A post from EngAGE C.O.O. Dr. Maureen Kellen-Taylor:
We met at author/photographer/ collage artist Caroline McElroy’s home – The NoHo Senior Arts Colony to talk about her latest book – Gallerie de Street Art, Paris. The inevitable question arose of why she chose to depict the city, which she described as a “place of magic and inspiration,” in this particular way. She talked about showing the “underbelly” of this city, famed as a symbol of romance.
We had a fascinating conversation about being an active Native American in an Anglo culture, each with its own world-view, and how she strives to balance them in her life and her art. She described how Native American children are taught to look at the world differently and therefore see things, patterns perhaps, that might be overlooked by their Anglo counterparts. In her teaching for EngAGE, she assembles collage materials and encourages her students to put them together in their own way. This is what she has also done in this book, Gallerie de Street Arts, Paris, by presenting material that suggests that Street Art and graffiti are languages not commonly recognized.
Caroline arrived in Paris with no plans other than to embrace the essence of the city, so she wandered the back streets wherever her instincts took her. In L’Espace Dali in nearby Montmarte, she found a Student Art Exhibit of Street Art. Caroline is fascinated by graffiti and street art, their differences, and how they can be random or deliberate. She heard that Street Art has political intentions so she looked for the obvious while being aware that there were other meanings. She wanted to explore the messages encoded in these art forms. Gang graffiti in L.A., which might seem to be random scribbles, can transmit many different messages – they can be boundary markers, warnings, or group signatures. Her training as an investigative photojournalist naturally pushes her to track the possibilities inherent in her subjects. Her journalism background made the massacre at Charlie Hebdo in Paris all the more painful.
She describes Gallerie de Street Art, Paris as a rebus, or puzzle, that encourages readers to ask questions. Perhaps the answers are in this book; perhaps readers will want to conduct their own exploration.
There will be a book signing on Thursday July 9th at 3 p.m. in the Lounge at the NoHo Senior Arts Colony, 10737 Magnolia Ave., North Hollywood 91606. The book is widely available (I got my copy online).
Caroline also recently showed her collages in the Gallery at NoHo Senior Arts Colony.
[Please note: we have two EngAGE Blog posts today featuring residents from our communities!]
