MuralsDC is HOT

The national movement to Beautify and Unify our neighborhoods is underway in cities large and small across America. Check out the MuralsDC project. They have been replacing illegal graffiti with beautiful murals.

They write "The goal of this initiative is to positively engage the District’s youth by teaching proper art techniques, providing supplies, and a legal means to practice and perform their skill in a way that promotes respect for public and private property and community awareness. Site selection is based on areas of the District with high incidence of illegal graffiti as identified by the Department of Public Works (DPW) and other agencies. Each mural reflects the character, culture and history of the neighborhoods in the District and interests from the business/residence owners."

The MuralsDC project is a partnership between DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, DC Department of Public Works, and the DC City Council’s Committee on Public Works


Looking at the murals that are being created, these images have a fresh inspiring feeling to them. It's great to see our nation's capital reflecting the creative genius of generation Yes.

Graffiti Controversy and Terminology

Tucson, AZ - Graffiti is a huge issue here in this creative city as you can read in the Tucson Weekly.

It’s one of those flashing light cultural indicators that we need more hip after school, evening and weekend community arts programs.

I was always more into chalk as a kid. We got busted at 15 for spray painting shadow stencils in memory of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. We were supposed to use a soapy tempera that would wash away, but we had a thing for spray paints – they were fast, you could gesture while blending colors, throw in some stencils and the sky was the limit. We spent many hours scrubbing off the spray paint after being confronted by elders in our community. That was the end of my experimentation with aerosols. Surrounded by a family and community who were paying attention, it wasn’t long before my energy was redirected towards art classes, sign painting and illustration.

Things haven't changed that much, there are just tons more rebellious, intelligent, talented kids with too much time on their hands. Tapping into this energetic brain trust isn’t that hard, you just need structured, participant driven, meaningful programming that promotes dialogue and stewardship and results in something tangible and meaningful. That might be a magazine, radio or TV show, theater production or mural. It might even be a aerosol mural, or paint and aerosol.

In other words it’s not the medium an artist is working in, but the thought and craft put into the work. Pose 2 , and Bansky are two examples of aerosol artists taking it to a higher level. Trust me there are thousands of others whose masterful artwork would blow your mind.


My concerns around aerosols are primarily environmental. The mist is harmful to individual and global health. The empty cans are hazardous waste. I’ve been researching and talking a lot with colleagues about the “greening” of art supplies. The only thing that is clear is we need to use our materials wisely, and conserve at every step. The waste produced by our work should be carefully considered. Many feel that the making of art may be of greater value than the carbon imprint created through the materials we use. This is a separate conversation, and one that will continue.

My paint skins in an adobe brick experiment.

That said there are craftspeople who use aerosols responsibly, and others who are careless. What we as community artists teach is care and respect for our materials, stewardship for the places we live and attention to craft. The same is true for every teaching artist I know.

So lets be clear and not talk about “Graffiti” as a monolithic phenomenon. There is a difference between aerosol artists and “Graffiti”. If one attributes aerosol classes and murals to vandalism, then we could use that same line of reasoning to assume that these kids are also responsible for other aerosol applications like nicely painted cars and airplanes. Clearly the classes intend to promote stewardship, dialogue and responsibility, and redirect energy from a trend towards isolationism and fear. Dolly Spalding describes this well in her article “Urban Art” for the new hip Tucson zine’ Zocalo.

Such was the metamorphosis of the Water Building mural.

Teaching Artist/Muralist Rocky Martinez with Ninety-nine year old Frank Pesqueira

This successful mural is a colorful testimony to transformation and the democratic process. The project involved our community in a public dialogue and design process that reflects an ability to make decisions as a group or people. Projects like this promote civic pride and participation.

Implicit in the work of many community muralists is the idea that we can bring together a broad cross section of the community to create a visual representation of our common hopes and aspirations. After more than 20 years of doing this work I still am exhilarated by the response of people during community events. By creating a place where all voices are equal and cherished we practice what it means to live in a pluralistic society. Labels and ideology are momentarily transcended giving us the opportunity to delight in our shared humanity. Where we come from, our dreams, aspirations, challenges, songs and recipes. These opportunities to share and learn from one another involve trust and relationship building. That takes time, care and responsibility. That’s part of what community artists are doing, and we invite you to join us.

Arts for All Mural Project

Sonoran Bioregion, Tucson, AZ - Recently I worked with winners of a “Graffiti Art Competition” that was facilitated by Arts for All (AFA) located at 2520 N. Oracle Rd.
in Tucson. Young artists throughout Tucson were invited to submit designs, the winners would be paid to do a mural for walls in the AFA parking lot. A group of community jurors met to select seven finalists. The winners went on to develop large to-scale color designs that again were approved by the jurors.


I was asked to help facilitate the transfer and painting process. This was a first for emerging muralists Roberto, Amy, Arisa, Josh, Jesus, Jello and Lizzy. The artists brought their individual creative sensibilities and experiences to this project and that shows in the final work. Working with them was fun, encouraging as they would switch from aerosol to paint, at first reluctantly, but acrylics have a way of growing on you. Some of the artists stayed in one media, they all created bright, vibrant, beautiful and clear images.

One of the fascinating things about this project was the intergenerational pedagogy. Artist Carol Kestler, who helped conceive this project and was a mentor of mine for many years, imprinting countless lessons on what in means to be a teaching artist. Carol founded Arts Genesis over 30 years ago, and has helped to train dozens of community teaching artists. That experience, richly informing my career, was imparted to a new generation through the Arts for All Youth Mural. This is the very essence of community art. One generation practices, gathers, builds upon and passes on the knowledge of past cultural workers.


We met weekends for several months transferring the designs and adding layers of color. We used a mix of aerosols and acrylic paints slowly covering the wall. Each session started with a short meeting where we had a chance to check in, scan mural images, write in our journals and talk about what we planned on working on next. These meetings were brief, the artists were eager to paint.

The artists explored the potential of acrylics combined with aerosol. In this piece by Jello you can see that each letter has a different surface treatment. The aerosols drip and blend, with the strong black lines gestured in with aerosol and fine-tuned with acrylics.

Video - Muralists describe their work.

Finally be early May just as the summer heat set in we added our final touches and sealed the mural.

The artists spoke about their work at the May 9, 2009 unveiling. They were proud of their work, having set out to accomplish something for the first time and succeeding. Several said that they thought they could do better, or wanted to go back and change some things. Any muralist working from their heart understands the constant desire to improve our work.


A special thanks goes out to the larger support community that made this project possible. In these time of budget cuts this project shows how a tiny bit of money and a ton of good will can go a long way. So thank you to the Arizona Commission on the Arts, the Tucson Pima Arts Council, the Mural Panel and Arts for All staff. A special shout out to Valerie Burnside for getting the ball rolling, Christine, Janelle, Frances for assisting, and of course Harriett and Marcia Berger.








A Note on the Health Impacts of our Trade:

Why do we wear respirators when using air-brushes, solvents and aerosols? We love the effects we can get from aerosol paint can’s, the ability to have large gesture marks and lines, the speed, the way it fills cracks in the wall, the way you can blend colors and get trippy special effects. Unfortunately one of our favorite tools contains propellants that have serious health and environmental risks and are considered hazardous waste . These Chlorofluorocarbon gases (CFCs) were originally used as propellants and then banned in 1978 because they deplete the ozone layer. In the 80’s hydrocarbon propellants replaced CFCs until it was found that they contribute to smog. Since that time new propellants known as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are being used. These include and 1,1,-difluoroethane (Propellant 152A) and 1, 1, 1, 2,-tetrafluoromethane (Propellant 134A).

Acrylic paints have a smaller carbon footprint, but also have their drawbacks. Golden Colors has some valuable health and safety information.

What do you think?