Graffiti Stories Exhibition

In 2005, I exhibited Graffiti Bodies in the 3-person show Graffiti Stories with Art Exhibition Link in collaboration with Hyunnart Studio in Rome, Italy and with Gallery 24 in Berlin, Germany. I also exhibited “Aphrodite” in a separate gallery space at Gallery 24 during the group show . The exhibition was partially sponsored by a grant from the Governor's International Arts Exchange program and the Illinois Arts Council.

Graffiti Bodies mural photographic prints by Carrie Notari
Drawings by Brian Getnick
Abstract crocheted wall sculpture by Yvette Kaiser Smith

Graffiti wall paintings are like body tattoos.  Just as ideas about women’s roles and stereotypes are embedded in our society, so have I layered figures in paint.  In the Graffiti Bodies series, I have montaged female figures with graffiti to question our society's preoccupations and stereotypes about beauty and sexuality.  Using the technique of montage, I combine two negatives to create an image that is compositionally and conceptually layered and complex.  Graffiti is an art created with vivid colors, bold strokes and iconographic themes of sex, heightened awareness and spirituality.   I am intrigued with the way compositions juxtapose - the gesture of a hand or the twist of a body makes a graceful line echoing calligraphic brush strokes.  These images combine the gritty and the raw with human forms to create an edgy tension with sublime intonations.