Phantom Street Artist
Art
 
History
 

I was introduced to the Phantom Street Artist by Paul Widerman, with whom he wrestled, and this may seem ironic unless you understand that wrestling is about coming into one's power, and this is just what an artist strives to achive with his or her work.

The Phantom Artist grew up on the streets of New York where his option was either to learn or perish. And unlike the often incidental role that learning plays in the life of a student, learning for the Phantom Artist was the essential process of finding meaning and hope. This is learning in its most important sense.

Many of the Phantom Street Artist's friends did perish in his stressful and sometimes violent envionment, and this is why his reflections bear a sharp edge, similar to Dave Williamson's reflections of coming of age as a soldier.

If you're wondering why he has chosen to hide his identity, the answer is fairly obvious: the authorities consider his works to be vandalism. Revealing his identity could lead to his arrest.

Interview Excerpts
Read the full interview :
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"The one thing that I’ve learned… is that the most important thing you have is your ability is to change your perceptions — thoughts, feelings — into the positive. If you live in regret, you’re not living in the positive, today or tomorrow. So I really don’t have any regrets …"

"And I wouldn’t change anything, you know, except for the loss of great people in my life, the loss of individuals to insanity, tragedy and murder. Those are the only things I would change…"

"My life is a living testimonial. The mentorship process has greatly influenced my life. It provided a respite, a salvation from a broken home that could not offer role models, in a world of contingent values…"

"Look for mentors; it’s a very simple learning process. Look for the mentors. Channel, find purpose, and look for your destiny. Search for the moment when opportunity will knock on your door. Try to find your place in the world, and make your mark in that world either through accomplishments or through your voice. This gives things value. This is value…"

"To keep working towards that, day by day. Allow life to be the fabric of a giant, potential canvas: life as theater, to cast ourselves in new roles, to write new stories for ourselves."

 

Links

Artist's Statement at Graffiti Verité
Phantom Street Artist in Philadelphia, YouTube

Related:
The Death of Eddie Glowaski

   
Copyright © 2010, Lincoln Stoller. All rights reserved.