Adopt 6 - Never Forget

There's a graffiti artist from the Newark New Jersey area who's been living among very few others in my personal hall of fame for many years now. His name is ADOPT-6, and after learning recently of his too-early transition to the spirit world, I wanted to grab a few images from the interweb, for posterity. I also wanted to confirm a suspicion I had about the origins of his name. 

Names in graffiti have a pretty loose convention. You can name yourself just about anything, as long as it's not your own name, of course, because that wouldn't make much sense. You can name yourself someone else's name, whether they're famous or not. You can name yourself after a movie or a band or a brand of pickup truck if you want. Just about anything. You can name yourself a bunch of random letters, or letters and numbers, or just numbers. Non-alphanumeric characters even. You can even name yourself a picture like a cartoon character of a duck or a flower or a purple taco (another favorite). 

Now that we know how loose naming can be, let's see some of the trends. Numbers take two forms - you're either a "1" like Best One, Craze One, or Faze One, to distinguish yourself from the others who came after you yet insist on using the same name (COPE 2 is an exception). The other way you see numbers are simply your address, so TAKI 183 is from 183rd Street. That's pretty much it. You don't see numbers show up in other ways, unless of course they're already a name in itself, like AK-47 or B-52.  

ADOPT-6 is already different then. But there's more, and this is the more important part. Most names are not commands. This one eludes me a bit. You don't really see verbs in the present sense. Instead it's BOMBED or BLASTED. Maybe a verb that points to the person doing the action, like ... But you don't see direct commands to action, like Observe or Defy or Contain or Purge, Infect, Defect, Evolve, Destroy. Maybe DESTRUKT but not DESTROY. (STAY HIGH 149 is an exception, and a legend, as is REVOLT.) 

You may have some counter examples in your own neighborhood, but they're not common, and I'm not sure why, but I have a guess. Names are to tell people who you are. Master Blaster. King of Tramps. But this is why when I first started seeing ADOPT 6, I was stammered. I'll even admit, I called him a hero.

Not only is his name not a name, it's a command; not only is his name telling me what to do instead of telling me who he is, he's telling me to ADOPT FUCKING CHILDREN. And not only is he telling me to adopt fucking children, he's telling me how many. And it's six. SIX FUCKING KIDS. 

Graffiti artists don't do this, and at this point I'm not sure why (although I just explained why like two paragraphs ago). Graffiti has evolved to be more than just a territory-marking behavior. It's a full-fledged, full-grown art form, prompting social transformation and bending cultural identity. It's also a form of protest, and if nothing else, protest is meant to provoke. It's meant to elicit a response, to trigger an action.

You can't tell me that writing on someone else's property isn't a form of protest, even if that's not what you meant by it. So if we're protesting, why aren't we telling people to do things. Just writing your name is so - passive. I think ADOPT 6 was ahead of his time, and I think he deserves some recognition. 

Post Script Number One, On Adoptables:

The word "adoptables" is used in an underground art world of what could be called amateur designers who offer their artwork for use by others, not as a sale or a commission or a license, but by "adopting". Not sure what this really means or how it differs from more conventionally termed ways of transferring ownership, but you will see the phrase "Adopt 6" written above a series of 6 drawings 'up for adoption' by an artist. You might then also see "adopt my drawings" or "adopt 3" or simply "adopt". In the hyperintersectional and wholly non-deterministic world of art, one could imagine a yet-nameless graffiti artist who is also familiar with this "adopting" phenomenon, or who just likes to scroll Deviant Art and saw this as a headline one day, and stream-of-consciousness-ed it into his name. None of this changes the overall effect of his name or its status. 

Post Script Number Two, On Doing Your Own Research:

Please stop using AI summaries to get information; not only is it making you stupid, it's making you look stupid to other people - In response to my prompt, simply "Adopt 6", the AI summary reads, "Adopt 6" is a term used to describe when a family adopts six siblings from foster care. There are multiple stories of families adopting six siblings from foster care, including a couple from Pennsylvania, a couple from Florida, and a couple from ... ". If someone else knew the truth, and they heard you say this, they would think you're an idiot. But you wouldn't know. Now you know. Be careful out there.