By Danielle Hein, Advertising Intern
About a month ago, my friend Jordan and I were driving back from a photo shoot for a final presentation on a dull back road. The road was lined with rickety, abandoned buildings long forgotten by the busy college town of Tallahassee. Right before turning onto the main street, a slab of concrete covered in cursive writing and green ivy caught my eye. We pulled over and decided to check it out.
The building was covered in spray paint murals, ply wood, and weeds. The concrete slab that sat above the street entrance of the building read Coca Cola. After poking around the side of the building we found an entrance. The basement was identical to the scene in I Am Legend, where Will Smith is wandering around a dark basement - minus the flesh eating alien zombies. We spotted a staircase and headed up. Pushing through a battered door above our heads, the entrance unfolded into a room covered in giant spray painted squares of lime greens and yellows. On top of the squares of color lay chaotic portraits, landscapes and names. Both of us being artists, this was the comparable to Peter Pan’s Neverland. Continuing on through the metal doors, we came across five more rooms, some with similar patterns and others that mimicked the spastic works of Jackson Pollock.
After doing some research on the building, I discovered it is a historical landmark and has been there since 1904. It was one of the original Coca Cola factories. The factory was used for distributing. There were once two buildings that you can see from a bird’s eye view using Google Maps, but only remnants of the foundation can be found today.
We revisit our newly found clubhouse every now and again, and always run into others taking photographs, painting, or exploring. It is unknown to most of the students at Florida State but those who are in the know have a canvas unlike another. Many well know artists today prefer buildings, trains, and roads as their canvas’ instead of the traditional medium. By adding the element of surprise, the impact of the message conveyed is substantially increased. In today’s media, buzz only comes from what is fresh and innovative.
One of my favorite artists who has accumulated a recent buzz goes by the name of JR. Little is known about him except that he is a 25-year-old Parisian who started out as a graffiti artist and later moved into photography after the discovery of an camera on a train. Combining the guerrilla tactics of graffiti with photography, JR is a self proclaimed “photograffeur.”
His recent canvas was in Kibera, one of Kenya’s biggest slums. There is a purpose behind his work besides creating off-the-wall rooftop portraits. The Times Online states, “By using waterproof vinyl material, he ensured his art might have a practical purpose. ‘The more you go to places like Kibera, the more you realize that the people don’t understand you,’ JR says, in his faultless, breathless English. ‘Food is their first need. They don’t do art just for the love of art. It has to make sense. By making their roofs rainproof, what we did made sense. They loved it.’”
Originally, JR travelled to Africa to take pictures of those who lived in the slums. His second visit aimed to change their environment. The implementation of JR’s risky graffiti photos rewarded many with reliable shelters. It also aided in the continuation of press coverage which is a leading force to secure donations for the people of Kibera.
When asked why he doesn’t reveal himself, he claims his name will add nothing to his cause. This makes me wonder how much more we could achieve if we weren’t so worried about whom is going to get the credit.
