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Photos by Larita “Rita” Massey

Graffiti Rhapsody infused the sights and sounds of bboy, soul and funk. This was an opportunity for local artists to come out and showcase their talent whether it was art pieces or musical sounds. It was the place to be to experience an array of artistic expression. During the show I had the chance to meet a young artist that has inspired me to continue to inspire others.

I had no idea that he was even in the show, but as I was doing my rounds and viewing all of the other displays, I noticed this familiar name – Heron Gibran. I first saw his work while visiting Artomatic with a friend. What was funny about even viewing his work was that we were actually on our way out. But I couldn’t go down one flight of stairs without looking through the doors to see more exhibits. And for some reason, when we got to his floor I HAD to go in and his exhibit was the first and ONLY one I viewed there.

His work was uplifting to me. Not only was his creativity authentic, but his artistic abilities varied from illustration to hip-hop to art education. Let’s just say that I left there talking about Heron Gibran as if he was the best thing in the artsy crowd since sliced bread. So you can imagine how I felt when I found out that my work was being exhibited in the same show as his. Immediately I ran over to my homegirl who was with me at Artomatic and rushed her over to see the guy who had my attention at artomatic. Afterwards, I sought him out to let him know how much I appreciated his work. Peep the close-up of his self portrait which was created in 1999, along with the other pieces that he exhibited.

I also had the opportunity to exhibit some of my work as well, which was created for the sole purpose of this show. I dedicated a full day to seeking out great graffiti art work and all the pieces I captured seemed to have some sort of message embedded in them. How was your day? Rise. Yes We Did Obama 44. Don’t 4get 2 Breathe. I personally had hella fun photographing this project and I’m constantly thinking of new ways to reinvent the use of graffiti.

As for the rest of the show, there was another artist exhibiting work that was extraordinary in my eyes. He even had a piece there that was in 3-D that felt psychedelic. Truss was also one of the artists exhibiting work, as well as one of the body paint artists. Baltimore was also in the building with the great Moe of Moe’s Art and Design who was the featured artist of the Renovation Soul Art Expo in May. The second portion of the show featured an open mic session.

A friend and I contemplated for about 5 minutes about doing a tag team cypher but we declined and instead watched others like Swayz and Poc  rip it onstage. We are shy I guess you can say. But these dope cats weren’t and they spit fiyah on the mic. Also up to bat was none other than  TT the Artist. This young lady is destined for greatness in all that she does. She’s an artist in every since of the word – music, graphics, painter, and I’m sure much much more.

Overall, the entire show was a sight to see. So much color and different artistic approaches. It was very gratifying and inspiring to me and I’m sure others of like minds. I was especially thrilled that I was able to meet and speak with an artist that inspired me – Heron Gibran. And many many thanks to Shaina Webb for producing such a wonderful show.
Thanks to all who came out to support your local artist. If you don’t, who will?