Got Coke?

 When I was in sixth grade, back in the days of "sixth grade centers" way before middle schools. The class I was in was given a laminated poster, of a monkey. It seem harmless enough, but let me expand on my class we were all composed of the problem students, the worst students from each class at the school. The monkey on the poster is upside down on a sofa with books beside him and some on the floor. The book that the monkey has open is Black Beauty also it some other titles that are clearly visible Within the Law and Year of the Gorilla also on the floor is a Coca Cola can, huh...
Is this by coincidence that this particular group of students recieved that poster. We were 12-13 yr olds at that time, just misguided kids, with the wrong group trying to steer us. We ultimately had the entire world open to us, but someone or group or system seem to try and alot us particular destiny. No other class got that laminated poster, just ours. Was the Coca Cola can there by chance? hmm...

 Almost 20 some odd years later looking at the poster things haven't changed much, with the education system. Me feeling like the one that escaped through the cracks and made it. I still feel a little dishearten though, by the time I was 9th and 10th grade it seemed like the core group of that class was in adult prison or jail for committing some serious crime or going to the special school for troubled youth, I on the other hand was actually going to the other special school for gifted, the School of the Arts.

 During this past Christmas time ( Nov- Dec.)  I was looking at a Essence magazine and saw a Coca Cola add. It struck a nerve with in me, It was a picture of 12-13 yr adolescence with headphones on and a big grin. Also, it had a Black Beauty book with in the add. The boy seemed to echo the monkey in the poster, I wondered is that how that particular group sees African Americans as red and white Coke drinking monkeys! Just give then a Coca Cola and the happy! Actually at that point I wasn't!

So last year during the holiday season I began the brainstorming part of this multimedia interactive piece of art, dealing with this issue. It's going to be a serious intensive project, dealing with crowd response. Im very excited.

I AM Gary L. Grier

ps. dont accept my imitation, there just followers, Also I heard from a person I admired  "how do eat an elephant? just one bite at a time" problems are never as big or insurmountable as they seem...