Tuesday, July 27, 2010

blue balls, ga

you know those ads on craigslist that offer a job with the democrats. turn georgia blue!
its so vague while being so intriguing. i could do something! i could get involved! i can be the grassroots obamaite who door to doors her way to having her a big bronze statue of community inspired vanity.

so we tried it out, my friend melanie and i.

interview. you go to the democratic party of georgia office in midtown atlanta. sit in a room with walls full of go-pro-demo signs. older ones too. carter to obama they are like mounted kills of a successful campaign year.  so here we sit in the trophy room in front of this guy who is rolling out the run down. he is animated, bright, good looking, and young. he is telling you that you too can be apart of this party. you too can have a hand in turning georgia from red to blue! goddamnit it you could even do-good your way to the toppist top, get a nice slick sign with your name on it, and inspire a new round a kids to get excited in politics.
the guy really does not stop talking the entire time. what he is saying is relevant, however. important words to hear for getting ready to charge fourth into hostile republican territories.
they are trying not to change people's minds, necessarily. they are just wanting to get the people who are on their side more involved and more active in the party. their mountain of success is flourishing with active, happy member of the community.
it is really quite a beautiful concept.
we were way into it.

they take you one on one and ask simple 'why do you wanna' questions. they told me to come back tomorrow. 
wear something casual and comfortable. "you know, nothing too fancy for the office."

the next day melanie and i show up ready for it.
we gather in a meeting room with about ten young democratic go-getters to max. we get paired with someone to train us and split up. for the next teo hours i am in front of a girl who hands me a script sheet and tells me what i am about to read has been tested and tweeked for years to verbal perfection in order to successfully get contributions from people.
    "Hi, my name is ______ and i'm with the Democratic Party of Georgia. As you may know, with this year's election we finally have a chance to take back the governor's mansion. But with 9 state seats open and an entire legislature up for grabs, .................................. So basically, what we are asking people to do, is ...."

and you are suppose to say it like you mean it.
we rehearse it over and over. role playing like you are in therapy. she gives possible scenarios and dialogues that could go down. people avoiding a contribution, being rude, trying to trick or confuse you about politics.
it seemed easy enough. ridiculous enough, as well.

back into the meeting room and we get re-paired with someone to canvas with. four to five people ride to various northern neighborhoods and get ready to hustle. the girl i am assigned to shadow, hilary, is the driver and delivers people to their respected 'turfs' with maps of the neighborhood in hand. the streets are colored according to how many houses per block have given money or could possibly, if you get the right person to answer the door. it feels like a game of shutes and latters. hilary and i get to our turf and get to getting.

walking up each driveway is nerve-racking. is this person going to freak out? are they really going to give us $200? how do you become the person on the other side of this door who is about to get hit up for their obvious aabundance of dollars.

and as it goes she does her thing. we get rejected over and over. people tell us that we were just there last week. we are surprisingly met with a lot of gratitude. people are happy that we are going door to door, trying to reach voters face on face. but no money. they are not willing to give us money.

in my head it starts to become so clear. people do not really have money these days. resources are not limited to cash, but that is all the democrats are asking for. and for the small amount they are making each day it is basically just going to pay themselves. not really to support and entire campaign. they do it, however to reach people. to get them involved and understanding the government structure. i am thinking, however, that money is the wrong way to go about it.

to get the community involved in a campaign is very important. there is a need for people to understand the issues, trust candidates, and be informed on what is or is not going to change when their candidate is elected. trying to use money as a motivator for that is choking and confusing the grassroots movement of the democratic party. people who they are trying to reach, the people who have the money to fund them, are not as concerned by the issues. they are also not as willing to give in a potential hope for improvement. there is no instant return.
the communities they should be heavily focusing on are the poorer. although they might not have the cash to fund big events or the bright blue tour bus they candidate will surely cruise on, they are hungry to get involved. they desire a real voice, and they have other, more genuine things to offer other then cash.

suffice it to say melanie and i quit. i told the fast talking guy back at the office that if they want to use me for what i am good at, then challenge me to do more then just begging for change.
the next night we went out selling food on the street to hungry people outside of bars at night. people were a hundred times more responsive and supportive of what we were doing. we even got tips! and it stimulated conversation about what we were doing and why they should care. engaging the community one falafel at a time.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

deep fried reality is better with powdered sugar

the historic old fourth ward has a small subsection near downtown just past the I-75/85 monster called Sweet Auburn District. According to the National Park Service of Atlanta,
                   " the Sweet Auburn Historic District reflects the history, heritage and achievements of Atlanta's African Americans. The name Sweet Auburn was coined by John Wesley Dobbs, referring to the "richest Negro street in the world." Like other black communities throughout the country, Sweet Auburn's success was intricately tied to the residential patterns forced on African Americans during the early 20th century--the result of restrictive laws in southern states which enforced segregation of the races, known as Jim Crow laws. It was here that many African Americans established businesses, congregations, and social organizations."

now it is drugged and apathetic. the residuals from the post civil rights and black empowerment movements and the former young boy gangsters-now gross dude junkies are drudging along like plankton or zombies or zombie plankton all over the Sweet Auburn area.
the space has been claimed by them in massive numbers....that is until the Sweet Auburn Festival comes to town.
then shit is nice and pretty.

one man block party grandmaster, charles johnson, is the organizer, and in effect profiter, from the festival which takes place in the spring. it's mostly vendors selling their standard display of crap. this year i saw a few small organizations had booths for the cause.
walking through it, esp under the highway monster, you feel consumed in the smell of terrible carnival food and desperate money hounds with shiny wrapped plastic earrings.

the next day its gone and the junkies are back and people wait until next year to celebrate a former atlanta cultural garden while mr. charles johnson is happy to plan the whole thing for them again.

Monday, July 19, 2010

the original art on the beltline : unfunded and lowbrow

prior to the atlanta wide artist call for work to be commissioned and placed along the beltline, there was already amazing and interesting works sitting around under the guise of trash. there were markers and traces that people living and wandering around the abandoned line were also some crafty creative motherfuckers.
no need for funding


Saturday, July 3, 2010

"You ain't gangsta you don't even know one"-tag seen by eastbound MARTAtrain near King Station

So street art. Atlanta is all about it. Atlanta needs it. Atlantians talk sooooo much for it.


Who the fuck is doing street art in Atlanta??


Well ok you have the city funded stuff. The office of Cultural Affairs is a big overseer in the Atlanta public arts world. They pop out a few big projects every four years (Art in Freedom Park, The BeltLine), as well as rounding up the Jazz Festival every year. There is a Public Arts Advisory Committee that is made up of 9 non-city workers who oversee and decide on new public art initiatives. Their meetings are open to the public for observation only, take place quarterly, and change in locations. Not a very community inclusive group, it seems.

Hidden, also, in the layers of the public arts division is an 82 page 'Atlanta Public Arts Master Plan' ( http://ocaatlanta.com/sites/ocaatlanta.com/files/ATLPublic_Art_Master_Plan.pdf) that is suppose to outline the overall agenda for the Office of Cultural Affairs.

Seems like a lot of groups grouping and not a lot of action.


The idea of street art has become so limited. Spray paint is dead and terrible for the enviornment. Wheatpasting is flat. Street art is anything. There are so many artists who have rooms full of their old work. Walk a couple blocks with a staple gun or hammer and nails and let the city see what you got. You think you're going to sell out that solo show?? Bright shiny news flash baby, Atlanta is one of the hardest places to make a living off of your art. The more you put your stuff out there, the more recognition will come. Galleries are dinosaurse and can be squared to yourself and your audience. Why not use the side of a fence for your show? Hang something from a sign. Who cares if someone takes your work? Then you know its out in the world, not piled into your closet or art stack. The sharing and exchanging of art will help this community of frustrated people more then they know.

Think about this idea. Free and constant publicity.

The more you or other artists put their work on the streets, the more people will go seek it out. There will be an abundance of other's work. Then, when you get that big show, people will come support you. There will be a recognition of someone who is legit.

Street art should also not be confined in traditional art forms, either. It is not just something to hang or glue and tie. It's walking down the street and picking up broken bottles. It's getting the holes and broken sidewalks fixed for your community. Use your spray paint to bring attention of a big open hole in the street that is waiting to be the death of a bike rider. It's talking and engaging with the people you live around. If the idea of art is to improve and make beautiful, then making more conscience engagements like that qualifies a street artist for sure.


Recognize the space around you. Decide what is needed. Don't wait for the organizations or institutions to designate where and when it will happen. Be an individual who is longing to see some fucking art on the street. This is what happens when the will of the people is stronger then the action of the government. We are the soldiers, the warriors, defenders of our groovy way of life in this city. You want Atlanta to be a more artistic city? Wake us, take a walk down the street, and do it yourself.
public art. accidentally.