Whilst living in the USA over the past year, I visited Denver, Colorado on multiple occasions. It is a city filled with public art: from some of the small neighbourhoods to the central business district (CBD).
The CBD is particularly filled with public art, creating space for people to experience art in the everyday. Most of these artworks have plaques accompanying them, displaying either artist/artwork information or the reason for their existence.
Among these public art pieces are artworks by local street artists and graffiti writers. However, to view the street art and graffiti, you needed to venture into the alleyways and go searching for these hidden gems.
This is often the best part of street art and graffiti – the search for the prize.
While researching street art festivals in Denver, I came across the suburb of Five Points, the home of Crush a street art festival that has just celebrated its 10th anniversary in creating a vibrant art filled neighborhood.
The area is pulsating with art.
Street art, graffiti and sculptures are scattered through the neighbourhood and intertwined in the mix amongst restaurants, breweries and shops. Designed to sit within the neighbourhood’s aesthetics, the suburb creates a vibrant and colourful downtown. This can be contrasted with the Denver CBD where the street art and graffiti exist hidden amongst the high-rise structures. In Five points, everywhere I looked I found multiple artworks; small works, larger works and even buildings that had been completely covered in an artist’s motif.
Personally, I like to engage with artworks that are displayed on the street and I hunger for information such as: Who is the artist? What is the meaning behind this work? How long did this process take?
This is what drives my doctoral research.
I am interested in identifying what information those viewing the artwork want? Would this change the engagement with street art and how could this be achieved?
The laneways are covered with stencils, murals and graffiti pieces. The way these artists navigate the walls and produce these ‘mark making’ practices and using the discarded wall that is just designed for the foundation for a building.
This can change how we can look at brick wall? I want to see the laneways filled with colour and text and symbols with whatever the artists want to create. I can never understand why some people seem to be so consumed with wanting to keep buildings boring!
This entices me to reflect on how cities define public space and who is able to use this space. Alison Young debates the concept of ‘public cities’: a created city within a city that is constructed by street artists and graffiti writers, and how as citizens they fit within the laws and regulations of a legislated city. Artists use specific public areas to create works creating ‘cities within cities’ which is argued by young as ‘public cities’. During this process the artists are simultaneously creating a community whilst producing work collectively in the same area.
By drawing on this concept, Five Points could be argued as a ‘public city’. A neighbourhood that has been selected by the festival to create an alternative space for artists to enjoy the use of this medium as a choice for artistic creation.
It was incredible exploring this area. Entire buildings covered in artworks that make my heart sing. Neighbourhoods like Five Points encourage us to move away from the CBD and engage with a different part of the city.
I began my exploration by following the map provided by Crush and then I followed the art. My favourite way of exploring and searching for street art: follow the colour…and you will go on adventure that is just designed for you.
Street art, even in suburbs like Five Points that have been moderately curated for a festival, allows the audience to curate their own way of viewing the work. In contrast to Art galleries which are designed for people to view work in a constructed way, curated either by themes or years. Street art allows for audience engagement, for they can decide how they view the artwork.
Here are some highlights from the day….so many more that I could add but I will add these to my Instagram – beatstreetart.
Alix Beattie: Street Art Researcher 