Salon Festivities
After a long day full of lectures, reports, and essays, I met with my good friend Remi for a walk to unwind. We met in the middle of Brooklyn College on Bedford Avenue and walked to Remi’s apartment to relax. Since Remi lives on Flatbush Ave it was inevitable that I would be exposed to the community on that street. The cultural differences between my Kings Highway community and the Flatbush community are fairly bold. To be specific, Flatbush Avenue has some intriguing street art. Halfway down the block to Remi’s building, I noticed my favorite street art sample of Flatbush yet; a hair salon wall spray painted with a mural of a black woman DJ at a nightclub. I noticed the artist’s name, Jamal Ince, on the right side of the mural and upon further research I found out that the artist is from Barbados. This provided me with some cultural background for the mural itself.
Barbados, like many of its neighbors, is regarded as one of the best destinations for a vacation full of partying, music, and festivals. American culture is heavily influenced by the many Caribbean citizens, and that influence can be seen in modern/popular dancing, the music industry, the fashion industry, and many other art communities. This hair salon mural is rich with such culture. The setting of the mural is a nightclub with a black woman as the DJ, playing records labeled “MJ and fdC” on a table marked BID, wearing a chain saying “ZINGA.” Since a thorough web search did not provide me with information about any of those terms, they must have been added by the artist to accent the Caribbean vibe. The painting is also made in bright paint and design, thus adding more zest to the culture richness. The background of the art piece is split in two colors; blue on top and silver-gray on the bottom. The woman DJing is wearing a purple sweater and the desk is purple as well. The raised arms of the people in the audience are portrayed with all different colors and patterns, which is representative of racial unity and acceptance as well as the mixing of other cultures. Barbados has its own history of slavery and since the abolishment of slavery there, the Barbados culture advocates diversity, acceptance, and unity, similarly to American culture in most major cities and the Liberal states.
This street art reminded me of my adventures to South America and the Caribbean, mainly because the streets there are decorated with murals like these. The same theme of festivity is present in addition to dancing, rapping, and diversity. The colorful paint is also similar to that of the art in the Caribbean and South America, especially golden color. Gold and yellow are present all over the mural and the decorations on the DJ woman like her necklace, earrings, eyelids, and the table itself. The presence of this mural on the busy street of Flatbush Avenue drips Caribbean culture into the mixing pot of American culture. Art like this is what makes New York City such a distinct place in the world by adding more substance to the history of the people and the neighborhood that it is in. This is one of my favorite sites to see now whenever I pay Remi a visit at his apartment, and I never miss out on a chance to gaze on it when I pass it.
