Last Friday Rich Stremme came to speak to our class about his life’s work.  I was shocked to hear that this was the first time he ever did a class presentation like this because the topics fluidly intertwined with one another.  He had such an interesting story to tell and it should be heard by more people.  It was interesting to hear a true artist’s perspective on certain themes we discussed in class.  For example, Rich discussed what does it mean to be a professional artist.  He does not believe that being a professional artists means that you have your art put in a museum.  I agree with Rich. Revv used the city as his canvas and I would consider him an artist.  I concluded that just because one’s art is not in a museum, does not mean that person is not a professional artist.  Another theme discussed in class that Rich addressed is the definition of art. If art provokes an emotion, Rich considers it art.  This goes along with many definitions mentioned in class.

I liked all of the visuals that Rich brought to class.  All of the flyers, records, and tattoo drawings helped me see what Rich’s work was all about.  My favorite visual was the God squad sign.  As soon as I saw the cross, I had a reaction to it.  I thought the graffiti style was interesting and I was curious as to what it symbolized.  When Rich started telling us the story of how him and his band put these signs all over Manhattan one St. Patrick’s Day week, the sign was given more meaning.  I believed that it depicted the true punk rock style and was an interesting way of getting the name of your band into the public.  Overall, I enjoyed Rich Stremme’s presentation and a true New York artist’s views on art.