Gated Community: Graffiti and Incarceration

by Mickael Broth

Overview

Gated Community: Graffiti and Incarceration is a memoir detailing Mickael Broth's involvement in graffiti vandalism, and the ten-month jail sentence that it led to when he was twenty-one, living in Richmond, Virginia. Expanding on his personal experiences, the book addresses issues of wider relevance, such as delinquency, property rights, addiction, racism, class privilege, privatization, and mass incarceration in America, among other topics. It stands apart from glut of hero-worshiping graffiti tomes currently on the market, relating rather to the more honest, and societally significant story of a young person placed at odds with the justice system and society's mores. Praised by audiences as diverse as graffiti writers, art magazines, and even a MacArthur Fellow, this book is an insider's perspective on two worlds that the general public is only able to view from outside. Brutally honest and conveying a deep sense of remorse, while punctuated by a healthy dose of self-deprecating humor, Gated Community: Graffiti and Incarceration will transport the reader into worlds they may be lucky never to experience themselves.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940046185201
Publisher:	Mickael Broth
Publication date:	09/20/2014
Sold by:	Smashwords
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	275,850
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Mickael Broth, also known as The Night Owl, is a Richmond, Virginia-based artist, muralist, sculptor, and writer. Mickael moved to Richmond in 2001 with the intention of painting as much graffiti as possible. His involvement in vandalism was halted abruptly with his arrest in 2004 and subsequent ten-month jail term for his crimes. Since that time, he has gone on to pursue an active (and legal) career in the arts. He was awarded a Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Professional Fellowship in 2008 for his studio work and has shown widely around the United States; from museums and galleries to alternative spaces and abandoned buildings. His work is held in numerous private and corporate collections. He has painted over two hundred public murals throughout Richmond, the United States and Europe since 2012, in addition to helping curate multiple public art festivals. Through his public art work, Mickael has been commissioned by all manner of clients, from small local businesses and nonprofits to municipal governments, museums, and Fortune 500 corporations. He has been an active member of the community, working with youth groups, as well as leading volunteer groups in the creation of collaborative public art projects. Mickael serves on the board of directors for the RVA Street Art Festival and has been instrumental in the curatorial direction of the organization since its formation in 2012. In 2013, he published Gated Community: Graffiti and Incarceration, a memoir detailing his experiences with vandalism and jail. In 2017, he was awarded a commission by the City of Richmond for the creation of an 15’ tall welded aluminum sculpture installed in front of the Hull Street Library in Richmond’s Manchester neighborhood. Mickael’s second published book, Murals of Richmond, which documents Richmond’s public art explosion, was published in November 2018 by Chop Suey Books and quickly sold out of the first printing. Mickael continues to live and work in Richmond, along with his wife and educational activist Brionna Nomi, their son Maverick Rosedale, and their shelter-dog Lil’ Nilla Bean.