Stencil Graffti Project

Step 1: Cut out stencil design with an X-acto knife

Step 2: Place stencil over poster & spray paint thoroughly & let sit & dry before reapplying coat

Step 3: Remove stencil & observe graffiti

Step 4: Have fun messing around with negative prints

Step 5: Place stencil graffiti over a t-shirt & use fabric paint

Step 6: Advertise finished product

Description of Module: The image in the foreground is a journalist wearing a paper hat folded out of a newspaper. He/she is dressed in a cape to conceal his/her identity as a journalist. The reporter appears mysterious because he/she is looking over at a conflict in the background where men are killing each other. There is no doubt that this is a newsworthy story, but the journalist must deal with the fact that it is happening beyond the borders that he/she is NOT legally allowed to cross. The slogan: 'Define Justice.' is more of a challenging statement to foreign governments that U.S. reporters will stop short of death to cover a story worth informing the public. Not only is the journey to cross the border an audacious one, but the statement also challenges journalists with the question, "How can you just stand there & watch it happen?"

Space to Incorporate Graffiti: I chose two different places where I want the graffiti to be displayed.

1. On a poster that human rights activists can use to raise awareness about the two reporters Laura Ling & Euna Lee who are serving time in North Korea's labor camp for crossing the borders to cover a story about women trafficking.

2. This graffiti would appear on t-shirts that would be sold at department stores as part of a promotion or deal. Buy one of these shirts & get a discount on store items. The t-shirt would help scholars in the younger generations become active supporters of justice at school & around the community.

Audience: I hope that the graffiti speaks to not only foreign governments but to American protestors & students entering the field of reporting & international law. I'm promoting the Journalists without Borders, which is an emerging movement that has been hampered in the past because journalists are held as American hostages indefinitely. These countries don't have the most positive relationship with the U.S., and that is what keeps foreign governments weary about allowing U.S. reporters to snoop around & make their own hasty judgments about the corrputions that occur in many foreign countries. Even though the cost of reporting the news in the darkest places of the world could result in being captured, starved & punished until the brink of death, there is also the humanistic approach that people in foreign nations who are denied their human rights deserve to have their stories told.

Place/Environment of Graffiti: As mentioned before, my graffiti would appear on protest signs on the streets in neighborhoods & in front of the White House. The graffiti would convey the irony of journalists sacrificing their lives to the idea that foreign governments are trying to limit the journalists' access to the very people that help convey these heartbreaking stories. Also, t-shirts can be worn in any places - coffee shops, band concerts & even on public transportation. So the reason for using t-shirts as a way to speak out about giving journalists more privileges is to help give the public the right to know, the benefit of the doubt lingers too much in the media.

Ignorance is NOT bliss.