{"id":986,"date":"2019-12-18T19:54:32","date_gmt":"2019-12-18T19:54:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/2019\/12\/18\/2019129art-or-vandalism\/"},"modified":"2020-09-05T19:21:40","modified_gmt":"2020-09-05T19:21:40","slug":"2019129art-or-vandalism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/2019\/12\/18\/2019129art-or-vandalism\/","title":{"rendered":"Art or Vandalism?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Operating an aerial lift, Megan Craig stood three stories high painting salt water marshes on the upper levels of Cold Spring School, a progressive independent school on James Street in New Haven. With a projector shining the image on to the side of the building, Craig drew the images of the native plants while students gathered around to join in on the nighttime party. This was just one day out of the 6-month long project where Craig would come out and work with students to paint the building. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\n

\n
\n

Megan Craig worked with the students of Cold Spring School for six months on the mural of salt water marshes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

There are many forms of art that can be found whether it is commissioned, a mural, a sculpture, a tribute or a tag, artists are just looking to express themselves or their views.  With cities and local communities beginning to endorse and commission works of art throughout town, public art and graffiti battle to find a balance. <\/p>\n

Craig was a parent of one of the students at the school and  after noticing the bricked-over windows at Cold Spring School, Craig decided to reach out and suggested painting a mural on the wall. She had previously worked with an organization called CITYarts in New York, where artists work with local public schools to create public art. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt seemed very unfortunate to have a building in that neighborhood that had this sort of fortress-prison like quality with these concrete openings,\u201d Craig said.<\/p>\n

The mural depicts the different types of salt marshes that are native to the area and the different types of wildlife that abide there. The fifth graders at the school also spend a large chunk of time studying the salt marshes as a part of their curriculum. Craig and the students worked on an interactive sign where all the plants and animals featured in the painting can be found. It was critical that the project was able to tie back into the curriculum for the community to get on board. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea was to make a mural that could also be sort of a learning wall,\u201d said Craig. \u201cI think once we were able to tie the mural into the curriculum, especially the teachers were a lot more excited about it and, and it really kind of gained momentum.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although the school was on board with the idea of a mural, the vibe of the community was still mixed. While some people were enthusiastic about the idea of the painting others felt like the area was fine the way it was. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think a lot of people were very enthusiastic \u201d Craig said. \u201cAnd were sort of like, yes, anything’s better than these concrete block windows. But there were several people who felt like the block was actually fine and it was this very quiet kind of serene facade and why mess with that? So it was a mixed kind of reaction.\u201d<\/p>\n

With community projects, Craig has found it vital to make sure that the members of the community feel involved in the process.  This fall, Craig worked on a geometric painting on Pearl Street that led up to the Yale School of Management. In order to make the neighborhood to feel included in the design process, she made numerous designs for the community to choose from and presented them over several meetings with the neighborhood. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\n

\n
\n

Geometric pattern that Craig painted in front of the Yale School of Management on the corner of Pearl and Lincoln Street.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

New Haven communities have been working with local organizations to commission murals across the city, including the New Haven and the Cedar Hill murals.<\/p>\n

Along the same lines, Hartford has been working on a new initiative to work with local artists called Paint the City. The project worked with the communities to pick the designs that would win the competition. Seven were chosen as the beginning of the 14 mural project that the city was hoping to see. The city had put $128,000 into the project as a part of the public-improvement initiative Hartford Decides<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

As a private school, Cold Spring School was able to decide whether they wanted to commission a mural on the side of their building without having to ask for permission from state or city officials. When it comes to public property though there are rules and regulations that artists must follow. <\/p>\n

Hartford artist Corey Pane has been commissioned to work on a lot of public and private property throughout his career and hit multiple roadblocks when it comes to getting a building approved. <\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of times when I’ve done stuff through the city, you have to go through the city,\u201d Pane said. \u201cThere’s paperwork, you have to get permits, get permission from the mayor and all that stuff takes forever. So there’s been a couple of times where I almost had a wall and I’ve been really excited about it and just kind of fizzles out because the paperwork or like somebody didn’t allow permission or something.\u201d<\/p>\n