Wizdom vs. Slick:
a journey into madness, a journal into sadness

Summary of Introduction:
In the Fall of 1997, I began my first semester teaching Graphic Design classes at Mott Community College in Flint, Michigan. I had moved to a place where people seemed to be looking for a leg up on the economic development ladder. Among them was a young student named Alex who was torn apart by other demands of youthful hubris. His graffiti diary is accompanied by voices of people who add perspective to the story about a loose familial group where some survive and go on with their lives. Others, like Alex, are consumed by the madness that drove them there. It is my aim to offer a different perspective of the role that graffiti plays as the voice of an alienated community that refuses to accept being ignored. They want respect. They want attention. They want you to know that they exist. They want to feel valued as human beings. Some, like Zero-MSC, survive and even are driven to succeed. And some, like Alex, find that the elusiveness of human value can prove fatal.

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