Published Monday, March 17, 2004
Caleb Makes a Name for Himself
By Julia Laughlin
APPIAN STAFF WRITER

Have you ever thought that your name didn’t suit you? Well, Caleb Neelon has taken the idea of nicknames to a whole new level.

Neelon is a 27 year-old Ed.M. candidate in the Arts in Education program—and so much more.

He recently published his first children’s book, Lilman Makes a Name for Himself (Cantab Publishing), in which a little blue creature (which Caleb has been doodling since age six) thinks that his name, Lilman, “doesn’t seem to be himself and who he is.” Lilman decides to build his name out of wood and personalize it with all of his favorite things-- like feathers, stripes, beans-- thereby “making a name for himself.”

This book is permeated with color, much like the author’s life. (You can check out an excerpt on Caleb’s website: www.theartwheredreamscometrue.com).

Besides being a writer and illustrator, Caleb is first and foremost a graffiti artist-- and has been since he was a teenager. He describes graffiti as an art in which one customizes letters, and with repetition, these letters take on meaning.

Caleb’s graffiti “code name” is SONIK, which, like Lilman, he has customized, and therefore infused with meaning. Caleb explains that whereas most of us are given names at birth that are relatively arbitrary to us, choosing a nickname is a way to take ownership of one’s identity.

Neelon has painted walls around the globe—from Australia to Sao Paulo (you can see some of these works on his website).

But Caleb is most proud of the layer of paint he left several years ago on a chunk of the remaining Berlin Wall (now painted over by hundreds of other artists, making the remainders of the wall a tribute to graffiti art). This trip was particularly special to Caleb because of a trip he had taken there at age thirteen; the second time, he left a piece of himself there.

What else does Caleb spend his time doing? He has created over 600 colorful and often humorous “street signs,” which can be spotted about town, spicing up stop signs, t-signs, and other mundane signage (until someone takes them down). The goal of these small pieces of art? “To make people smile,” and add some color to the neighborhood.

Neelon also creates bold, unique studio art, which he sells on his website.

During his years as a Brown University undergraduate majoring in Comparative Literature, Neelon published articles about graffiti art and took photos, which he views as “lasting versions of ephemeral art.”
Neelon came to HGSE in part because he believes one should be public about what one does. He also hopes to learn how to “create a seamless integration of artist, teacher, and publisher,” which through his children’s book, his street art, and his education training, he certainly seems to be accomplishing.

Julia Laughlin, an Ed.M. candidate in the Specialized program, is a member of the Appian Board of Editors.