Washington, DC
In late March,
Rocco visited Shreveport, Louisiana to talk creative placemaking and to get a first-hand look at the
Shreveport Regional Art Council's (SRAC) MICD25 project. One of the artists that Rocco met during his trip was Shreveport native Poetic X (Hugh Hamilton). A 2008 recipient of an SRAC fellowship, Poetic X has performed with Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, and The Winans, among many others. Check out the video for his encyclopedic take on "Art Works."
See ART WORKS video
here.
Video transcript
Art is a product of man in which materials and tools are skillfully
used to relate or communicate to a human experience. The walls cried
out, "applied perseverance." I anticipated to be animated by every room.
My heart is a product of ART, it belittles me not to bloom. My day is
full of ocean spray plus I'm married to the moon. She loves the night
light but that's alright...she'll return soon. Full of stories! Hands
full of blackberries she picked out the forest, and before she can open
her mouth, I'll become filled with God's will and tell her all
about.....my walk down memory lane, how I walked seven miles to catch a
train. General Pain was the conductor. He destroyed trains with no
structure. Majestically, I held on. Thou Majesty, decorated me lavishly
and blew sapphires into my birthstone.
Plants blossomed and seasons changed. I fell in love with this
train. Cruising through the desert plains. I found a place! Where
"ARTWORKS" and nothing goes to waste. The soul of an artist. Long
hallways that simultaneously and the floors are embroided. Uncharted!
Red and Gold. I read the floor prints and the painting started to
scroll. Colors started to splash, cameras begin to flash. Waterfalls,
Beethoven's Fountain and musical mountains pouring out cash. Every
motion was a motion picture. Theatrical! Paramount! It sticks with ya'.
See "ARTWORKS!" Impromptu, red and blue. They heal when the heart
hurts. They awaken the dead. Lost sheep follow Little Bo Peep and music
notes cover the ceiling above my head. Micheal Jackson, Fred Astaire,
Gregory Hines and Anna Pavlova was there. Dancing on raindrops; Dancing
with the stars; I would've danced but I was in an estatic trance
counting stars. Elvis Presley, B.B. King, Cotton Candy Land and
Lucille's strings. Talk about a show! Popcorn, peanuts, jellybeans and
cookie-dough. Celine Deon, Nat King Cole, colorful Pendergrass with
butterrolls. Alice Walker and Alex Haley. The "Roots" are "The Color
Purple," can someone please pass the gravy! The more steps I took, the
more pages started speaking volume outside the book.
"ARTWORKS!" Rich land, a market where artist pan and trade hands. A
treasure chest. Dorothy's slipper, Shamu and Flipper, the Big Dipper
and Zelda's Quest. Park benches where Shakespeare and Mark Twain can see
their works on continental airplanes and rest. Only one way in! The
safari sun must wave his wand and unlock the lions den. Then, Mufasa and
Scar, will give you the keys to the seven seas and the Lion King's
acoustic guitar. Dip it in the water, discover the ancient quarter. It's
for the jukebox. Play Earth, Wind, and Fire when the dragon's crew
knocks. Outsmart the fox, sink his battleship and swim out of the
boondocks.
You're a soul survivor! Go East and hide by the brook cherith like
Elijah. See "ARTWORKS!" like the Great Pyramids of Gyza. I've been
carving sculptures and painting pictures for awhile. If this is
"ARTWORKS," I must be the "poster child." Planets revolve around my
identity. Venus's wings gave me Saturn's rings and space as an amenity.
How many licks does it take to get to the center of infinity.
I'm appalled. Record numbers have gathered to scatter their true
colors on the wall. Art teachers, Art lovers, organizations that support
ART and satin covers. A love campaign! Smiles, hugs, handshakes, and
names. I had Walter Washington and Picasso put it in a frame.
"The Wheel of Fortune!" Only fallen tears could turn its gears, the handles were to scorching.
It unlocked a seal. Edgar Allen Poe, a Sonnet To Science, Einstein,
Theory of Relativity, and some poems of mine. Milk and honey, Nikki
Giovanni, The Poetic Express and the Energizer Bunny. My status is
changing, my decline has declined. The little engine that could is right
on time. Talk about a day! I'll have to spend the night telling the
Moon why I'm smelling like ocean spray, and, before she can open her
mouth, I'll become filled with God's will and tell her all about.... The
dolphins, the mermaids, the desert plains, and the Cashcades. The
Gravity. The cornerstone the imagination sits on....."The Sunset
Gallery."
