Westside Story Newspaper – Online The News of The Empire – Sharing the Quest for Excellence
LOS ANGELES, CA- The California African American Museum (CAAM) presents FlashTag, a creative engagement project and exhibition designed to give visitors the opportunity to experience the creative process of “graffiti” artists, and to breakdown the misperceptions about street artists and the aerosol culture. FlashTag features four art crews who will “tag” a gallery at CAAM from March 26 through March 29, during museum hours for public viewing. Their completed artworks will be on view at CAAM from March 29 through August 2, 2015. On Saturday, March 28 from noon until 3 p.m., DJ A Ski will provide music while the artists work.
To avoid problems such as over-spray and poor air quality the artists were quick to adjust and made the decision to flaunt their artistic abilities with brushes. A minimum of 15 artists will participate in this live and creative endeavor.
“This was not about curating a typical art exhibition, it was about collaborating, engaging others and providing unique experiences. FlashTag gave me the opportunity to collaborate with some amazing, creative minds who will give the public a chance to experience this form of art from a different perspective,” says CAAM’s Visual Arts Curator Vida L. Brown. “More importantly, I wanted to give the artists and the public the opportunity to share a visual and verbal dialogue, which I hope will help dispel the common misconceptions about graffiti art being gang related.”
Crew leader of Rockin’ the Nation, Cre8, who considers himself a street writer will fill CAAM’s walls with epic lettering. Cre8 spends most of his days working on various projects and teaching young street artists how to take their art forms and make something positive such as a commissioned street art design or mural. Cre8’s work can be found on the walls of Venice Beach or in the McDonald’s “Spread Lovin’” commercial that aired during African American Heritage Month 2015.
Crew leader Rufus, has entitled his team’s project for CAAM, Broken Wings. The mural will feature fallen rappers including 2Pac, from whom the title was inspired by.
Additionally, multi-disciplinary aerosol expressionist Sano will take part in the exhibition. Sano is responsible for creating plutonium paint, described as an ultra supreme professional grade of aerosol spray paint. Prolific in Los Angeles, Sano worked on MOCA’s Art in the Streets exhibition in 2011, and was part of the 2014 SCRATCH exhibition curated by Getty at the El Segundo Museum of Art.
Exhibitions and events at CAAM are free and open to the public. Parking is $10 in the lot adjacent to CAAM, at 39th and Figueroa Streets. CAAM is located at 600 State Drive, Exposition Park, 90037. For more information on CAAM visit www.caamuseum.org. Related Hashtags – #FlashTag #CAAMinLA #Aerosol #AeroSoul Follow CAAM on Instagram @CAAMinLosAngeles and on Twitter/Facebook @CAAMinLA.
Exhibitions in the CAAM Galleries
CAAM Courtyard Series: From Women’s Hands ongoing through May 3, 2015
Light Catchers opens March 20 – June 7, 2015
Lookin’ Back in Front of Me: Selected Works of Mark Steven Greenfield, 1974-2014 ongoing through July 5, 2015
The African American Journey West – Permanent Collection, ongoing
