I greatly enjoyed Richard T. Stremme’s lesson last Friday regarding Underbelly Americana and the graffiti artist, Revs. I was not expecting the guest speaker to have such a gritty, exciting back-story to tell. I wanted to hear more exciting accounts of his expeditions with Revs and his first adventures with P.O.E. I have always been skeptical of tattoos as art. I always viewed tattoos as more of a showcase to expose elements of someone’s personality. I never understood a purpose for them; why advertise to the world what is important to you when you already know? People who are close to you will learn those things about you anyway, so why get them plastered on your body? But I suppose if the tattoos provide meaning and comfort to the wearer, as well as evoke an emotional response, they are considered art. After all, they take a lot of skill to create. Tattoo artists have a stressful job, for they must please the customer, who is also the canvas. I enjoyed hearing stories of the origins of tattooing as well as Stremme’s own struggles as a tattoo artist. When it came to his opinion of “what is art?” I enjoyed the simple response that if a creative piece evokes a feeling, it is art. Even something as generic as a vase from Christmas Tree Shop; if he is pleased at the sight of it, then it is a piece of art. In my opinion, this way of looking at our surroundings is fulfilling and allows us to be open to appreciate all things as potential art. I feel a similar way about art. This similarity in ways of thinking made me all the more intrigued by what Stremme had to say. I would love for him to come back and speak to us again. His story of the God Squad signs was like nothing I had ever heard before. The amount of sacrifice and effort and belief he and his companions had for their creative cause was inspirational and thrilling to hear about. Seeing each flyer and magazine promoting his band and promoting punk music in general brought me to the time period he was discussing and made me appreciate his efforts. We were lucky to receive a first hand account of the New York that Patti Smith discussed in Just Kids. I could tell there were much more interesting stories and accounts he could have shared and I would be happy to listen. The three hours of class time flew by.