I was on my way to East Campus one day when I noticed something very odd, something I definitely hadn't noticed before. The bridge that so many Dukies pass under every day was sporting a fresh, solid coat of white paint-or at least it was fresh in my mind. And on that solid coat was a large, bright blue spray-painted piece of graffiti art. At first, I was perplexed as to who would deface the bridge so valiantly; on the white background, the blue piece stood as an aesthetic dare to all who viewed it.
After seeing it again on the way back to West, again struck by its visual power, I tried hard to remember whether or not I had ever seen graffiti or any type of illicit art anywhere else on Duke's campus. As far as I could recount, I hadn't.
Naturally, Facebook fixed everything.
I first heard of the Nasher Museum of Art's "Street Level" exhibit through a Facebook notification, the same way most of us now keep tabs on current campus events. After having my interest piqued by the graffiti on the bridge, I decided I was going to see the Nasher exhibit-and I was excited. I figured that since the popular conception of graffiti, street and/or urban art consists largely of rogue youth defacing structures for some inexplicable pleasure, I'd get the same sort of thing at Nasher. I imagined a pavilion full of canvases drenched in graffiti art.
Once I stepped inside the Nasher pavilion, however, the expectations I held for the exhibit were dismissed immediately. I was confronted by one of the exhibit's pieces. I couldn't tell if it was modeled on an aerial view of a city or if it was a replication of a city plan. I don't know. What I did know was that the narrow and short spaces in the piece made me think about how the social issues intrinsic to urban living can be as suffocating as a city's crowded schema.
I loved what I was seeing, even more so when I learned about the artists. Mark Bradford (Los Angeles), William Cordova (Lima/Miami/Houston) and Robin Rhode (Cape Town/Berlin) are three up-and-coming urban artists who use materials from their respective worlds to discuss the issues that matter to them.
Although the three come from different places, their cities share a certain type of urban culture, in which issues of class, race and sexuality all intersect. The artists' uses of everything from magazine clippings to discarded speakers to chalk drawings all tell a story of conversation and creation: a conversation between the artists and the earthly and social landscapes of their cities and a creation that springs from minds unrestricted by what defines beauty, and for that matter, art.
In a YouTube video introducing the exhibit, Bradford says that although public spaces are open to everyone, they often carry hidden codes, and those who use these places sometimes engage in private conversations. By simply walking into the exhibit, I felt as if it was my duty to figure out what these artists were trying to say to me, or to lead me to conclude on my own.
I found myself a bit overwhelmed at one point because I felt I didn't have enough time to really think about each piece. I was too anxious to read about and see the next works.
I walked through the gallery with a student who worked at the information desk, and we eventually engaged in our own private conversation. We discussed how important we found the exhibit to be and how it most certainly should be a tool to encourage discussion of the issues that Bradford, Cordova and Rhode make salient in their works.
At first glance, many of the pieces appeared completely abstract, but once the accompanying notes were read, we were in awe of how the artists' ideas were conveyed, wondering what type of mind creates such novel and ingenious modes of expression. We agreed that if we were totally engrossed in figuring out for ourselves what these pieces meant to say, the effect could be the same for all who have visited and will visit the exhibit.
I left completely satisfied with my experience, and I was even more impressed by what the Nasher has continued to do since its opening in October 2005. The tagline on the museum's website alerts visitors to "Prepare to be enlightened," and with the "Street Level" exhibit, coordinated by Curator of Contemporary Art Trevor Schoonmaker, those running the Nasher have once again encouraged and challenged students to step outside of the box.
The three "Street Level" artists have put themselves willingly outside of the box, and by using the world as their studio, they have gained the tools and the power to discuss the things that are most important to them.
All the while, however, they are also asking viewers to seek their own tools for navigation through the world.
Keesha Brown is a Trinity sophomore. Her column runs every other Thursday.
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