“A city without graffiti is a city without soul” is how Didier “Jaba” Mathieu described graffiti.
To some, these words embody an effort to give a social facelift to our mundane lives in the grey dull streets that have come to dominate our cities. For others, the very mention of graffiti signifies opening the door to crime and deviance.
In Denver, and especially in the areas surrounding DU, bearing witness to graffiti and other forms of street art is rare.
Forms of street art are rare. Of course, areas like RiNo act as an oasis for murals and creative expression. But in a city like Denver where “copy and pasted” modern homes and offices have seemingly sprung up on every corner, the bright, bold and colorfulness that street art brings into our lives is missing.
This is not to say we must erect a brand new mind bending statue on every city block, nor am I proposing someone paints on every blank wall in the city. Rather, I am suggesting Denver takes inspiration from cities such as Barcelona where street art is rallied around as a unifier that displays local culture.
The significance of street art is already on display in select parts of Denver. Take an organization like the the Gang Rescue and Support Project (GRASP) provides intervention services to youth at risk of gang violence by utilizing mediums such as murals to divert youth away from gang culture.
In 2010, GRASP collaborated with two artists to paint a mural in the Lincoln Park neighborhood alongside several young community members who contributed to the project.
I had the pleasure of interviewing one of the artists, Johnny Santos, who commented on the importance of these initiatives. He noted the ability of murals to unify and “even clean up a community,” embellishing a formerly dilapidated space giving it significance to the area.
By no means is this the end all be all. However, this mural gave Lincoln Park a new communal area that it was previously lacking, and illustrated to the youth within the community the significance of art. Hopefully this serves as a sign of what is to come in areas around Denver.
However, graffiti has always had its detractors with many viewing graffiti as a predecessor to crime. However, Santos has an alternative view. He described graffiti as a refuge for himself and others in lower-income neighborhoods where gangs have a strangle hold on the social fabric of communities.
Santos stressed “they’re normal kids. It’s just that their bags are filled with paint, not books” and instead of turning to gangs as a way out of their tumultuous neighborhood, they turn to art.
Many of these sentiments were echoed by another Denver based artist, Delton Demarest. He touted street art for its ability to “beautify” a community or city.
According to Demarest, graffiti and graffiti artists are driven by the want to gain recognition. They use it as a medium to advertise themselves, and considering the modern perception of graffiti originated from a young man trying to get his crush’s attention, this appears to be self-evident.
Yet graffiti has morphed into an artistic medium that entails so much more. Demarest spoke on the use of graffiti as a form of self expression, political commentary and even as a universal language.
For Demarest, graffiti and especially graffiti in Denver holds the power to bring beauty to a community. He called art a “healing process” for the individuals and communities involved. Giving people the stage to fight back against the issues of society in a positive way.
Unfortunately, the landscape of graffiti in the United States includes some harsh truths. There are some individuals who treat graffiti as a kind of turf war, even turning to violence when they feel they have been disrespected by another member of the graffiti community.
Demarest commented on this reality, stating that even for those who stay away from this side of the graffiti world, “you can be a practitioner but you’re still a part of the politics.”
It’s the harsh truth, but there is a way out, and utilizing graffiti as a tool to unify is the key. Fortunately, it’s not hard to find evidence of this in the real world.
Cities like Barcelona symbolize a large-scale acceptance of street art as a harmonizing force in communities. While graffiti is not fully legal in these cities, there is a greater amount of tolerance. Tolerance, that has paid dividends, giving cities an identity and even attracting tourists.
Zel, a street artist based in Barcelona commented on the state of street art in the city, reflecting on the roots of graffiti, calling it “the most authentic form of artwork” due to the ability to trace the origin of graffiti back to stone age cave art.
For Zel, graffiti symbolizes togetherness and a “refresh” that puts an end to the monotone nature of modern cities, breathing life into spaces that would otherwise remain empty and lifeless.
Barcelona and its residents have embraced the cultural significance of street art. In tandem with sculptures and architecture, the city has fostered a society in which art is at its heart, turning its back on the barren streets that have become all too common stateside.
Barcelona is not alone. Berlin and New York are other examples where graffiti and street art serve as a way to unify the city. For these cities, graffiti and street art is used more broadly as an artistic medium that embodies the statue of nature in which it’s located, bringing to life social, political and cultural messages that otherwise remain ideas and never materialize.
In Denver, street art has grown but has yet to have its time in the spotlight. Instead, residents are accustomed to dull, colorless cityscapes that hardly communicate any sort of identity.
Colorado is a beautiful state, filled with picturesque views of the mountains and nature. It’s time our cities catch up. Street art can do just that, bringing life back into the streets.
