Lady Pink on The Tonight Show w/ Jimmy Fallon

Posted on by The Wandering Art Historian

Sometimes I think I am living in some Bizarro World alternate universe.

Just a couple of weeks ago, legendary graffiti artist, Lady Pink, taped a video segment for The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. In this video, she teaches Jimmy and Tariq (aka Black Thought of The Roots) how to graffiti their names onto a wall in Queens, New York.

Part of me can’t believe I just wrote that paragraph!

To see a graffiti artist like Lady Pink not only accepted into mainstream media, but also celebrated by current members of our popular culture on national television feels kind of weird. On one hand, I am thrilled that an artist of Lady Pink’s caliber and iconic status within the art world is now being honored by those in mass media. On the other hand, it feels a little strange, seeing how these artists were labeled vandals, thugs and criminals in the 1970’s and 1980’s.

Artist Lady Pink

In my class Modern Art Madness vol. 2 we explore the impact the graffiti art movement of the 1970’s and 1980’s in NYC had on the art world by discussing the likes of Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring. In my class Art Theory Overdrive we talk about the power of Words/Language as a creative medium by discussing the collaboration between artists Jenny Holzer (words) and Lady Pink (graffiti art).

Artist Lady Pink wearing one of Jenny Holzer’s Truisms on a shirt in 1983.

The graffiti art movement was a wildly important moment in art history that woke up the art world elite to the fact that some of the most important artwork of the times was being created by women and people of color on the streets of New York City. Remember – art does not create the zeitgeist; it is a reaction to it.

I guess the public at large is finally catching up to the notion that graffiti art is a far more complex idea than the overly simplistic definition provided by Merriam-Webster – usually unauthorized writing or drawing on a public surface.

What is really wonderful about this video of Lady Pink painting with Jimmy Fallon and Tariq is that it is used to promote the Welling Court Mural Project. The WCMP is a neighborhood beautification project that enlists a truly epic host of artists – like Lady Pink! – to help move art out of the galleries and museums and onto the streets for all to enjoy.

To learn more about the Welling Court Mural project, please visit…

https://www.wellingcourtmuralprojectnyc.com/

To watch the video of Lady Pink teaching Jimmy Fallon and Tariq how to graffiti their names, please visit…

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I am writer and artist with a degree in art history who loves to talk to people about art. I have spent the last seven years building up The Wandering Art Historian “brand” as a way to connect with people who want to learn more about art. I give lectures and presentations and teach classes and host book club discussions with a creative or artistic connection. I also write about local artists, events, museums, and exhibitions to promote the arts in Central Florida. In 2021, I had a creative crisis. I struggled with authenticity in the art making process. I decided to make myself vulnerable and find out what a real, genuine Adrienne H. Lee artwork would look like. The process was challenging and emotional and revelatory. I learned that if necessity is the mother of invention, then authenticity is the mother of reinvention. I reinvented myself and learned an entirely new medium. The resulting artwork surprised me, and it will surprise you, too. Some people wish for a fairytale ending. For me, the fairy tale is only the beginning.