in my yesterday: December 2012

Exciting news! I was just featured on Station 16's blog! Station 16 is a creative print shop located in Montreal that acts as a "single destination where artists & designers from all over can see their projects come to life, printing on multiple surfaces such as fabric, canvas, paper, wood, and more". (Check them out here: http://www.station16shop.com/) Over the past couple of years, Station 16 has been working with "Street Artist" print editions and has represented artists such as Alex Produkt, Denial, Labrona, Hanksy and many more.

After my travels abroad, studying the various street art movements shaping countries' political histories, I spoke to the brains running this dynamic shop, and they enthusiastically wanted to profile my studies! This is an amazing opportunity and I want to thank all the creative minds at Station 16. Not only are you guys producing something totally rad, you are encouraging a level of social awareness demonstrated through these artists' work, something I deeply value and aspire to create.

My feature on Station 16's blog includes an excerpt from a much lengthier paper I wrote which engages in a comprensive analysis of the street art movements I experienced throughout my travels to India, Senegal and Argentina. If anyone is interested in reading my essay in full, I have attached the text below, accompanied by a range of photographs capturing the people, thought, emotion and environment contributing to these street art movements.

Check out Station 16's post right here!

http://www.station16shop.com/blogs/news/6991150-cebe-loomis

Comparative Analysis Project:
Youth's Movement through the Streets

Equity, representation and freedom are only some of the many rights demanded by civil society around the world. These globally shared aspirations have historically and presently shaped people’s movements demanding a change within their social and political climates. Through my international studies of four major global cities; New York City, NY, Delhi, India, Dakar, Senegal and Buenos Aires, Argentina, I had the opportunity to personally observe two major civil rights movements. These movements included the mobilization of the people of Dakar demanding a fair and free democracy in their 2012 elections, to the people of Buenos Aires demanding access to equity by combating the effects of the 2001 economic crisis with alternative solutions. The efforts of these movements have been captured on the streets, in the forms of graffiti and music, thus ensuring a visibility of issues often ignored. These are the voices of today’s youth, demanding a change for their future world. This voice is growing louder due to the burgeoning technological age in which the creative uses of the Internet are endless. It is through art and technology that one movement, in one city, can enact global activism. As an established success of this conversation, French graffiti artist, JR, created the ¨Inside Out¨ project, proving that through the power of art and technology, the voice of the people can strengthen and unite. By capitalizing on the connectivity of the Internet, I believe that the movements of Dakar and Buenos Aires have the potential to inspire the youth of cities such as New York City and Delhi, ultimately igniting an international conversation encouraging a global youth movement demanding social and political changes.

Through a closer look at JR´s ¨Inside Out¨ project one can begin to understand the success of this initiative and ask the question of how the movements of Dakar and Buenos Aires can adapt JR´s framework and harness the power of art in order to make visible their local initiatives. Through this project, participants are challenged to photograph black and white portraits of their community’s members in order to ¨reveal and share the untold stories and images of people around the world¨[1]. These photos can then be digitally uploaded to the ¨Inside Out¨ website to be made into posters and sent back to the project’s leaders for them to exhibit throughout their own communities. There are no rules to the placement of these photos. From a school window, to an abandoned factory, the point is to reestablish agency within the members of a community, and challenge the youth to reclaim the space as part of their identity.

A key aspect of this project is that all exhibitions are documented, archived and viewable virtually. By adding this key component of the virtual, JR has been able to expand this project to over 8,000 cities around the world, representing countries such as the United States, Brazil, Pakistan, Mexico, Thailand, France, South Africa, Israel and others. On the project’s website, a statement boldly reads, ¨JR owns the biggest art gallery in the world. He exhibits freely in the streets of the world…¨[2]. JR does not own the biggest art gallery in the world because one person can never own the streets of the world, they are owned by the people inhabiting those streets. The street’s multiple voices must demand an international conversation with multiple representatives. JR, as well as artists such as Matador from Dakar and the crew, Vomito Attack from Buenos Aires, are ¨catching the attention of people who are not the museum visitors…[their] work mixes art and act, talks about commitment, freedom, identity and limit¨[3]. It is clear that the virtual is a pivotal aspect of JR´s project, and without this aspect, ¨Inside Out¨ would not have been as successful. It takes more than one successful project to initiate a global movement, but it is clear that through projects such as ¨Inside Out¨, the power of street art and technology are beginning to ignite a global conversation. In order to further encourage this conversation amongst the youth, other international voices involved in artistic movements must be represented.

Dakar, Senegal: The Fight for Democracy

the cannons
goree island, dakar, senegal
film

The movement in Dakar for a democratic state birthed a generation of young street artists and musicians demanding proper representation and political freedom. With sixty percent of its population being eighteen years of age or younger, Senegal’s youth has managed to create an effectively dominant voice through the use of the growing hip-hop movement, crystallizing in the country’s capital city, Dakar. Matador, a rapper and former graffiti artist who founded ¨Africulturban¨, an organization that produces concerts and represents a wide range of Senegalese artists, defined Senegal’s hip-hop movement as inclusive of multiple mediums of expression, ¨the culture of hip-hop is not just rap, you do arts and crafts, graffiti, dance¨[4]. Matador made it clear that although his organization was apolitical, and did not identify with any particular party, all of his artists, including rappers, slam poets, DJs, graffiti-ists, have a strong political voice.

This revolutionary hip-hop movement originated from African-American artists such as Public Enemy and Tupac, first influencing urban Senegal in the late 1980´s to 1990´s. Public Enemy´s song entitled, ¨Fight the Power¨, was one of the largest mobilizing factors at the crux of this shift in public expression and political dominance at the turn of the century. The anti-authority, revolutionary and political messages these American artists were conveying strongly appealed to the youth of Senegal and came to spearhead the 2000 election of President Ababdoulaye Wade. As this burgeoning hip-hop movement was at the forefront of the support for Wade in 2000, it was also the largest opposition to his re-election in 2007 and his campaign in the 2012 elections. This movement’s deep emotional investment in Wade vividly broadcasts the political angst and need for change felt by the Senegalese youth. As stated by Senegalese rapper, DaBrains, ¨Wade was a demigod, a messiah that was needed for the country to take off¨[5]. The youth had found their voice and means of political communication through hip-hop, harnessing this power to originally elect Wade. The broader ¨coalition that had brought Wade to power in 2000 swiftly fell apart. Its demise began after the January 2001 referendum on the new constitution¨[6]. The problems that have been expressed through the lyrics and graffiti works of these young hip-hop artists began to expand in political content immediately after the referendum, ¨as Wade started to exhibit his desire to monopolize power¨[7]. The street art employed a range of tactics, from promoting positive phrases in boldly colored lettering stating, ¨No Violence¨, to the use of ¨ad-jamming¨, where artists alter advertisements to distort their meanings, as seen through the defacing of Wade´s campaign posters to include blood dripping from his eyes. The fight for a free and fair democracy became a rallying point for the hip-hop movement and artists such as Matador, started gaining popularity due to his politically charged messages being played through the headphones of the Senegalese youth and graffitied across the country’s capital city.

man laying
dakar, senegal
film

boy swimming
ile de madeleine, dakar, senegal
film

According to Docta, known as the ¨pioneer of graffiti art¨ in Senegal, ¨graffiti artists are all inspired by the same feeling and the same sense of duty. They are all living the same difficulties, socially and politically¨[8]. With music and graffiti being a free canvas to work with, seeing that ¨…in Senegal, you can do whatever you want¨[9], the youth have mobilized around these mediums as a platform for their voices to be heard. The ¨true role of graffiti artists in Senegal is to use their work as a trampoline of communication between urban art and the population¨[10]. It is this attitude in which the idea of a global communication is fathomable. Senegalese hip-hop artists have chosen artistic expression as their political platform, uniting the voice of the youth within a country torn by power games. Real change came from this unification; Macky Sall was elected president of Senegal in the 2012 election. It has been made clear through these political messages that the Senegalese youth will not allow for their democracy to crumble. This honest voice has forced others to listen, mobilizing the citizens of Senegal to fight for proper representation. If this movement’s strategies were incorporated into a global discourse through the means of virtual publication, Senegal’s movement may be able to provide the tools needed for the silenced peoples of the world to use their voices, ultimately contributing to the creation of a global youth movement demanding change.

drum circle
goree island, dakar, senegal
film

Buenos Aires, Argentina: Alternative Solutions to the Economic Crisis of 2001

aldea velatropa
buenos aires, argentina
film

Due to the Argentinean economic crisis of 2001, a movement demanding social and economic equity for those marginalized by the crisis was born. These demands, expressed by the city’s youth, were made visible through street art, as well as through the creation of grassroots movements. Between 1998 through 2002, Argentina experienced the worse socio-economic crises in its history. Unemployment rates ¨reached over twenty-five percent and in many working class neighborhoods, over fifty percent¨[11]. As the country was heavily indebted and the people deeply impoverished, ¨the popular mood was moving toward a revolutionary uprising¨[12]. As these revolutionary attitudes grew stronger, the youth took to the streets, demanding agency in their own futures and the future of their country. Rallying behind the ideological themes of equity, representation and change, the young revolutionaries demanded people’s attention by artistically dismantling the ineffective governmental system.

placed shoes
buenos aires, argentina
film

abandoned train car

buenos aires, argentina

film

"to respect the other's art is self-respect"
buenos aires, argentina
film

Vomito Attack is a collective of graffiti artists who use urban art ¨as a platform for making scathing commentary on political corruption and rampant consumerism, targeting both government institutions and global corporations¨[13]. The group formed due to the economic crisis and their work is often heavily satirical, employing the use of dark humor and ¨ad-jamming¨ (a shared tactic used by the Senegalese youth during the 2012 elections). Some of these images include Puma advertisements with bloodied bullets holes in the emblem, large walls covered in stenciled kaleidoscope patters depicting famous peoples of history, or the eyes of women in beauty ads, blackened and dripping color, resembling President Ababdoulaye Wade campaign posters in Dakar.

Vomito Attack gained popularity for running a fake political campaign under the slogan ¨Poder, Corrupcion y Mentiras¨ (Power, Corruption and Lies). Through utilizing similar tactics employed by political party activists, they advertised for this fictitious PCM party by painting large, block letter messages alongside highways and main roads. They covered the ¨city walls with their propaganda posters to draw attention to the outrageous levels of corruption in Argentine politics¨[14]. By acting within these governmental archetypes and using the same tactics employed by political figures advocating for the capitalistic structure, these Argentinean graffiti artists were able to satirically address the issues of their society, demanding change of a system no longer serving the people. It is through these same tactics of working within the capitalistic system in order to create an alternative solution that many successful grassroots movements of Buenos Aires began to emerge in response to the 2001 economic crisis.

sam in the parlor
buenos aires, argentina
film

The Unemployed Workers Movement (MTD), born in the La Matanza district, the poorest and most populated district of Greater Buenos Aires, is a community based co-operative that combated the effects of the economic crisis through creating community based development projects that employ workers and families from the surrounding neighborhood. Created by the unemployed workers and families of La Matanza, MTD is a grassroots organization that has continued to ensure that local peoples of the area are employed within this cooperative movement. By beginning as an organization built by the people and for the people, MTD continues to ensure that local needs are made a priority within the organization.

As a response to the crisis of 2001 the Argentinean government began administering subsidies to the unemployed people of the state. MTD has chosen to resist accepting these subsidies on the grounds that they ¨are being paid with money from the state that is originally the people’s because we are all the state¨[15]. Instead, MTD began work on development projects, in which some would turn a profit, thus allowing for the movement to prosper. The projects include: a cooperative bakery, a school (including kindergarten through 2^nd grade), a textile factory and a PC maintenance and programming course. Through denying the subsidies given out by the Argentinean government, MTD refused to ¨become a hostage of the state¨[16]. By monetarily profiting from their projects, MTD is using and working within the capitalist framework (a tactic used by Vomito Attack) while also denying the state agency, by refusing to accept governmental subsidies. This movement is demanding ¨the reconstruction of a rights structure…[forming] collective action aiming to secure accountability and the rule of law¨[17]. The people of this area have been marginalized by a governmental structure that no longer fits their needs. By creating a structure that does fit their needs, MTD has resisted a crisis by reclaiming the agency of the people, ensuring a movement that ¨lives in freedom and promotes freedom¨[18].

a mural in the park
buenos aires, argentina
film

grasping fist
buenos aires, argentina
film

An Inspiration for Other Cities: New York City, NY and Delhi, India

Through the street art movement of the Argentinean youth and grassroots movements such as the MTD, the people of Argentina have reclaimed agency, demanding a change in the social system. It is by employing the tactics used through these movements, and those of Dakar’s, that youth across the world can begin to reclaim the people’s agency and demand change. Through my studies of Delhi, India and New York City, NY, I see great potential for these cities to mobilize their youth by borrowing and exchanging ideas from the movements of Dakar and Buenos Aires. Through my study of Delhi’s street art, I discovered the tag, ¨New Delhi Junglist Movement: BASSF¨, scattered sparsely throughout the city. This movement is a collection of DJs, producers and MCs promoting drum and bass dubstep in Delhi. Formed in 2009, the artists of Bass Foundation (BASSF) accompany their sound with ¨unique and uncompromising, politically conscious lyrics reflecting the fiercely non-commercialist ethos of the crew¨[19]. According to the artists of the crew, BASSF is ¨spreading the bass-heavy vibes from New Delhi to the World¨[20]. I would like to challenge this statement. Seeing that I am an international youth studying within Delhi, the presence of this movement was unknown to me, and through interviews I conducted of Delhi youth, was unknown to them as well. As stated by seventeen-year-old Tanya, ¨I don’t know of this group that you are asking me¨, it is clear that this politically charged movement is not reaching their domestic youth, and is certainly not reaching the youth of the world.

hauz khas alley
new delhi, india
film

a boy on white
new delhi, india
film

a boy and rugs
new delhi, india
film

security measures
new delhi, india
film

hauz khas wall
new delhi, india
film

The stifled mobilization of India’s youth may be due in part to the patriarchical societal structure, deeply rooted in a history of religious contestation*, but even in the United States, a secular society whose foundations were built on the agency of the people, the youth have not yet mobilized as seen in Dakar or Buenos Aires. It is not a question of whether the United States has issues worthy of a youth movement as vibrant of those in Senegal and Argentina; it is clear through the organization of ¨Occupy Wall Street¨ that there are major issues of corruption and misrepresentation within the United States´ government. But the movement of ¨Occupy Wall Street¨ has a long way to go ¨to emulate the success of the Argentine movements that rousted incumbent presidents, blocked highways paralyzing production and circulation and imposed a social agenda that prioritized production over finance, social consumption over military expenditures¨[21]. The same theoretical ideas and demands of representation, equity and freedom, are all common themes throughout my research and are all shared wants by the youth of the world, but how do we get the youth to mobilize around these basic rights?

uncle sam
new york, new york
film

subliminal
new york, new york
film

on the board walk
coney island, brooklyn, new york
film

The Internet: A Tool of Connectivity to Ignite Action

We must use the resources of today to connect in a way the past never thought possible. Cities have shown me that by combining many types of peoples in a single geographic area, a plethora of new ideas can be generated. This same relationship can be seen through the emotionality of art and the Internet. By capitalizing on art and technology, and the connectivity and belonging youth feel when creating art or using the Internet, the ideologies and tactics of the movements of Dakar and Buenos Aires can reach a larger youth demographic.

The evolved human race is unlike any other species on the planet today. All of Earth’s flora and fauna have their own respective place of survival, corresponding to a specific geographic location. A lion of the African savannah could never survive like the polar bear in the Arctic tundra, but a human from Senegal can survive in the home of a human from Iceland. This nomadic ability to survive anywhere in the world has birthed the inherent insecurities of belonging within the human species. These insecurities have manifested in today’s youth through art, such as graffiti and music, and the Internet. Both art and the Internet are built on the concept of change, paralleling the nomadic personality of the human race, while also allowing for a sense of belonging by creating an identity for oneself. Through art and the Internet, youth can belong to multiple ideas, movements, groups, etc., thus creating an identity of the artist or virtual consumer that is ever changing.By capitalizing on this inherent insecurity of belonging, manifested through art and the Internet, one can inspire an international conversation by showing the youth that they can belong to a global movement. Through exposing the politically charged graffiti and music of cities around the world, successful projects inspiring the youth, as seen through JR´s ¨Inside Out¨ project, can further encourage an international discourse demanding global change.

[1] "FOOTAGE FROM THESTREETS." Inside Out Project. Web. 10 May 2012. <http://www.insideoutproject.net/>.

[2] Ibid. Inside Out Project

[3] Ibid. Inside Out Project

[4] Interview with Matador (Senegalese Rapper/Graffiti Artist) at Africulturban

[5] ¨African Underground: Democracy in Dakar¨: Documentary Film

[6] Penda Mbow, ¨Senegal: The Return of Personalism¨

[7] Ibid. Mbow

[8] "Graffiti Coming of Age in Senegal | Africa | English." Voice of America ®. Web. 10 May 2012. <http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/Graffitis-Coming-of-Age-in-Senegal-122227489.html>.

[9] Interview with Souleymane (Colobane, Dakar)

[10] "Graffiti Coming of Age in Senegal | Africa | English." Voice of America ®. Web. 10 May 2012. <http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/Graffitis-Coming-of-Age-in-Senegal-122227489.html>.

[11] James Petras, ¨Argentina: Why President Fernandez Wins and Obama Loses¨

[12] Ibid. Petras

[13] "Artists." Graffitimundo. Web. 10 May 2012. <http://graffitimundo.com/artists/vomito-attack/>.

[14] Ibid. Graffitimundo

[15] Interview with Sylvia Flores: La Matanza, Argentina, Manager of La Matanza MTD

[16] Ibid. Flores

[17] Leonardo Avritzer ¨Civil Society in Latin America: Uncivil, Liberal and Participatory Models¨

[18] Ibid. Flores

[19] "Http://www.bassfoundation.in." BASSFoundation. Web. 10 May 2012. <http://www.bassfoundation.in/>.

[20] Ibid. BASSFoundation

[21] James Petras, ¨Argentina: Why President Fernandez Wins and Obama Loses¨

*Of which I would like to continue my research exploring.

in my yesterday

Sunday, December 30, 2012

rendering

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

the finale

Sunday, December 16, 2012

plum gut

Sunday, December 9, 2012

shear

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

echoes

Monday, December 3, 2012

station 16