A Gary, Indiana, artist reflects on his creative roots and how the city’s struggles during the Postindustrial Era have influenced his work and that of others.
Gary is a relatively small town where everyone is one or two degrees of separation from knowing someone in your circle. We grew up around a lot of mothers, as the men were working long hours or totally absent.
My “crew” is known as “Crazy Indiana Style Artists.” We are self-taught artists, fortunate to have formed a creative collective at a young age. In 2026, we will celebrate 40 years together.
My work evolved from the graffiti writing culture in East Chicago, Indiana, where I grew up, and was influenced by the Chicago and New York Hip Hop movements.
As teenagers, East Chicago was a microcosm of Chicago, with multiple ethnicities, economic classes, and races.
You grow up faster in steel towns. You face experiences more frequently in a “fail-safe” environment. Conflicts tended to de-escalate due to news traveling fast around the neighborhoods.
The steel mills fueled the city’s economy. As employment opportunities in the mills began to decline, the city’s landscape was impacted.
Who Benefits First by Ish Muhammad
A vibrant and lively city has evolved into a Postindustrial Existence with reverberating echoes of how it was “back in the day.”
Those stories are hard for the younger generations to absorb. They lack the references of vibrancy shared by their elders.
A steel town community has evolved into a city surrounded by steel mills. It can be a lonely existence with limited methods to break away.
Graffiti writing was, for me and our crew, a direct response to the environment. As an artist and activist, I found ways to challenge the oppressive and decaying environment. Fortunately, public art activation efforts are helping to change perspectives and offer hope.
My current work is abstract expressionism. My lines and shapes have developed over decades of writing my name in large scale on walls. I let the mind unwind with the goal of documenting current thoughts and patterns. My studio is the Lovelace House in Gary. I also have a satellite studio in Hammond, Indiana.
As an artist, my work is split between a studio practice and writing my name on surfaces.
My studio practice allows me to share my process of working through thoughts, ideas, and emotions, and represent them as collectible works. I still enjoy spray-painting my name on walls as a form of fellowship and marking time.
I also enjoy finding ways to build platforms for creatives. I’ve worked with many organizations in the Midwest organizing impactful festivals and exhibitions.
Recently, I collaborated with the City of Gary to commission three artists to create four large murals focusing on famous R&B musicians from the city.
It was a fun project and I can say without a doubt: Gary is Family.
