Become a Member
|
Things To Do
|
Read our Latest Issue
|
Log In Sign Up
  • Play

    Play

    • O Captain, My Captain: Washington Spirit’s Andi Sullivan
    • You Spin Me Right Round: D.C. Roller Skating 101 in 2021
    • Leading the League: The WNBA’s Natasha Cloud on Breaking Barriers + Inspiring D.C.
    • Spring Has Sprung: 10 Ways To Get Outside in the DMV
    • High and Go Seek Illustration
    • A Beginner’s Guide to Soccer
    • Radar: To Do in D.C. 4.7-4.11
  • Life

    Life

    • Local Entrepreneurs Infuse CBD into Wellness
    • The District Derp Story
    • 19 Entrepreneurs Shaping D.C.’s Cannabis + CBD Industries
    • Upcycling in D.C.: Transforming a Culture of Consumption
    • Your Spring 2021 Cannabis Guide
    • Julie Verratti of Denizens Brewing Co. Is Ready to Get the ’20s Roaring
    • Black Girl Ventures’ Shelly Bell Resists Being Average
  • Eat

    Eat

    • The State of Takeout in the District
    • A New Twist on Food Delivery: MisenBox
    • Next-Level Home Dining Experiences in D.C.
    • Foxtrot Market Is Officially Open for Business in Georgetown
    • Hungry Harvest Helps to End Food Insecurity
    • Eat Your Greens: D.C. Chefs Elevate More Than Taste Buds
    • Notable Summer Bar + Restaurant Reopenings to Try this Spring
  • Drink

    Drink

    • Pandemic Drinking: Derek Brown Leads the Way to Low-ABV Future
    • D.C.’s St. Vincent Wine Creates Covid-Conscious Experience
    • A New Way to Binge: Sobriety Anchors Business + Being for Gigi Arandid
    • King’s Ransom + The Handover in Alexandria Celebrate a First Year Like No Other
    • Espita Team Opens Las Gemelas Restaurants in Union Market District
    • Open-Air Drinking + Cocktail Delivery Changes in the DMV
    • Denizens Brewing Co.’s Emily Bruno: Brewing Change for Community + Industry
  • Culture

    Culture

    • The Artistry Behind D.C.’s Cannabis Culture
    • The Best Movies of 2021…So Far
    • The Survival of the Brutalist: D.C.’s Complicated Concrete Legacy
    • Plain Sight: A Street-Front Revolution in Radical Arts Accessibility
    • A Touch of Danger in Shakespeare Theatre Company’s “Romeo & Juliet”
    • Round House Theatre’s “A Boy and His Soul” Delivers Laughs + Tears
    • Transformer Presents “Unrestricted Heritage” by D.C. Artist Absurdly Well
  • Music

    Music

    • SHAED Releases First Full-Length Album in a “High Dive” of Faith
    • Emma G Talks Wammie Nominations and the D.C. Music Community
    • J’Nai Bridges: A Modern Mezzo-Soprano in a Changing Opera Landscape
    • Punk Legends The Go-Go’s Talk Four Decades of Sisterhood, Resilience + Zero Fucks Given
    • Ellen Reid “Soundwalk:” Exploring the Sonic Landscape at Wolf Trap National Park
    • Obama + Springsteen Present “Renegades”
    • Christian Douglas Uses His “Inside Voice” on Pandemic-Inspired Debut Album
  • Events

    Events

    • Play Week 4.17-4.25
    • Rock Paper Plant Virtual Crafting Session
    • NMWA Free Community Day
    • Browse Events
    • Bingo Night at Ballston Quarter 4.14
    • National Cannabis Festival’s Dazed & Amused Drive-In Party
    • Cherry Blossom Market 4.11
  • Log In
    Sign Up

Log In Sign Up
SHAED Releases First Full-Length Album in a “High Dive” of Faith
O Captain, My Captain: Washington Spirit’s Andi Sullivan
Julie Verratti of Denizens Brewing Co. Is Ready to Get the ’20s Roaring
Local Entrepreneurs Infuse CBD into Wellness
Wines of the World Are Just Around the Corner
Upcycling in D.C.: Transforming a Culture of Consumption
Home » Articles » Culture » Culture of Style: Maps Glover

Culture

Maps Glover

Culture of Style: Maps Glover

Share:

July 10, 2020 @ 10:00am | Lani Furbank

One look at Charles County native Maps Glover, and you can tell he’s a creator. He’s typically wearing an original piece of art, like the hand-painted jacket, pants and shoes that grace the cover of this issue. As a painter, illustrator and performer, Glover views his personal style as yet another medium to express his ideas.

“It’s a protest,” he says. “It’s a response to the world. It’s definitely a response to the box Black folks are put into when it comes to their fashion.”

Glover remembers being told how he should and shouldn’t dress by everyone from his employers at art institutions to his own parents.

“Even my parents at times would tell me I wouldn’t be able to get to certain levels of success because of the way that I dressed.”

Now, through his performance art and his everyday style, he’s turning heads in a positive way. Over time, his mom has come to appreciate his stylistic vision.

“There was one time in high school [when I wore] some basketball shorts over top of some long johns.”

His mom’s response?

“She looked at me like I was crazy. Like, ‘Why the hell would you wear that to school? That’s insane.’ Ten years later, Kanye comes out with the shorts over the joggers. So, my mom literally called me and apologized. She was like, ‘I didn’t realize that you were ahead of the fashion curve.’”

His self-embellished garments often come about because of one of the occupational hazards of being a painter.

“As soon as I would paint, it would get on my clothes,” he says. “What am I going to do now? The paint is already there.”

It’s also a way to upcycle tired pieces.

“I like to take clothes that I’ve worn for a while, and after they’ve gotten to a point of like, I either throw this away or I revamp it, [I ask myself], ‘How do I bring this back to life?’ And so, I’ll paint on it.”

Many of the expressive outfits Glover wears have also been used as costumes for performances. The pants pictured here, with a piece of computer hardware sewn into them, were originally created for his performance at the Superfine! Art Fair.

“I had a mask on and wires all over my body,” Glover explains. “People could only talk to me through social media, but I was physically there walking around with a sign that said ‘Follow me.’”

The jacket is his answer to the times we’re living in.

“I feel like we’re literally in flux, and this feels like a battle cry in a way. This feels like I’ve been through it, but somehow it’s dystopian.”

The back of the jacket reads “Protect Black Women,” a statement reflective of Glover’s concern that Black women have not been protected enough in society.

“It just brings me so much anger and also sadness. I just wanted to bring that to light in the fashion.”

Issues of social justice and racial equity are now at the forefront of public discourse, but Glover has been working in this realm for much longer.

“I’ve been creating work that responds to police brutality for the last five years,” he says. “It feels like, ‘Oh my God, you’re finally listening to me.’”

One of his most powerful performances last year was a protest and tribute to those who lost their lives at the hands of law enforcement.

“I documented all the people – Black, white, Hispanic, men, women – who have been killed by police brutality, and throughout the year, I was jumping in honor of those people.”

He jumped for each of the hundreds of deaths, and fellow artist Timoteo Murphy photographed him at the peak of the jumps.

“It was really like their spirits are levitating out of their bodies,” Glover says.

His work is also centered on the idea of freedom and the internal dialogues that he has as a Black man.

“It’s a lot about identity. It’s a lot about freedom and wanting to express the truest nature of myself and of people who experience life in a similar way that I do, whether it be people who have an awesome relationship with their mom [or] people who love eating crabs on Sundays – just the range of it all.”

Whether he’s drawing, painting or performing, he sees boundless worth in the act of creating.

“Creativity is probably one of the most undervalued skill sets in this country. It is the ability to make something that was invisible visible. It’s the opportunity to turn a light on for someone in a way that [they were] never able to see or hear or absorb.”

In its truest sense, he views creativity as a tool to bring people together.

“Creativity is the key to innovation. It’s the key to our evolution. It’s the key to us really seeing each other and uniting as people.”

Learn more about Glover and follow his work at www.mapsglover.com or @mapsglover on Instagram.

Enjoy this piece? Consider becoming a member for access to our premium digital content and to get a monthly print edition delivered to your door. Support local journalism and start your membership today.

Share:

Related Articles

No Articles

Drink NOPE
Corona, Constellation Brands Ad to Support Small Businesses
Hungry Harvest
Mighty Movement Ad
COMPANY
About United Fray Team Hiring: Join Our Team!
GET INVOLVED
Become A Member Corporate Wellness Advertise
EXPLORE
Eat Drink Music Culture Life Play Past Issues Events Calendar
OUR CITIES
Washington D.C. Jacksonville Phoenix
Subscribe

By clicking submit, you agree to receive emails from District Fray and accept our web terms of use and privacy and cookie policy.

© 2021 District Fray.

Enjoying Our Article?

Thanks for reading District Fray Magazine. We’re glad you’re here!

Access even more premium articles when you claim your free membership.

Activate My Free Membership