Tuesday, 11 December 2012
The City of Edmonton…Keepin' it REAL!
Check out some of these
quotes about murals in our Capital in the North…
Edmonton's Official Standpoint:
Graffiti zones encourage the
development and recognition of the iconography, technique, and skill associated
with this medium for both the public and for graffiti artists, which results in
higher quality graffiti. While it is not expected that the graffiti zones will
eradicate illegal vandalism, it will provide a much needed safe place for
talented graffiti artists to practice legally and to encourage the public to
experience these open source murals as artworks with great value.
Exert from an Amazing Paper by a Director of Public Art....
Part of the subversive reputation of graffiti culture is the
idea that you can claim your city. This concept directly relates to modern art
movements that advocate that the city can be viewed as an outdoor gallery. And
that art should be for everyone, and should not be restrained to the
context and regulations of a
traditional white-cube art gallery exhibition space, which is usually considered
to be exclusive in terms of which artists are represented and how the artwork
is presented.
The McCauley Project:First Nations Represent!
Yet, these murals can have a
very positive effect when the values of the neighborhood are encapsulated by
the artwork. As seen in another image, the mural depicting Aboriginal ways of
life is left remarkably untagged. The piece shows dream catchers and tipis in
unison with the environment, as well as the familiar skyline of downtown
Edmonton depicted behind them. This creates a message that the Aboriginal
culture has largely, and positively influenced the city, and has helped make
Edmonton the city that it is today. The youth who may generally paint graffiti
as a form of reaction against their rejection by the middle class standards of
society now leave the pieces intact, with the only spray paint on them being
small signatures at the bottom of the wall, perhaps as an artist’s signature at
the corner of the canvas, or indeed, as a silent indicator of their approval.
Shaw Millenium
Shaw Millennium-A
Legal Wall Pilot program that went Sideways…
“ Over the course of two days, a pack of paint-wielding
hooligans attacked the blank canvas that was the spiral Landmark building at
Millennium Park, turning it into a masterpiece of mayhem and myopia. What
started as art ended up as a hideous eyesore. If it's a testament to the sheer
tenacity of the vandals with the cans of spray paint, it's a monument to the
blind stupidity of the grown-ups who left "young urban artists" alone
to decorate a public park. “
Micheal Platt, The
Calgary Sun
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The attempt to give
Calgary Youth a legal wall ended up with
Shaw millennium covered in hateful, angry youth art and with the cost to taxpayers estimated at $100 000 they
probably won’t be endorsing a legal wall for a while. I wasn't there so I don't really know why this "legal
wall" ended up becoming a fiasco, but it sounds like inexperience on the
part of the organizers, as well as a lack of awareness of the political culture
of youth in Calgary, and the implimentation of a "longterm" legal
graffiti management strategy.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thekidbelo/3854251922/
Back in the Day....
Legal Walls in
Calgary
When I was a teenager, around 2000-2004, there was a
"legal" tunnel at Barlow Maxbell. It was a sweet underpass, made of cement. There was always different individuals
and crews rocken' pieces, characters and productions.
Another area that was temporarily sanctioned was the
sandpits situated around the city.
They are weird hexagon shaped cement structures incased in wood
paneling, and the inside had graffiti pieces that ran all the way around the
parameter.
Both of these areas were self-governed. It was pretty theatrical at times,
because within the scene there is a hierarchy, based on experience, street
cred, and skills as well as rivalries between individuals and crews. In spite of all the drama, a sense of
community was build up over time between writers.
The walls were beautiful, interesting and ever
changing. They helped create
a sense of respectability for Calgary street art, a showcase legitimizing the
art form.
These sanctioned areas where a positive, because the artists
had time to contribute something meaningful to the community and do really good
pieces.
As far as I know, for political reasons, there are currently
no legal walls in Calgary, and that makes me sad, because a part of Calgary's
subculture has been whitewashed by conservative agendas.
Local Law/ The Canadian Constitution
Here's The Lowdown on Graffiti and the Law:
I personally think its unconstitutional to say that commissioned graffiti must be:
not in public view and the Person who owns or occupies the Premises, structure or other property to which the Graffiti has been created or applied has given prior written approval for the creation or application of the Graffiti.
The Canadian Charter of Rights Says We Have:
b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication.
PART 6 – GRAFFITI PREVENTION AND ABATEMENT
19. (1) For the purposes of this Part, “Graffiti” means words, figures, letters, drawings or stickers applied, scribbled, scratched, etched, sprayed or attached on or to the surface of any Premises, Structure, or other property.
(B/L 14M2009, 2009 April 06)
(B/L 52M2010, 2010 July 19)
(2) No person shall create or apply Graffiti on or to any
(a) Premises,
(b) Structure, or
(c) Other property which is owned or occupied by another Person
unless the Graffiti is not in public view and the Person who owns or occupies the Premises, structure or other property to which the Graffiti has been created or applied has given prior written approval for the creation or application of the Graffiti.
(B/L 52M2010, 2010 July 19)
(3) Every owner or occupier of a Premises shall ensure that Graffiti placed on their Premises is removed, painted over, or otherwise blocked from public view.
(B/L 52M2010, 2010 July 19)
(4) Subsections (2) and (3) do not apply to a sign, as defined in the Land Use Bylaw 1P2007, as amended, for which a development permit has been issued.
(B/L 14M2009, 2009 April 06)
(B/L 52M2010, 2010 July 19)
Canadian Charter of Rights:
FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS.
2. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms:
(a) freedom of conscience and religion;
(b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication;
(c) freedom of peaceful assembly; and
(d) freedom of association.
Interview with
Bylaw-Officer Porter
I asked the Bylaw officer about the wording of the bylaw
that I found questionable; he said "graffiti" murals don't have to be
out of public view as long as the property owner has granted permission.
I asked him about the content and media used in murals, and
if that could be censored, and he told me that all depended on "land use
bylaws" for the specific site. He said the "land use bylaw" is
over 5000 pages long.
So the bottom line from
their POV is….
-the City of Calgary does not think Graffiti is art...check out this harsh website...it even tells parents to narc on their artistic teenagers...
-However...If the building owner grants permission, it's probably ok.
-However...If the building owner grants permission, it's probably ok.
-Parks and Rec have tried legal walls and things have always
deteriorated to underage drinking, drug use and fights…
-The Bylaw officers and the Police say it costs them too
much money to regulate.
-The Shaw Millennium Fiasco cost Taxpayers 100's thousands
and Taxpayers complain.
I asked if it would
be possible to do a project like I did in Nanaimo, repaint an underpass and
a group of artists being accountable for the maintenance, and he said to get an
area zoned for art I would have to talk to "corporate properties" or
"roads."
-Without Parks and Rec, Bylaw, and City Politicians support,
I have the feeling I'd be up against a Brick wall with "corporate
properties" or "roads."
Does Anyone Else Care
Enough about this to work with me, and create opportunities and social change?
Antyx
Antyx is a community arts organization in Calgary, that focuses
primarily on theater and visual arts projects with youth. They have an excellent website that
describes their mission statement, community vision and core values, and
updates on current projects. http://www.antyx.org/
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| Me Rockin' a 4X8 |
Antyx has done 100’s of murals with youth all over the city, so
I decided to see if I could get involved in mural projects. I met Alan Horn, (position) and we
discussed opportunities for “graffiti” murals with youth, free walls etc. The meeting seemed promising, and I
looked forward to working as a “visiting artist” and doing a community mural in
Bowness with the youth at alternative school. I was asked if I would participate in a demo at the Bowness
community center, during a "hip-hop block party"which was pretty successful and well received by the
community.
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| Female MC's Rockin' the Mic |
Anyways, long story/short, I never got to do the community
project I was promised. There was
a lot of “problems” from the get go, trouble securing a permission wall and
getting started. The day of the
demo, I proposed an alternative wall, at the back of the Bowness Community
center, which was conditionally approved at the block party, by the local
alderman. At that point I
was really still really hyped about creating positive change in Calgary.
Unfortunately, the wall was owned by the city, and It took months for the wall to be approved. By this time the facilitators id been working with were no longer with antyx, and my role as a visiting artist disappeared.
This is when I started getting pretty upset with politics in
Calgary. If Antyx wasn’t fighting
for this cause, than it didn’t seem like anyone cared about channeling young
writers energy towards legal walls.
Finally in Oct, I did speak with the Director Richard Cambell,
to get some closure as well as some insight into their position on legal
graffiti in Calgary:
Here's a Brief Summary of our Conversation:
-I was concerned the Graffiti Bylaw in Calgary was causing youth murals using spraypaint to be deterred, and I asked him if he thought it was unconstitutional and if an organization like ANTYX would challenge the Bylaw.
-He said Bylaws are very carefully composed, take years to change, and me wanting to “fight’ the city on the bylaws wording might not be the best way for me to get to do “spraypainted” murals with youth. He believes the intent is to deter tags, vandalism and tags not necessarily censor public art. In addition, Antyx works with the city, they are not in the position to challenge bylaw, but rather work within the current framework.
However, we both agreed that as a consequence of the bylaw wording , the city may be able to exercise a lot of control over the content and media of murals, (ie censor public art).
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| Bowness Block Party |
Antyx: Funded by Calgary Arts Development,
Calgary After School, The Alberta Foundation for the Arts, The Calgary
Foundation, Family and Community Support Services, the United Way.
Thursday, 29 November 2012
Why legal Walls and Murals matter....
Before long I had met almost everyone in the scene, and
picked up a few tips along the way. I was painting characters and pieces, and I
found myself really liking painting at our “legal wall” a self governed tunnel
at Barlow Maxbell. I could
actually prove to my peers and myself that I had skills, and there was a pretty
slim chance of cops showing up. I
have warm memories of summer days, painting with whoever showed up and eying up
all the new pieces.
I am pretty
much self taught when it comes to spray painting, graffiti is a really male
dominated activity, and once I stated progressing, a lot of guys started hating
on me. Luckily there are some
pretty cool graffiti writers who aren’t insecure.
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| Dobek, Nanaimo, 2007 |
Nanaimo has had a few serious graffiti writers pass through, but for the most part, it’s a really young, under developed scene. My friend from junior high school, a writer named Dobek, got commissioned to paint some amazing spawning fish under a bridge along the sea wall. It was beautiful, up close the fish looked like abstract impressionist art, with bright colors skill fully layered, which created a parade of whimsical rainbow trout.Since Dobek had gotten his foot in the door, I followed up at the parks and rec office, asking if there where any more potential mural sites. Before long, Kirsty McDonald, an influential city planner, asked me to come up with a design for a tunnel along the E and A bike path and the rest is history. For the following couple years I followed up that mural, with two other massive projects.I gained business skills, friendships, a sense of community, but most importantly a sense of self worth and pride.
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| Dobek, Sea Wall, Nanaimo, 2006 |
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| Unity, Brooks Landing, Nanaimo, 2010 |
I shared my tunnels with any artists who wanted to help out and even mentored a few youth. For my last mural, an 80 ft long dragon, I got some homies from the soup kitchen to lend a hand. We all felt good about what we were doing and the community was really grateful and supportive. I made the front page of the newspaper and got to curate a youth art show. With these skills, and knowing first hand the transformative nature the murals had on myself and the community, (showing people that some graffiti artists are down with legal projects), I thought I could create positive change in Calgary, but I met a few brick walls.
This is why I’m creating this forum, to see if Calgarians of different backgrounds and ages are interested in working together to create avenues of change. My experiences in Nanaimo changed my life and gave me the sense of self worth and integration I was searching for, because they honored my unique skills, talent and vision. I believe that there are a lot of youth and people fromfragile situations that would benefit in partaking in community murals.
I believe all people need to be honored for their
contributions to the world around them, great and small. For people who don’t necessarily fit
into mainstream conventions city beautification is an excellent way to
contribute to society.
It's pretty sad when bylaws limit artistic freedom for youth
to the point of suffocation.
Instead of aspiring to paint beautiful murals, rebellious youth become
interested in vandalism, and the fact that there are no venues for positive
self expression only fuels there fire.
If society says, "fuck you" to graffiti artists, they are
gonna say "fuck you" back, and you got a six million dollar problem
on your hands.
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