Ever since I moved to Washington two years ago I have been haunted by stickers and posters all over the neighborhoods I frequent and where I currently reside. Black and white stickers with a bearded man with the words "I AM ART" emblazoned along the bottom. If you've spent anytime at a bus stop, a stop sign, on the metro, on U Street, in Eastern Market, or Chinatown you've seen BK. You may have been like me and not known who he was or what the stickers symbolized but whether you like it or not, BK Adams IS art.
Last Friday, I took a friend who is enrolled as an Exhibition Design masters student at the Corcoran College of Art and Design with me to Anacostia to see the "Excercise your Mynd" exhibit. I had only heard a few details about the show but figured it was something worth looking into. Whether a 12 foot canvas to honor his kindred spirit, renowned artist, Sam Gilliam, coffee cups, fully functional bicycles the exhibition was a feast for the eyes, mind and soul. I was all at once enveloped in beauty and magic and mystery and color. Some pieces were reminiscent of Basquiat, others like "Throwing Biscuits" reminded me of Jackson Pollock.
From flipping through the program I recognized the director of the museum in the gallery and immediately introduced myself. I gushed about how taken I was by the exhibit and she informed me that the artist had run home to grab something but that he would be coming back soon if I would like to met him. I did and he was as warm and inviting as inviting could be. I interviewed him informally and he answered each one of my questions without hesitation. He couldn't have been any nicer or more gracious. More exhaustive in his fascinating breakdowns of his work, his thought process, his creative process and "the seasons" that inspired each and every piece he creates.
As a third generation artist, he sees fun as his primary concern.He is fascinated by flight and plans on taking monthly hang gliding trips with fellow artists and kindred spirits in the coming weeks to experience true freedom. The number 3 is present in nearly all his work symbolizing the three generations of artists in his family, also resembling his initials when viewed in reverse, 3 legs on the easels he sometimes works on and also his visual concept of balance and perfection.
This is a link to a fabulous article on the artist as it appeared in Worn Magazine late last year: Throwing Biscuits with BK Adams : Worn Magazine : Fashion, Art, and Style in Washington, DC http://shar.es/HPNn2
Your sleuthing to find the identify of BK I am art evidently paid off. Art aside, I think BK evidently has a mind for publicity. I wonder if his stickers and posters have had a major impact on the numbers of visitors to the Anacostia Museum. Raising awareness about an institution not on the National Mall is very difficult. How did you make the connection between the stickers and the artist/venue? I am not sure I agree with the statement "we are all art," as exuberant and uplifting as the message is, but I believe we are all capable of making or appreciating art--and I don't draw boundaries between what is and isn't art.
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