The Gift of Gab
A tall man with locs and a relaxed gait approached us as he crossed Broad. With a slight smile on his face he told us how much he enjoyed watching people stop at this piece. He soon introduced himself as its creator, Trebor Adams.
Trebor (robertbackwards on Instagram) is a Philadelphia based artist that creates installments, with the largest being this large translucent home in front of The Village of Industry and Art. This piece was part of “The Architecture of Us”, an exhibit about Philadelphia’s housing shortage. The structure is striking not just for its color but also how dissonant its form is in relation to the rest of the buildings down Broad street. While the red is bold enough to draw attention, upon moving closer you peer through the windows to see an empty skeleton of a home. Luther Vandross came to mind as I asked myself whether this house could truly be called a home if it only preserved the exterior structure of one, but none of the comforting features.
The serendipitous moment of meeting Trebor in the wild arrived with these thoughts in mind, so of course I had to ask him for an interview. We set up another time to meet and talk about this piece and his artistry. Here I learned more about Trebor’s background, his vision as an artist, and the Art of Gab that he inherited. You can find the full interview below:
UndercoverBrother
Can you tell us who you are first?
Trebor
My name is Trebor Adams from West Philly. Trebor is Robert backwards. So my dad name is Robert. My older brother is Robert Junior. And then I'm Robert Backwards.
UndercoverBrother
Long line of Roberts. Is Trebor your legit name?
Trebor
My real name. Yeah my friends call me “Bor”, so that’s “Rob” Backwards.
UndercoverBrother
Why are you so comfortable with people? Why is it that you had such an easy time speaking to me when I came up to the piece, speaking to the lady that just walked by? Is it easy for you? It looks easy.
Trebor
It is easy for me and not like in a cocky way, but I do feel comfortable with people. But where it all comes from, I grew up in a barbershop. My dad was a barber and my dad was like one of them people that they would say has “The Gift for Gab”. So I think I've seen it so much that within my subconscious I became confident. And then my life before being here (like working on these projects and working for DesignPhilly), I had a streetwear brand. Long story short, I was more of the dot connector. So a lot of the marketing and the brand partnerships and relationships was through me just connecting with people. My friends during that time used to call me Bor-ganic because it was so organic. I'll meet somebody at a party that could be, I don't know, an executive or, you know, somebody in the music industry, a manager or some power player of some sorts that was operating in the cultural realm that we lived in. We talk, laugh, drink, whatever, exchange contacts, and I damn near get a deal done in the party. You know what I'm saying? So it was like, how you keep doing it? I was consistently doing it though
[The two of us pause to move inside the red crystal home Trebor built]
UndercoverBrother
You seem to be somebody that cares a lot about form, function, color. I saw the maracas that you’ve been making. [And] the salt shakers. You’re into fashion. But even where we're standing right now, surrounded by four walls. Red, translucent walls of a home. This is shape and structure. What is it that draws you to these things? What do you see when you see the world?
I see art everywhere for sure. I understand people watchers at this point in my life because sometimes I really get a lot out of just doing it, like sitting and watching people interact in the wild and just be themselves and see all the characters. I look at life as a movie at times when I'm seeing people interact, whether it's positive or negative.
So I get a lot of inspiration from the world and I kind of see it as, I guess saying the playground is pretty cliche. Especially as I'm older, I know one day I'll make films and do stuff like that, you know, when the timing is right. So I'm always keeping my eyes open to even be inspired or to “see the movie” per se
UndercoverBrother
We see the shape of the memory, and sometimes some colors and visuals leap out at us. Smells. What is the most important thing of a memory to you?
Trebor
Probably how it made me feel.
It's all about the feeling. And what they say? Hindsight is like 2020? So then when you look back on things, it's like, damn, that was so cool or that was actually so important in the moment. Might not seem that way or you might not have felt it until the time had passed and it's like, dang, I can't really get that time back.
And that's not even a negative. The recall of it is kind of like a special thing in itself. But for me, it's all about feeling. I think like me as an artist and probably many other artists can agree. Everything is about feeling for me.
Like with songs sometimes I feel it before I hear it, you know? How do it make me feel? Do it bring something out of me? If a song really don't move me, I might not even get to the lyrics. Same thing with a painting. If I’m not stricken by it. I probably don't like it.
UndercoverBrother
How does this piece make you feel?
Trebor
It’s very surreal. I think it's a feeling that I haven't really came to grips with just yet. I'm still in it and trying to explore, just getting people to know that I did it, you know.
UndercoverBrother
You're literally in it. Like we're sitting inside of it. You’re straight up in it.
Trebor
Yes, it's here. It's real. I think when I seen it going up - the first piece. I got a picture of it. The first piece got on the frame that really was touching. I was like, oh, my God, this is real. Like, I knew it was real. We was doing it. But I think I've trained myself to not get too excited about things. It really got to like hit, you know, for me to fully feel it because I don't want to get too excited and it don't happen or this and that.
I think it's going to hit me for sure. I am very, very proud and excited. That's why everybody I meet, I tell them, Yo, that's what I did. Look at this. Go check it out. I meet random people in town, go check it out. I got this building I designed. They might not even know my name, but they like, “Oh, I met this guy. He told me go check out this building”.
And that's been my thing over the past two weeks or so. Just sharing it. So I am truly proud and thankful. Because, honestly, probably a year ago, I didn't really think something like this would happen. I did believe in myself that I could do it, which made me start taking classes at CCP. I took, you know, one architecture class, two art classes, like some super freshmen. But being in DesignPhilly, going to the events, seeing all the projects. I just felt like I could do it. I knew I could do it. I was going to tell all them events and I was getting super inspired. And I'm like, “I could do this shit bro”.
For anybody that's reading or listening, just try, show up. You know, believe in yourself. You could conjure some things up, you know. You could manifest. But you have to have that will, that passion.
I wanted to ask you something. What happens when we're finally free?
Trebor
You get into a box again.
UndercoverBrother
Could you elaborate on what that box looks like? Feels like?
Trebor
I really tapped into it when I was in Germany and I did this project called “Free at Last”, so it's interesting that you said that. I think the box is more of a cocoon. Of sorts. It's kind of hard because it's very…theoretical in a sense.
When I was in Germany they gave us all these themes and different things for what our art project could be. And I made all these different ideas that was trying to fit into the theme, and I didn’t really love anything. And then when I finally started just scribbling into my sketchbook. I felt like I had a breakthrough. I'm like, this is it. I like this more than everything that was, you know, conceptually fitting the themes.
From there I started writing all the thoughts and feelings that I was having being frustrated during that process of trying to come up with an idea. And I felt more free. I was like, yo, this is what I'm going to do because it's the most true expression of myself in the moment. And that was me freeing myself from the box of what people want you to do.
All the themes were a path I didn’t carve for myself, so it was hard for me to love it. So once I broke out of the box there, it was more just about like fitting into what somebody wanted me to do or a direction that people wanted me to go.
And it's kind of same in life too. Like [before] I was doing my job, and I was creative, but there at the time I was in a box. You are this job. You are this role. When that wasn't really true. Until I freed myself. It was always going to be people trying to put you in a box, or judge you, or have opinions, or the box could just be the challenge in itself - whatever that is in your life. Or whatever project your working on.
Just freeing yourself from all these situations of frustration or misunderstanding. I was just looking at something online that was just basically saying, “It don’t really matter where you at, stay focused on where you’re going”. Don’t let your current situation dictate your life because all that is temporary.
So even your current situation could be a box that you could be free from.