This project is for my Five Faces of Genius elective course. This class is all about creativeness and genius and how we see that in our own lives and also how we can find creative genius in people that inspire us. For this assignment I had to write an essay about creative geniuses. The one thing I liked about this assignment was that I got to do the project mostly about graffiti and I also loved that the project had a lot to do with creativity because I am a pretty creative person. One thing I disliked about this project was the actual writing because I do not consider myself a good writer I am more of a graffiti/street art person.

One pattern that I have found is that mostly all of them have a certain message or point that they want to get across but they all have their own creative way of expressing their point. Eminem is an example because he kind of expresses his life and how he had to grow up and what he had to go through. I feel that his songs are some of the deepest songs out there because not only do they have their own meaning but they also make you think of your life and how you can relate it to your self. Seth MacFarlane does TV shows such as Family Guy and he does themes to express a message. For example he made an episode of Family Guy that was all about drugs in high school and the moral was don’t do drugs but he expressed his message through comedy which is a pretty creative skill. Lastly Noter, a graffiti artist, uses paint to get his name out there and his name is basically his message. This is not only for him all graffiti artists pick a name and the goal is to get your name or message out to the public. I feel like this is an example of creative genius because everyone has their own way of getting their message across. They all do it their own unique way and I feel like they had to develop that way which took some creative genius.

Another pattern that I feel shows creative genius is doing whatever you can to do what you love. By that I mean doing illegal things to continue doing what you love. Skateboarding is a tough example but I feel Rodney Mullen fits this pattern because most skaters skate illegal spots and they have the risk of getting caught, but when they see a good spot they don't necessarily think about whether its private or not they just go for it because skating is a passion. I feel that Rodney Mullen fits this more than most professional skateboarders because most pros skate in private skate parks or legal spots but Rodney Mullen is a street skater and he chooses to skate flat ground normal streets rather than ramps so he’s always looking for spots to skate and most of them are private property. Another person that fits this pattern is Matthew Hoffman, a street artist because he put out the message “you are beautiful” by putting up little silver stickers around the world. Even though his message is great and it shouldn't be illegal to put a positive message out there it is and he acknowledges that but he still does it because he believes that his message can change someone's day or mood. Lastly I feel that Noter fits this pattern because he is a graffiti artist and that is his passion. Even though graffiti is looked at as dirty and ugly he still loves it and so do I. Graffiti is an addiction in my opinion when you do it you get an adrenaline rush and from then on it becomes a lifestyle. I feel that this displays creative genius because it shows that you are smart enough to find a way around the law to do what you love.

The last pattern that I feel shows creative genius is putting in hard work and education into what you do. When it comes to music I feel that Eminem is a great example because he not only produced a lot of music but he also had a very rough life, but he was dedicated to music even though he was in a bad situation. He wrote his own music and did what he had to do and now he is famous and successful at what he loves to do. Another example is once again, Rodney Mullen. Rodney Mullen started off just doing free style and eventually after hard work and practice he actually invented a couple of tricks that are popular today. Lastly Noter is a great example because he tags whenever he can not regarding the law or property because he is dedicated and loves graffiti. Graffiti has been a part of his life for about four and a half years. Even now Noter still practices and gets better and obviously still tags. I feel that everything that is creative comes with hard work and dedication because nothing just falls into your hands in this world. You have to be dedicated and willing to put in work to make it where you want to be in life.

One creative genius that I would like to highlight is Noter because I know him personally and he fits all of my categories. One of his many strengths is his handstyle. When doing graffiti a handstyle is basically your signature and in the graffiti game you want to be able to do your handstyle fast so you won't get caught. Noter’s handstyle is known as a one-liner and it is best because it is kind of like cursive, everything flows and he can do it very fast and that makes it less likely for him to get caught while tagging. Another strength that he has is his throw-up is very clean and he can also do it fast. A throw-up is fast and simple bubble letters that can be done in a short period of time but still has aesthetics. Noter’s throw-up is very clean and simple but it looks really good and he can do it in about 3 minutes and that is great because throw-ups should never take more than 7 minutes. One of his biggest strengths is the connections he has made with people. Now when he goes tagging he has people to go with and look out for him and vice versa. That is a strength because it makes it less likely for you to get caught because you have someone to watch your back. One challenge that not only Noter faces but every graffiti artist faces is the police, but like I said above Noter has an advantage because he has friends that can look out for him and also he is fast when it comes to tagging so he’s less likely to get caught. Another problem that Noter faces is lack of money. You need money to get spray paint to tag and if you don’t have money then you basically can’t tag. Something that Noter does to get around that problem is stealing. He steals almost all of his markers and supplies. Another way he overcomes the problem is by buying one dollar cans instead of expensive spray paint cans.



http://www.thebutchershop.com.au/shop_online/art_supplies/aerosol_paint/ironlak/

One strength that I have when it comes to graffiti is I can do my handstyle sort of fast and that helps me get away faster and “get up” more because it takes less time. Another one of my strengths is making friends that are also interested in graffiti because I have an Instagram that I post all of my graffiti on and people follow me and sooner or later I end up talking to them and hopefully if they are in Chicago we could meet up and tag together. Also one of my cousins does graffiti so I often meet up with him and go tagging and that helps a lot because I have someone to look out for me while I tag and I look out for him when he tags. He explains, “I love graffiti, it is not only a hobby it is a lifestyle.” Another one of my strengths is being able to purchase spray cans. Whenever I have money I go to a shop in Forest Park and they actually sell paint no matter what age you are so that is a big advantage. One thing that has made my experience as a graffiti writer harder is I didn't start with letters. In the graffiti world you start with letters, build them up until you get it right, and then you worry about your characters. But for me I actually started with characters first so I haven't had much practice in letters so it’s hard to pick it up. I have to dedicate a lot of time to practice them. One problem that exists in this world that is important to me is the issue that people think of graffiti as dirty and ugly but if they would experience it the way that I have they would think different. One way that I could change peoples’ mind is putting out quality work and hopefully people will start to appreciate it more. Also I could educate people about graffiti and teach them that it is actually an art form not just vandalism.

Works Cited

Silver, Scott. "8 Mile." Film. 2010.