Alum Brings Street Art to Campus

The latest artwork taking shape on Onondaga Community College's campus doesn't look like typical college decor. Bold, twisted letters spell out "LAZERS" in vivid shades of blue and black in pure graffiti style. It's the work of Brandon Lazore, a 2014 OCC graduate who's been blending traditional graffiti with his Onondaga Nation heritage for years. "My style is traditional graffiti, traditional Haudenosaunee art, plus all the graffiti stuff I've learned," he explained while adding details to the mural.

For Lazore, a member of the Onondaga Nation's Snipe Clan, graffiti has been a language he's spoken since the early '90s. Growing up in Syracuse's Hawley-Green neighborhood, he saw graffiti everywhere—on walls, trains, underpasses. It shaped how he saw art. "I've been drawing graffiti letters for years. Many nights are spent sitting up, drawing in books, all different letters and names and words. You get used to doing different styles." The Lazers logo could have been rendered three or four different ways, he says, but he kept it simple. "Just twisted letters, so people could still read it."

Lazore's path to becoming a full-time artist wasn't direct. After high school, he worked as a civil engineer and left the Syracuse area. A decade later, he returned with a goal to prove to himself that he could go back to school at an older age and accomplish something. He enrolled at OCC to pursue an Art degree. "I had heard so many great things about OCC, and that's why I came here. I had a great time and had an awesome experience," he says. He graduated magna cum laude in 2014, then worked as a carpenter while honing his art skills in his free time. Eventually, his art business grew enough to support him full-time.

Now, Lazore's work is scattered across the OCC campus. There's a portrait in the Indigenous Student Center in Mawhinney Hall, a bench between the flagpoles on the quad, paintings and drawings in the Ann Felton Multicultural Center, and now the Lazers mural. "I'm so thankful for everything I've done with OCC this year. I'm proud to be a graduate," he says. Earlier this semester, he was recognized as a distinguished Alumni Faces honoree.

The new mural sits in a highly visible spot in the Gordon Student Center, greeting all with something which may be unexpected. "I like it. I feel it's good. I'm glad I kept the palette simple and used the colors of the school. The location is great too. It gives newcomers to OCC a little bit of a different look!"

For Lazore, giving back to OCC through his art is about more than gratitude—it's about inspiration. "It makes me feel great to see my work here. I want students to know I was able to make a career out of my OCC education, and they can too."

The mural was painted in connection with the National Native American Heritage Month celebration on the OCC campus. Future events include:

• November 10 at 12pm  in Storer Auditorium - Sacred Waters presentation by Betty Lyons, Executive Director of the American Indian Law Alliance.

• November 20 at 11am - Walk which begins at the Gordon Student Center.

• November 20 at 12pm - Native Fashion Show, location TBD.

• November 24 from 10am to 3pm in the Gordon Student Center - Haudenosaunee Craft Fair.

• November 24 from 11:30am to 1:30pm in the Gordon Student Center - Jeremy Thompson & Brooke Rice presentation on Haudenosaunee Culture.