Week 8 Blog Post (Paden, Lily)

 

From the Printing the Revolution Virtual Conversation Series: From Black and Brown Solidarity to Afro-Latinidad panel discussion, I gathered that one of the greatest commonalities for the artists who were on the panel and one of the main themes for the discussion was how graffiti influences or forms identity. It is very clear that all of the artists who spoke used the art of graffiti and other forms of artwork, from painting canvases to creating prints, these art forms play a huge role in these artists finding themselves and exploring who they are, as well as their own history. 

Moses Juarez, a panelist, discussed how he felt invisible growing up, and his career in graffiti art helped to empower him. He created the Here and There Portfolio which was centered around identity. This portfolio featured ideas about culture, food, fashion, African roots, Dominican roots and more. 

Fabiana Rodrigez, another panelist, shared her experience with the environment that she grew up in, and how it influenced the art she created. She told some details about how she grew up with an Afro-Peruvian father, and how much violence she encountered in her city because of the War on Drugs. I have included a photo of her work above, and she described how she was so influenced by feminist work and ideas, and how she wanted to create artwork where she could imagine a different kind of future, with different solutions. I really resonated with her words here during the discussion as I also have many inspirations from other feminist artwork. I also like to create artwork that is about the future, as it can be a huge motivator to speak up and make changes when you feel passionate about something. This discussion panel was a very interesting listen and I am very inspired by all of the panelists.