For ‘Kasso’, it’s from Trenton to Vermont, with love - and beer
If there’s a godfather of the now-thriving Trenton arts scene, it has to be Will “Kasso” Condry. The guy was a founder of the SAGE Coalition, and his artwork - from graffiti to murals to everything in-between - have been Trenton touchstones for years.
Also no stranger to controversy, Condry saw his 2014 mural - “Sagging Pants is Not Probable Cause,” noting the death of Michael Brown of Ferguson, Missouri painted over in Trenton after complaints by the police to city hall. Of course, like most artists, Condry was ahead of his time on that score.
These days, you won’t find Condry in the city where he was born and raised; in 2017, he moved to Vermont. Not exactly the first place one might think of when one thinks of street-inspired art. But it’s working out exceedingly well for the artist. Mentoring students and occasionally teaching courses at Middlebury College, happily married, earning a living with his art, it’s safe to say Condry is living the dream.
“I got tired of the politics, got tired of the sideways corruption, and, honestly, I wasn’t making any money in Trenton,” he said. “It was hard to be inspirational when you can’t pay your bills. So I took inventory of what I had, and I was dating someone - now my wife - in Vermont. I guess the laws of attraction led me here. I didn’t think I’d thrive here, in really one of the whitest places in the county - I mean, I’m a Black dude with a strong Black aesthetic. But it’s worked. It’s been great. Vermont was not what I thought … in 2016, I was seeing tons of ‘Black Lives Matter’ signs on white people’s front lawns. It’s very progressive and liberal, open to new and radical ideas. I was a super radical in Trenton, and I fit in just fine here.”
OK. So Condry made it happen for himself, able to earn a living, produce art, have a happy life. Happy ending, right?
Sure. But now, for the first time, Condry has bridged the divide between his adopted home and his old stomping grounds. How? Via a beer bottle, of course.
Welcome to Trenton Makes, a brew dreamed up and bottled by Upper Pass Brewing Company and Good Measure Brewing Company, two Vermont breweries, each with a coowner originally from Trenton (Chris Perry and Scott Kerner). They got together to make Trenton Makes, an homage to pink Champale, a cross between “a farmhouse ale, a red wine, a sour ale and an IPA.”
A beer like this needed that final Jersey touch.
Enter Condry, who was hired to design the label. And it’s a doozy.
“The idea was to have the Trenton Makes bridge surrounded by the Green Mountains of Vermont,” he said.
It became a lot more. It became an elegy of sorts for the people who were instrumental to Condry who had recently passed away, it became a love letter to his wife and daughters, it became … well, I’ll pull from Condry’s Facebook page here for some brief descriptions … “the guy in the kayak with the guitar. That’s my good friend Benjamin Porawski who passed away the spring of 2019. Benny P was a musician and a huge influence within the Trenton Arts Community. He was also a big supporter of mine; a real genuine and caring dude … The tag on the bridge that says PRO is a shout out to another friend that passed away, Steve Proze Zahirny. PRO was the graffiti king of Trenton. He had tags everywhere around the city. He was also was one of the co founders of “Vicious Styles Crew”. He died the summer of 2019 … the person next to the red chair is my friend and emcee Johnathan Roebus Watson, who passed away as I was working on the label at the top of 2020 … the two people on the floating tubes are my daughters, Sierra Condry and Alexa Herrera Condry. The bear with the crown is me, people been calling me the “Art Bear” forever, so I thought I’d play off that... ‘Ollie the camel’ who was a Vermont roadside attraction, also makes an appearance as well as a cow riding a tall bike. The tall bike is a tip of the hat to my friend, Wills Kins, who rejuvenated bike culture in Trenton and still plays a heavy role within the local art scene … the woman in the head wrap and gown is my wife, Jennifer Herrera Condry. She’s standing next to a caldron casting spells of abundance and good fortune … the little white dog next to her is our late pooch, Poppy, who passed away over the summer of 2019. .. the pork roll sun is self explanatory …
And so on.
“I wanted to use the label as an homage to not only pink Champale, but also as an homage to people who were instrumental to me, people who are all a part of my narrative as an artist and professional,” Condry said.
Mission accomplished. A gorgeous piece of art, and a beer that’s … well, I haven’t tried it yet - it’s only available in Vermont - but you can take a road trip and report back to me. Gas up!