my art. It was cathartic. It was a way of cleansing. I couldn’t paint. I couldn’t do anything. I went back to school so I could create. Because if they give you assignments, you have to do them. I did something to force that in me, because otherwise I was kind of dying. What is that? Survivor’s remorse. I definitely went through that. I’m the oldest, so I took on feeling responsible in a way. In some ways, the older child becomes a form of a parent. So for me, it was like losing a child, it was like losing a brother, it was like losing a partner, my best friend. It was really difficult. So, I went back to school. I have a degree from the Art Institute of Atlanta in fashion marketing and graphic design, but I went to SCAD for studio painting. It was helpful.
84
INTERSECTIONS
MMH: Do you feel like art school helped you in your work? Did anything change or did it just help you get refocused? SG: It definitely helped me language-wise to be able to talk about my work. It helped me develop new paths for my work. While I was at SCAD, I developed this series of work I’ve been doing. I didn’t share this body of work with my professors until the last year at SCAD, but I was working on it kind of behind the scenes. Doing my assignments but also doing this body of work. It helped heighten my skill set. It refocused me in a great way. Coming in and being an independent artist who already did work, it showed me how I can develop myself in new avenues. MMH: So, you’ve been working on the Fair Game project for years? SG: Probably since 2011.
THE STREETS
85
Shanequa Gay MMH: So, tell me about this piece right here. SG: It’s the most recent piece I started working on...As of late, my focus has been to speak to the difficulties that happen in the marginalized communities using mythology. Because when you hear about things that happen in the news, it doesn’t sound real, so you think – “Did that really happen?” It just sounds weird and strange and not anything that human beings do to one another. How can you talk about those stories in a way that is relatable? Mythology helps flatten the separation that we have between each other. We have these hierarchies. When you are talking about moral issues from animal, folk tale, and human standpoint, it kind of flattens it and makes it – “This could be anywhere and it could be anybody.”
“It just sounds weird and strange and not anything that human beings do to one another.” 86
INTERSECTIONS
Shanequa Gay SG: That’s an oxen skull. I’ve been playing with different animals as well as looking at African mythology. It’s not too big a deviation from what I’ve been working on. So, using animal figures to talk about what happens in the hood. There is at times a fear of people of color as well as admiration in a way. How can you embrace the fear and make it your own? So creating empowering figures. To me, this figure is empowering. This isn’t someone who is fearful. Whereas, if you kind of look at it in a triangle point of view, there’s a lot of things happening in the background. So it’s like you’re empowered in a way and then disempowered... When people are outraged or when they are marching, people think it’s just about that one thing. To me, it’s no different than road rage. When somebody gets cut off in the traffic and the person gets out and shoots the driver, you think, “Well, why in the world would somebody just shoot somebody over traffic?” Well, it’s not the traffic, it’s the feeling rejected over time. It’s the issues you haven’t dealt with. As a child, it’s the fact that your mother didn’t let you go to a party in 7th grade. You’re a parent. If you neglect something in your child, you begin to see that thing crop up and you think – “I should have talked to them about that earlier on.”…So, we don’t work on things and they progress over time,and then you have these heated, angry people…How do I talk about that in a humorous and enlightening way that will draw the viewer in? So, color helps pull the viewer in. So, I’m looking for ways to talk about difficulty in a fun way. Not necessarily trying to solve a problem but saying, “Hey, this is here. Maybe you want to look at it.”
“How do I talk about that in a humorous and enlightening way that will draw the viewer in?” THE STREETS
87
Shanequa Gay MMH: Let me ask you more about your mural that you painted at Forward Warrior. You were telling me there that it was based on prison quotas and saying that prisons get paid per inmate, which makes them motivated to have more inmates. SG: Private prisons can sue the state if their prisons are not at capacity, and I believe capacity is 90 percent. So, if you have to keep something at capacity, whether people are doing crimes or not, you have to maintain capacity. So, it’s not a figment of imagination of people who are in impoverished communities – blacks, whites, Asians, Hispanics – if you are in a marginalized community you are going to be followed if you have an expired tag. Well, maybe you have an expired tag because you don’t have a job… Maybe you are riding around in a car with a tail light out. Why? Because you cannot afford to get the necessities you need. And it’s not a figment of a man of color’s imagination that a police officer is following him around. We do have biases in this country. Instead of us saying, “No, it’s not that,” it’s OK to look at that and say, “How do we need to change it?” And it’s difficult to pinpoint whether someone has a bias or not. We all do. Whether you’re black or white. Some people don’t like fat people. Some people don’t like skinny people. Instead of dealing with the fact that you have an issue here, we kind of sweep things under the rug, and then we see the results of that...
“Where are we complicit as well?” Instead of it always being – “It’s the prisons” – how are we also culpable? You have to look at it as a whole and not just from one standpoint. Where are we complicit as well? And how do we stop that? 88
INTERSECTIONS
Shanequa Gay MMH: How do you think we change that? SG: I’m not saying that I have answers, but I would be amiss not to try to talk about it. MMH: In the last few weeks, I’ve been reading a lot of James Baldwin’s work because his name keeps popping up. He asks – “How long is your progress going to take?” So, I was thinking – “How do you speed up progress?” SG: I don’t necessarily think it’s important that it’s speed, just to be quite honest. I think [it’s important] to be made aware. The biases, racism, poverty – that’s not going to end by the time I’m 100. Hopefully, my son will get to experience something different than my generation, but even in comparison to my mother’s generation we’re privileged in a lot of ways. We didn’t have to deal with a lot of things that they had to deal with. The hope is that it gets better. However, under this administration, that feels questionable because that means there’s a group of people that desire for things to be in the old way. To me, that’s not a vote of progression. That says, “I desire things to be the way it was” – under the premise of “Make America Great Again”. People have that question – “Make it great for who?” Because under the old way, minorities and women suffered under that America about 50 years ago. You think about all the things that people worked toward, all of these equalities, they’re saying, “We don’t want that anymore.”
“Make America Great Again... Make it great for who?” THE STREETS
89
Shanequa Gay SG: And it’s not abnormal. I’ve been working with Shannon Morris over at Augusta University on this toile series. That’s where all of these toile influences and references have come from. In our readings, in the early 1800s, America had this huge influx of immigrants and industrialization and “others” receiving jobs and they said, “We need to roll the clock back.” So, in rolling the clock back they also looked to the old ways, to old things, old fashions, and toile was one of the things they looked toward. And the language wasn’t “Make America Great Again”, but it was under that same kind of semblance. So, this isn’t new behavior. It’s just history repeating itself. It’s not new. It’s very old. With that being old, how do you respond in a new way? We have some advantages with technology but then some disadvantages, too, because we’re exposed to so much…You have all this information. How do you decide what’s true and what’s not? In a lot of these instances where you have unarmed people being shot. Well, there’s a lot of unarmed people being shot, and it’s not just people of color, it’s also whites and Hispanics and Asians. What needs to be said is that there is an issue that’s happening on our police forces, and how can we change that culture?
“How do you respond in a new way?”
And I’ve personally seen police forces in different states make moves toward change. If they hear something that a police officer has done is questionable, they are immediately trying to investigate that. They are also putting police officers’ feet on the ground who are like the people in their community because they’ve found there has to be people who are relatable. They’re putting more women on police forces. Why? Because women have a tendency to think differently than men do and don’t necessarily respond in the same way that a Caucasian white male might respond to an African American male. Women have a tendency to be more logical – who would think? 90
INTERSECTIONS
Shanequa Gay MMH: James Baldwin also says white people tell themselves the myth that America was the “land of the free” at the same time we held slaves. It really struck me because that’s not what I normally hear and read. And it made me wonder, “’What mythologies do I hold onto that I’m not aware of today?” Because I can look at that and say, “Slavery was wrong.” But that probably means that I have mythologies that I tell myself today. SG: We have mythologies that we celebrate constantly. Thanksgiving is a mythology. Thanksgiving says that the Pilgrims and the Indians came together and they had a beautiful feast and they celebrated being able to have unity and harvesting together. That’s not true. But we come together and we have these great feasts and with family. What’s true is that the Pilgrims were Christians and slaughtered the Indians and gave them blankets with small pox. And I grew up in a family that celebrates Thanksgiving. Christmas is not about Santa Claus or toys but we feed that to our children. Easter, by what we understand, Christ was not crucified during that time. You see what I’m saying? That’s on the surface. And again, I grew up in the church. My parents are pastors. And I have all of those myths celebrated with me as well. So, how do you change that? And those are just surface myths. Is that anything close to what you mean?
THE STREETS
91
Shanequa Gay MMH: Well, I was wondering if you saw – especially in Atlanta specifically – if there were myths locally that we tell each other that prevent unity. SG: Yeah, this is the land of the civil rights movement. Dr. King is celebrated all over the globe...and yet we still have a lot of segregation here. MMH: In what sense? SG: Well, you have schools that are solely black and schools that are solely white. You have grave sites that are segregated…I’ll start with my family. A lot of my family is in Paulding County and Dallas, GA, and we have plots at this church, and it’s pretty much all black plots. And while it’s kind of family-oriented and we’re doing that because that’s the norm, if my uncle who has a couple of ex-wives that are not of color, could his wives be buried there? I think it’s important that we’re balanced. When I was in Augusta, they were showing me Cedar Grove and Magnolia cemeteries. These are known segregated plots where this wealthy white family purchased a area for black people to be buried, and there’s an area where white people are to be buried. And this is the 21st century. Even in death you have to be segregated? Does your body know that you are sleeping next to a black or a white person? What type of safety does that provide for you even in death? We’re taking our biases and prejudices and racism all the way to the grave! That’s deep-seated. And again, we’re in the birth place of the civil rights movement. We think of all these great feats that we have, but our schools are segregated. You have what’s called “white flight” schools where basically those who have the money are creating these charters where they send their children to get away from the other.
92
INTERSECTIONS
SG: There is a flight into the inner city. There’s a reason it’s called gentrification. There is this cleansing of the inner city where people who are of color who have been in their homes for generations, because of the taxes on the home or not keeping things up to code, they have to move.… There are certain social constructs that are integrated into a culture where you don’t even think about it. Whereas I might notice something as being biased or racism, in your mind you say, “It’s always been this way. What’s wrong with it?” Because you’re the beneficiary. It’s difficult if you are the beneficiary to see that somebody else is suffering because of your benefits. What mythologies do you feel like you personally hold onto?
“It’s difficult if you are the beneficiary to see that somebody else is suffering because of your benefits.” THE STREETS
93
Shanequa Gay MMH: Now that you are talking, one of the ideas I have started reevaluating is gentrification. I’ve lived here in Atlanta all my life, and I love recent changes that have happened with redevelopment along the Beltline. But then I hear people call it gentrification... We’re celebrating all of the money that is coming in and re-developing those areas, which is great for the city… SG: But not for the people who have been living there forever. MMH: So, what’s the solution? SG: Affordability. Instead of it being – “How can we help the people who are already here” – it’s – “we’re going to create something better for another group of people.” So, when you think about the Atlanta projects, when you think about these groups of people, well, where did they go? You have thousands of people who are no longer in those spaces. Where did they go? Atlanta gave them vouchers to move out to the suburbs. Well, what did the people in the suburbs inherit when they came out there? Instead of “how can we make this group of people better”, they tore down the projects and built these beautiful high rise condos. Why couldn’t you make things better for those people that were already there? But you want to wipe the slate clean. You increase taxes…So, you’re talking about somebody’s grandmother that purchased their house for $20,000 and her home is now worth $200,000? She paid it off and she doesn’t know why she lost it. … We see the benefit because Atlanta’s looking amazing. It would be great if they would fix the pot holes, but it looks great. So, we have this beautiful billion dollar stadium – what’s going to happen to the people in that surrounding area?...The Beltline looks great, and we’ve got all these great murals going up and art being funded, but what’s happening to the people around it ?
94
INTERSECTIONS
Shanequa Gay SG: I read an article last year about a city that has almost eliminated homelessness. They are almost at 97 percent. Guess how they eliminated homelessness? MMH: How? SG: Just guess. MMH: They sent them somewhere else? SG: No, they gave people homes! They found out how minimal it was to take care of this group of people by giving them the mental health that they need. I think they built these apartment buildings and gave these people homes and are taking care of their needs. And by doing that, they cleaned up their city. They don’t have homelessness, They don’t have panhandling. I’m trying to think of what city that is. I’m intrigued. I want to know what they did. And how do you spread that across the country? In a land that is considered one of the wealthiest countries in the world, there is no reason people shouldn’t have homes. We don’t talk about greed. We’re in a space where billionaires give other billionaires money…How do you make space for other people?
“How do you make space for other people?” [Editor’s note: The place that she is thinking of is Utah. If you want to read more about what they have done, read this article in NPR or this one in Mother Jones which states –“Homelessness is not a disease like cancer or Alzheimer’s where we don’t yet have a cure. We have the cure for homelessness—it’s housing.” To be fair, according to The Los Angeles Times, Utah is still in the process of working out all of the kinks.]
THE STREETS
95
Shanequa Gay SG: So, that’s me. I have a giving heart. My goal for art is – How can I create art to benefit others? I think legacy is important. I think it’s important to leave something for your children. Why not leave something that whole nations can benefit from?
“Why not leave something that whole nations can benefit from?”
96
INTERSECTIONS
Shanequa Gay MMH: How has your studio time here at the Goat Farm been? You’ve been here for a year? SG: Two years. It’s a two-year program. It’s been amazing. Neda Abghari [executive director of The Creatives Project] has been an advocate for us. She’s gotten us opportunities. I actually got a mural project with Afro Punk. That was amazing. Being able to have an organization that supports you. It’s one thing what you do individually, but it’s a whole other thing when you have an organization that says, “I believe in your work. I love what you do. How can I help you?”... It’s like paradise. My stomach is turning that I have to leave. Because it’s been amazing to be in a space where people support you. MMH: So, where are you going to set up next? SG: I’m currently in the Masters of Fine Arts program at Georgia State, so I have studio space over there…And Georgia State has been great. They’ve been very supportive of my work in helping me to get it out. So, I’m just trying to be connected with people who celebrate me and as far away from people who don’t. It’s already difficult because I put a lot of pressure on myself as a creative. Am I doing enough? Am I doing the right thing? Am I being relevant? With all of the personal pressures I put on myself, I try to stay away from those who say negative things…My motto is “ Go where you’re celebrated.” I may apply for another residency. I think I told you that I just got back from South Africa. I was an artist in residence there.
“Am I doing the right thing? Am I being relevant?” THE STREETS
97
Shanequa Gay MMH: Oh, yes! SG: The gallery that I’m connected to got that opportunity for me – Anne O Art Gallery. They are connected to a nonprofit Christian organization called Lumen. They sponsored my trip to South Africa. MMH: So, how was your trip to South Africa? SG: I have no words. One – to be able to travel with my son was amazing. That was something that I wrote down and really prayed and asked for. And it happened! I went to see what a post-apartheid South Africa was like and how has that impacted that culture, to learn and to get history, and mostly to observe. I went to Constitution Hill. I went to the Apartheid Museum. I went to several galleries and museums around there. Just to be enmeshed in another culture that is not your own was great. In some ways, it was difficult because, while they are “not under the statutes and laws of apartheid,” you also see how debilitating those laws were toward those people...We were able to be in the cool, artsy district where you see all this culture and all these things booming, but when we were taking Uber to other places, you get to see the outskirts. It’s overwhelming. Whatever we think the homeless deal with here, it’s nothing compared to what’s happening there. So, that was eyeopening. That was difficult. How do you talk about that? How do you make changes? Art-wise, it was amazing. The art that they have over there is absolutely just jaw-dropping amazing. So, that was great to see what other people in other countries are working on. It was a lifetime experience I’ll never forget. I’m so grateful for the gentlemen of Lumen to support me in that way. I’m overwhelmed and floored.
98
INTERSECTIONS
Shanequa Gay MMH: Lumen is an Atlanta organization? SG: Yes, they’re in Atlanta. It’s two guys who attend Buckhead Church. The owner of Anne O is the former director of the nonprofit that I worked for as a production manager. She’s been a loving mentor and guider. She’s been an amazing woman to me. She decided on a fluke to open a gallery. This is a corporate-based woman who opened up a gallery in The Shops of Buckhead, and Lumen has supported her in that work. They all attend Buckhead Church. These guys said, “We’ve been really blessed. We’ve had a lot of opportunity. We love the arts. How can we take this seed money and bless other artists?” They’ve chosen a group of artists, and I’m so grateful to be one of those they decided to help. MMH: What will you do next? SG: I don’t know and that’s OK. I don’t feel like I’m limited in any way. I don’t think something will go wrong if I move away from this body of work and go to something else. MMH: Well, keep doing what you’re doing. It’s very striking and thought-provoking. I mean, art that is just beautiful can elevate your spirit, but I think art that is speaking to something is awesome. SG: Yeah, that’s going to be my next thing – I’m gonna just talk about nothing. Let’s talk about nothing for a while. That may be what’s next. There’s something freeing in that, too.
See more of Shanequa’s art and buy limited edition prints on her website at www.shanequagay.com. Follow Shanequa on Instagram @shanequagay.
THE STREETS
99
100
an t
uw
If y to ou em subm hav or ai it e p l at go t us a for f hoto ww o o t i utu gr w. ur nfo re I aph the Co @t ss s str lla hes ues and ee bo tre o tsm ra et f T tho ag tion sma HE ugh .co s p g. STR ts m. ag com EE tha TS t yo e ,
INTERSECTIONS