Cleveland Graffiti: Off the Wall - Part 1

I met Jon Carlo Vega a couple of years before he was scheduled into my art class. Students had been asking,

"Do you know JC, that Puerto Rican kid who can really draw?"

"No, I haven't met him yet. Tell him to come up and introduce himself."

Our first meeting went badly. I don't recall who brought him up to my room, most likely it was Po-Po. I do recall he brought some artwork for me to admire, and I made the unforgivable mistake of suggesting something he could do to improve his composition. I immediately regretted my faux pas. He glared at me and walked away, giving me the cold shoulder when I saw him in the hallway for the remainder of the school year.

Like all students at Max Hayes, he eventually had to take a fine arts credit to graduate, and being the only art teacher in the building he was assigned to my class. Having learned from our first encounter, I was always very careful when critiquing his art. His work was consistently superior to most of his classmates, and he seemed to thrive on praise, which I was always happy to bestow. After a month or two of cautious observation, he let down his shield of self-defense, and we became friends. JC was especially good at portraits, and having a strong streak of entrepreneurism, he kept himself in pocket money by commissioning portrait drawings. He found that celebrity portraits were very popular, and had a steady stream of customers for images of rap stars and Hollywood icons. The graffiti I always heard about, or looked at the drafts for the pieces in his sketch book, but I never saw the finished work unless he brought me a photograph. To this day I've not seen any of his graffiti in person.

I rarely ever give out my phone number to my students because I don't particularly enjoy being pranked. I've broken my rule only a few times, and JC was one of the kids I gave my phone number to once when I needed to get in touch with him regarding an art exhibit.
He has been pranking me ever since.
...I kinda like it

JC is currently working to complete his bachelors degree at Kent State University, and when I told him I would be writing this series of posts, he sent me pictures of some of the paintings he has been working on lately. The graffiti influence still dominates his art work, and it is interesting to see how he has begun to form his messages around political themes.

Jon Carlo Vega is an emerging young artist with lots of talent, energy, an opinion, and a head for business. He's one to watch.

And remember I told you so

Cleveland's Secret Gallery: Part 6 - Learning on the Wall

From the time I began teaching high school in Cleveland in 1988, students would talk to me me about painting graffiti. I would listen to stories of their escapades; roaming the train tracks, climbing walls, and running from security guards. Occasionally I would hear about an arrest. Having grown up in the ex-urbs of greater Cleveland, I was intrigued with this renegade art culture of the inner-city.

I first learned about the wall on West 26th about eight or nine years ago when I was transferred to Max Hayes High School on Cleveland's near west side. My students would show me their sketch books; prized journals, filled with designs for what they called "throw-ups". They would practice the elaborate lettering and characters, working on developing a piece for the wall.

Jon Carlo Vega and Misriam Calderon graduated from Max Hayes in 2004. Best of friends, they were creative, top-notch students with excellent drawing skills. Called JC and Po-Po for short, these two honed their painting technique on West 26th and Swift, often competing with each other for the title of "Best".

So often, people like to lump all graffiti into the catagory of vandalism, or at best, art crime. These kids were never taggers, running around defacing property. In Cleveland they had a place to express themselves without having to cross that line.

Even now that they've gone on to college, they stay in touch with an occasional visit, phone call, or text message. JC sent me these pictures of some of his work on West 26th a couple years ago, and also some shots of a recent collaboration he worked on with Po-Po.

We have some amazing talent growing up here in Cleveland. Too bad our civic leaders would rather invest tax dollars in the convention business than in our kids.

Cleveland's Secret Gallery: Part 4 - How to find it.

I won't keep you guessing any longer. You will find the Free Wall at West 26th and Swift. Go ahead and Map It.

You get to Swift off of West 25th Street, but you have to look carefully or you will miss it. The road is south of Lorain Avenue, look for it on the right, immediately after you drive over this bridge. The road is in very bad shape, as it hasn't been maintained for a long time. If you don't see Swift, you can also turn right on the next side street - Queen , which also gets you to W.26th. Turn right on W.26th and if cars aren't blocking the street, drive to the end.

You may be able to catch a glimpse of the Free Wall from West 25th if you watch the west side of the street and pay attention. It also goes by other names in the neighborhood. I've also heard it referred to as "Fun Wall", "the Plaza", and simply "26th".

Have fun.

Cleveland's Secret Gallery: Part 3

Urban blight and graffiti; the term evokes the image.
Somehow, the graffiti in this place seems different. It feels like it belongs here.

This graffiti reminds me of weeds, or more specifically, dandelions. Considered intruders in an obsessive suburbanite's green patch of perfection. Lawnlords wage never ending battles to keep them at bay. Instead of dandelions, this city lot spawned graffiti, and like the weed, it spread, organically transforming the blight of an industrial wasteland to a visual feast.

An urban gallery with no curator.

There are no rules here. Images of one artist invade, or completely cover, the work of another. Sometimes the message or the picture will be visible for months, or it may only be seen for a few days. Never intended to be a legacy, this is ephemeral art, lasting only until the next painter claims the space.

"The"
In speech and writing, this is a word is so easily overlooked as to seem insignificant. Yet, it's inclusion can modify an ordinary noun to make it an object of prime importance. Here on the Free Wall, this three letter particle of speech is elevated from supporting cast to star.

Beginning at the gap where a door swung many years ago, the sprayed line moves off the wall and along the remains of the concrete slab which once was a floor, tracing a new path. A maze going no place.

Cleveland's Secret Gallery: Part 2

In all directions, on every flat expanse…graffiti. Vibrant crimson, brilliant yellow, chrome, black, tangerine, and teal - color, escaping from the confines of the ruined factory has spread to the bricks and concrete of adjacent properties. Retaining walls, bridges, dark brick buildings; blackened by a century of industrial residue are now vividly adorned in a chaotic Krylon rainbow.

Although I could see more painting beyond these pillars, I reined in my curiosity in favor of safety. That type of exploration is best done with a companion.

Art, defined and stripped to it’s most basic essence, is visual communication.
In this lonely place, spray paint becomes the voice of Cleveland’s forgotten young people. What are they saying?
Most are simply stating, “I was here!”
Others messages are funny, some are dark, a few are sad, and occasionally they are spiritual.

To be continued...

Cleveland's Secret Gallery: Part 1

The kids call it The Free Wall.
Barely off the beaten path, thousands of gentrified Clevelanders drive within a few hundred feet of these industrial ruins each day, yet few people even think to look past the old cars and brush adorned with litter, beyond the old tires. The surrounding neighborhood is what the politically correct call "disadvantaged", and the Crocker Park set would never venture into. I visited yesterday afternoon on my way home from work, and as I got out of my car for a moment, even I felt a bit apprehensive.

Apprehension was quickly eclipsed by intrigue, and then amazement. "Free Wall" is definitely a misnomer. This was not a solitary wall, but the remains of a demolished factory, or warehouse complex. The concrete foundations left behind have been turned into murals, not by a lone artist funded by some benevolent philanthropy, but rather by local kids armed with aerosol paint and a desire to leave their mark on the world. However, the Free Wall is indeed free. The Cleveland police will not interfere with the kids while they practice their art. Here graffitti is not art crime

Every surface covered in Krylon. Layers and layers of paint, image on top of image. Tags and 'toons, messages and scribbles, planned compositions and random splatters. A feast for the eyes, an explosion of colors in the midst of our dreary gray city on a gray lake.