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MOVING MOUNTAINS a daily column
B-Girl Be; a very different kind of T and A
by Lydia Howell
Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Lady Pink is slim and appears almost fragile---until this
graffiti-artist ground-breaker speaks. Starting at 15, in 1979, she was
the only female among about 10,000 young men, tagging the New York City
subway trains.

"I didn't know about feminism. Just what I saw on TV—like Marcia Brady
standing up. Guys would say I couldn't do graffiti, but, all I thought
was, 'you need testicles to paint graffiti?' All you need is a little
bit of courage and a little bit of skill and you're good to go---- as
long as you can run from police."

She's part of the third annual B-Girl Be; Women and Hip Hop Summit,
organized and hosted by Intermedia Arts in south Minneapolis, ( with
some events and other venues), from Thursday, June 28th through Sunday,
July 1st. Women from New York to Los Angeles, Sweden to South Africa and
Puerto Rico and across the Midwest express and explore the full range of
mediums in the international hip hop movement from a decidedly female
perspective; MC-ing, break-dancing, spoken word, video and visual art in
diverse mediums.

In the aftermath of Don Imus, I can't think of a better antidote than
B-Girl Be and hell, yes, men are welcome—even encouraged to discover
women in hip hop are so much more than scantily-clad booty in videos or
the occasional lone woman in a crew of guys. Part of the joy of this
annual convergence is to see both established innovators and fresh
talent, to experience the creative energy of new work, created out of
the gathering itself. There's plenty of workshops, gallery tours with
artist talks, and performance showcases. All are free or mostly $5.


DeAnna Cummings curated the visual art exhibit, 'The Art of T and
A;Truth and Activism', opening reception Thursday, June 28th, 6pm to 9pm
and up through the end of summer. The exhibit title could stand in for
the themes of the 2007 B-Girl Be. She weighs in on the national debate
about misogyny and other destructive elements in the corporate-sponsored
hip hop that's all most people hear.

"I think today's commercial hip hop is the theme music for today's
commercial, commodified culture. If rock and roll was the theme music
was the 1960s and -70, then, commercial rap is the theme music for
today..it's only a reflection of the broader society's misogyny,
violence and pursuit of material things,' Cummings points out. 'I mostly
tune it out, ignore it and pay attention only as much as I need, in
order to stay in connection to the youth I work with are into. I think
that women's quandary is what birthed B-Girl Be."

Lady Pink has gone from the streets to galleries and places like the
Brooklyn Museum, but, the risk-taking of her first endeavors with a
spray can remains vivid. She makes me recall my own late night
adventures doing political graffiti in my twenties to age 35, when a
scary arrest by Minneapolis police ended by own graffiti career.

''I started because I lost a boyfriend. He was taken from me and I
started writing his name in grief. Eventually, I fell in love with the
adventure and excitement. I met guys were painting the subway trains.
That was a thrill that couldn't be beat,'' she says. ''Sneaking around
creepy tunnels at night with a bunch of guys, painting trains couldn't
be beat. Seeing your name running on the train the next morning, all
colorful and beautiful. That's the point of art by the masses for the
masses. I painted trains for five years and then moved on to
galleries—where you want to say more than just writing your name.'"

On Friday, June 29th at noon, Lady Pink gives a gallery talk about her
installation in the visual art exhibit. What she's created is an
essential response to the U.S. occupation of Iraq.

''It's called 'Women Breeding Soldiers' [and speaks to] claim that
that's what women are put on Earth to do—breed soldiers, for this
senseless war. Women sending their children, boys and girls, to die for
no reason at all—except for maybe a little profit for the oil companies
or some obscure government reason.'' Lady Pink says with quiet
intensity. ''I'm not a mother so I don't know the sadness of losing a
child to war. A hero to me is Cindy Sheehan, losing her child and
protesting. I can empathize with her."

Twenty-five visual artists are in the Truth and Activism show. They
paint on canvas, wood and vinyl records, take photographs, make videos
and toys, to explore burning questions of our time.

"The title 'Art of T and A; Truth and Activism' was born out of the
contradictions in hip hop, to catch people's attention and turn it on
its head,' Cummings explains. ''The show is many-faceted, from
traditional ways that women are seen and work looking at truth, activism
or both."

Again, that could stand for all of the 2007 B-Girl Be. Here's a few
highlights. which will be at Intermedia Arts, unless otherwise noted

Friday, June 29, 7pm and 9;30pm Dance Showcase, including a 2007 Fringe
Fest hit, Universal Dance Destiny.$7 general/$5 youth
9pm-2pm at Nomad World Pub on the West Bank; Spoken Word Showcase. 21+ $7

Saturday, June 30 10;30am to 4;30pm workshops in different mediums $15 each
7pm-10pm Performance Showcase featuring Wonda Woman Project, Tish Jones,
Black Blondie and more. $7 general/$5 youth

Sunday, July 1 Noon-2pm, 3;30-5pm Films

Intermedia Arts, 2822 Lyndale Ave. S. in Minneapolis. Complete schedule
at; http;www.intermediaarts.or (612) 871-4444

Hear more of my conversation with Lady Pink and DeAnna Cummings on KFAI
Radio's 'Catalyst politics and culture', archived for 2 weeks at
www.kfai.org