Hamilton students use aerosol art to create mural for their school
Students at Hamilton International Middle School, 1610 N. 41st St., celebrated the end of the school year by initiating a unique art project that would represent their school like no other.
Aerosol art, otherwise known as graffiti, was approved by the school's administration for a 24-foot mural. Hamilton is the first city school to introduce the art form as a positive medium.
'SPEAKING THEIR LANGUAGE'
The idea for the project came about when Hamilton student Indica Hanson mentioned to her instructor Lary Barilleau that her friend was an aerosol artist specializing in mural art and that he was interested in connecting with a school to donate time to paint a mural. Barilleau, who is head of Hamilton's art department, was looking for a special end-of-the-year project and thought it was a great idea.
The school is undergoing a major remodel in the next three years, and Barilleau thought a full-length mural depicting the international arts could hang in the new performing arts area.
Barilleau, himself a graduate of the Seattle Public Schools system, believes strongly in giving students opportunities in the arts as much as possible. "We're not promoting graffiti. We are creating a mural that's representative of our school and the languages that are here," he said.
He pitched the idea to the school's administrators, and they approved.
With the assistance of Hamilton's visual art instructor, Wynne Stout, they contacted the artists, and the project got under way immediately. Their plan was to have the students collaborate with the guest artists on an art form that "speaks their language."
The students learned about urban lettering, 3-D painting and portraying positive images of themselves and others.
A POSITIVE ART FORM
The mural artists, who go by the name of the Writers Union, are a small collective of artists dedicated to providing high-quality productions. Their mission is to create art that can be enjoyed by the public in a positive manner and to bring attention to overlooked, often-bland space.
Artists Jeff Jacobson and Danny Melbihess said they realize that many people consider their art graffiti, as there is usually a negative connotation attached to it due to tagging and illegally defacing public property. But to them, it is brightening up a dirty, old wall space with creativity and, most importantly, with permission, like they did with the mural the group created for Bombay Grill in the University District.
Jacobson explained that the Wri-ter's Union was created to increase the level of recognition for aerosol artists. "Art [of any kind] brings so much to people's lives. It enriches the heart and soul and is worth so much more," he said.
The artists donated $10,000 worth of their time and work, instructing the Hamilton students on technique and how fun it could be to create an urban mural representing their community.
The 8-by-24-foot wood panels were also donated, and the school pitched in for painting materials.
OUTSIDE THE EVERYDAY NORM
The mural brings real images of the school's diverse cultures to life by way of picture-realism. Faces and languages of cultures such as Mien, Chinese, Somalian, English and Russian are all represented with detailed expression and vibrant colors.
One girl pointed out shading details on one of the faces on the mural. She loved how it looked like light was shining on the subject's face.
Two Somalian girls came by to check out the mural's progress, too. They commented on how real the Eritrean beauty looked.
According to Melbihess, this project is not only important for the school but to the community, to bring awareness to this type of art.
"For the kids...it gives them something exciting and interesting outside their everyday norm. Maybe we can plant a little a seed in their head that, yeah, you can do this art and there's positive outlets for it. Maybe the parents will see [the mural] and be more inspired, instead of telling their kids 'no' and 'it's bad.'"
Melbihess said that aerosol art is an art form coming into its own. "It's very misunderstood," he said.
His wish is to see the city take a rational approach to this medium by establishing areas for youths to paint. He believes that by allowing an outlet for them to create, they are less likely to deface public property.
The city of Redmond created a city-sponsored graffiti wall in the skate park for young artists to express themselves. Because of this installation, graffiti vandalism has dropped dramatically, he said.
"If you don't give the kids any options, they're going to find a way to do it anyway," Melbihess said.
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
The Hamilton mural will be stored until it is erected permanently in the renovated school a few years from now. The kids were excited to know know it will be saved and not destroyed.
"[The kids] are in awe; they love it. They were not expecting the school to allow it," Jacobson said.
To view more murals by the artists visit their website at writersunion. us/.
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