Creation, in its most basic form, can be defined as “an original product of the mind.” It begins as an inkling of an idea. An individual, or group of individuals, then uses their physical and mental toolkit to bring it into existence, where it can be consumed by themselves and others.  

Dejouir Brown is an artist, graphic designer, muralist, and musician out of Pittsburgh, PA. In the first interview of the series, I had the chance to speak with him about his creative journey, his inspirations, his clothing brand, Peace of Mind, and how he sees the art world advancing in Pittsburgh.

I basically grew up an artist. My father was an artist, so that’s where all my inspiration came from. He did a big tapestry for my mother. But after that, he went to the military, so once I was born and my sisters were born, he didn’t have a lot of time to pursue the arts. I’d seen some of his sketchbooks and art books and wanted to just be like him, so that’s where it all began. And he basically lived through me as I pursued it.

It started in middle school with drawing and sketching and finding others that were interested in what I could do. Then I started getting recognized in high school because I was that kid who would draw people’s names for them and other random stuff in art class. My name is Dejouir, but my artist name is Jouirnoe. I got that name in high school because I ate a lot of pizza, so my name sounded like DiGiorno’s pizza. So it kind of stuck with me after that.

After that, I went to the Job Corps to learn a trade, and that’s when I really started honing in on my skills. There was a guidance counselor that saw some of my sketches. She blew them up and hung them around the lounge area where people would chill, play pool, and watch TV. That’s when people from all over — from Philadelphia and Baltimore — started to recognize my name.

After seeing how I could really produce at a larger scale, I started getting into murals and big paintings and stuff like that. And people became interested in seeing if I could make logos for them, so I got into doing graphic design. People had visions for what they wanted but couldn’t bring them to life, so I was the guy to build out their imagination into physical form.

So around 2015, I was just drawing and trying to come up with some ideas on an embodiment of a brand. Like when you see McDonald’s or Superman’s logo, you automatically know what it stands for, even though it’s really plain.

I’d always heard about this phrase “rest in peace,” but I wanted people to understand that we — specifically me as a black male being in the world, we’re stereotyped a lot. And we’re not looked at as being peaceful people. We’re looked at as being very aggravated and angry all the time. And I wanted to come up with something to change the narrative.

So after doing some research, I noticed that no one had ever really taken a skull and a peace sign and fused them together. And I came up with a couple of different sketches and they just hit. Then I found manufacturers and gave them my ideas, and they were able to replicate it and bring it to life.

Peace of Mind is a play on words. It’s a piece of mind and a piece of mine — a piece of who I am. So when I leave this earth, people that have this symbol or understand what I’m about will know that this was a piece of Dejouir. It also represents the peace and positivity I carry as I lived on this earth.

Music was always a big thing in my life. Like my father was really into music, and I’d see him making beats. Hip hop is now over 50 years old, but when computers became more available, I was seeing him playing around on Fruity Loops. And growing up, I’d always beatbox and freestyle with the homies and stuff like that.

But once I grabbed the iPad, it really gave me the capability of trying to make something different or trying to replicate a sound that I could hear. Some of my biggest influences were MF Doom, Jay Dilla, Madlib, and people of that nature, so I always wanted to try to replicate that type of engineering and sound … that hip hop essence and that jazz feel, you know? So a lot of my music started from just raw instruments and building sounds and trying to basically create what I can draw with music, if that makes any sense.

Yeah, so I was from a very dangerous neighborhood, and the people in that neighborhood knew my capabilities of drawing. They kind of kept me away from all the negativity, so I never really had to try to fit in or be something I wasn’t. At a very young age, I knew who I was as an artist, and that really helped me gain the confidence to be authentic.

Once I could see that my art was very influential and how it made me stand out, I just knew that I was here for a reason. And my art is here for a reason. What I do speaks to people in ways that I can’t even understand, but people feel it.

So I try to inspire others. I just kept pushing and pushing and doors opened. Different opportunities came to me and I just kept trying to knock them down and build my name.

I would say my artwork. When I draw, I’m escaping. I’m going into this realm of pure creation. They say we are as of God. And I feel that creating either with art, music, food, you’re giving your all and you’re putting it into this form. And you’re looking for others to understand what you created.

A lot of people would draw Goku and SpongeBob and stuff of that nature. And it’s like, that’s someone looking up to that person’s identity, that person’s style, even the Mickey Mouses and the Bugs Bunnies. So I wanted to make my own thing that people could really gravitate towards. And through the trials and errors of drawing and sketching, I was able to redefine my style and make it so iconic where you could see a piece from me and you’d be like, I know that’s from Dejouir. That’s one of my prized possessions.

I love my music, but that’s more therapeutic. That’s more just me just playing around with sounds and really just being experimental. But the art is really like what I’m pushing forward and what I really know is going to change the world eventually.

When I was really young, I would always look for validation from him. So I’d sketch up something, then I would run into the room and show him my book and he’d be like, “alright, you got it.”

His work was very two dimensional, like he couldn’t really see shadows and depth. But I was able to see high details and the shadows. I was able to really hone in on that capability and make things look like they’re coming out at you or like you can jump right into the painting. So there was this one time I brought him this page and he was just taken aback. And I remember him telling me, “ok, you surpassed where I was.”

People want to follow a path so much, but you need to know who you are as a person. I feel like art breaks that down to the rawest form. Even if you’re just building shapes or if you’re drawing a circle, you’re making something and you’re trusting in that process. So I believe that that process is something that you can use to learn who you are as a person.

Even something like journaling can help with this. My mom was a poet, and I attended poetry classes and learned the power of words. You can learn through cooking, fashion, and music too.
It’s all just the raw Play-Doh that can be molded into anything after you understand the basics, your why and how you want to be represented in the work that you’re producing, you know? I believe art is just the fundamentals of really understanding who you are as a person.

So I went to Art Basel in Miami around 2017. And then I went back in 2019 and 2020. Then I took trips to California, New York, places like that. And I noticed how much culture is embraced over there, and how artists are viewed, what they create, and how they come together and believe in each other and stand for each other.

And then I come back to Pittsburgh and I see that we kind of have that type of foundation, but it still needs a stronger structure because so many artists are spread out. And even in the black community, we have a couple of good prominent artists, but we still need that bond that shows what we can bring to the table. We need that solid culture in the city.

Like when you think of Pittsburgh, you think of the Steelers, the Penguins, the Pirates. You think of the Primanti brothers, the bridges and stuff like that. But it’s like, where is our culture? As people, as black men, as black women, and even outside of us, what can we do to really show our unique styles and culture? We just need a stronger essence of who we are as a community.

I feel like we need to connect with the youth and help them understand that art is therapeutic and you don’t need to try to prove yourself to anyone. We need more art classes and more after school classes that involve that type of creativity. Because that’s what I had when I was growing up being in a family full of creatives.

But going to school, we had football players and basketball players, but there wasn’t really a space to be creative, express yourself or cultivate any of that. If they can understand who they are as individuals, they can show that to the world.

I was asked to do a digital mural for the airport, so I’m working on some sketch work for that. We’re trying to show community, nature, and technology, and how all that correlates together through this mural … something for the onlookers that come from different cities to see and take in while they’re passing through the airport.

Other than that, I’m just striving for my own gallery show. I’m working on a whole bunch of signature pieces and stuff like that. So when I do have my debut show, people can see the different forms of how I was influenced by music, graffiti, streets, fashion, and high-end art.

I just want everybody to understand who you are, believe in yourself, strive to be the greatest person you can be every day you wake up. I know there’s a lot of negativity and obstacles placed in everybody’s path. Just try to push through. Just try to keep going. Know what you can bring to the table. I always tell people, you never know who you’re inspiring.

You could have some little cousins looking up to you, your little brother or little sister, or even your parents. They can be looking at what you did or how you made a change in this world. And I just want people to understand that ability. Even if you’re just in customer service and you’re just greeting people every day and you’re just making somebody have a better day, try to do that in the best way possible. Try to make somebody’s day better through that positivity and enlightenment, you know? And that’s it, man. Throughout all the hate and negativity, just stay positive.

You can find Jouirnoe at:

IG: @jouirnoe