Process: Identity

“Life should be lived on the edge of life. You have to exercise rebellion. To refuse to taper yourself to rules . . . and then you [are able to] live your life on the tight rope.“

- Philippe Petit, Man on Wire. Magnolia Pictures, 2008.

Once, on vacation, when I was about twelve years old I saw a skateboarder doing tricks at a gas station. His strange hair and apparel matched his attitude of carefree indifference. He didn’t belong at the gas station or really anywhere yet he made it seem as if everyone else were out of place. It was inspirational. It was artistic. Then and there I knew I wanted to do what he was doing. As a result I skateboarded for 6 solid years and in that time I found myself. I knew myself. I knew where I belonged and what I was. I felt comfortable in my skin.

Years later, however, my artistic expression shifted away from the 7 ply world of asphalt and urethane toward more traditional avenues. Paint and canvas became the medium of my expression and, appropriately, the world of graffiti and street art became the locus of my inspiration. My new home strangely connected to the backdoor of my old one. Subcultures which fed off each other, born together of youthful rebellion.

So the other day I went out among the trash of the industrial complex in the streets of Kansas City to take some pics of the local graffiti scene. I trespassed and briefly considered the consequence but in the process I found myself drawing nearer to the unsanctioned typographical masterpieces of a young and disaffected generation, fanning the flames of my own inspiration. And this made me feel alive and . . . comfortable in my own skin. And when I when I am out there in it or at home in emulation I know I am right where I am destined to be. Like the Man on the Wire, this is who I am.