Tompkins County Public Library in partnership with Cornell University Library’s Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections held a four-day celebration, featuring events on campus and throughout the community, which included exhibit openings, gallery exhibitions, panel discussions, film screenings, concerts and three days of live, mural painting by some of the world’s finest graffiti artists.
Top 2 Bottom – A Journey Through The Elements of Hip-Hop Culture. Curated by Jason Otero of Art & Anthropology, featured the work of acclaimed Hip-Hop photographers Joe Conzo and Ernie Paniccioli, work by Ithaca artist Jay Stooks, a showcase of early Hip-Hop memorabilia including house party flyers, boom-boxes, mix-tapes, fashion and graffiti, materials from the collection of Cap Matches Color; and work created by Ithaca’s youth at special graffiti workshops.
Held during Downtown Ithaca Gallery Night, it offered a rare opportunity, thanks to Cornell University Library Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, to hear from Conzo and Paniccioli, with moderator Dr. Sean Eversley Bradwell, assistant professor, Center for the Study of Culture, Race and Ethnicity at Ithaca College, for a panel discussion. Special guests included Hip-Hop founder Afrika Bambaataa and pioneers such as Grandmaster Caz, JDL, Crazy Legs, Popmaster Fabel, Charlie Ahearn, Buddy Esquire and Mare139.
