On Thursday, February 23, Vanessa German came to IUP to give an artist talk about her life and work as an artist. I call it a performance as well because it was: she performed a powerful, hopeful poem to begin the talk. It included lines like, "Jesus is the Miles to the Davis," "Everyone was made to dance," and "You are infinitely more amazing than anything you could buy in a store. You are dope." She went on to say that she hopes for a day when people would only be killed in battle on stage.
She asked us if we believed in the power of love, and most everyone raised their hands. A fellow artist described love as discovering something that no one else has before, to which Vanessa said that's right and "If it's regular and ordinary, leave it." She asked more questions like, "What can I generate? Why did my lungs take me to this place?" She felt when she was growing up that any idea she had was sacred, and that her ideas were as close to God as she could get. She grew up in one of the most violent neighborhoods in Los Angeles, and believed that she would die young, so she decided that she would do whatever she wanted to do. She said, "I knew from a very young age how to take a thing seriously," because she went to a performing arts high school with Leonardo DiCaprio and Richard Pryor's children. She saw her classmates as professionals because she could see the work they were doing on TV.
She calls art "misery resistance" and says it is everything that we do. She considers herself a "citizen artist" who inhabits humanity, and she asked another question: "Who would you be as a human if no one ever oppressed you? If no one ever put the lid on you?" She teaches the children she works with at her Art House to "Make a decision" when working on their artwork. She has created change for the good in many lives, and she promotes love through signs that say, "Stop Shooting--We Love You." Some people think that the signs don't make a difference. But there are many more who do.
Vanessa shares love and the joy of creating with her community, which she believes will be the next revolutionary leader. She is powerful as an individual, but by building a community around love and creation, her and its power are limitless. She said that liberty is the soul's right to breathe, beauty is a force of disruption, and that there is power in joy, and everyone deserves that. Love is her strategy, and our citizenry, including our children, need it. One of the children she works with asked how she makes art when she is sad, and she said, "I think the sad thought and let my hand move with color." She also said that transforming a blank thing can transform your state of mind and to trust your instinct.
If you are anywhere near Pittsburgh or beyond and have an opportunity to see Vanessa's work, go see it! If you have a chance to see her talk, DEFINITELY go see her! If you have an opportunity to create something, DO IT! MAKE A DECISION!
She ended the talk with some words that I will leave you with:
us mighty
us fly
us powerful
us brave
us love