To Gary Chen, graffiti is not merely a self-congratulatory spray painted name tag on the side of a building, but rather a carefully planned and specifically designed public art piece. Gary, a 17 year old Senior at Boston Arts Academy, has been incorporating graffiti into his art since he began working in the AFH Painting Studio in 2010. And now, Gary’s love of the medium has been recognized as an exciting opportunity to brighten up our city’s empty wall space!
AFH is proud to announce that Gary has been awarded the
prestigious United Way Youth Venture Award, with funding to create and
implement a unique public art project. His winning entry, titled “Paint Boston,”
has been given the go-ahead to begin production, and Gary will lead a group of
artists in creating stunning graffiti murals all over our city! We sat down
with the talented teen to talk more about Paint Boston, pubic art, and what
lies ahead for him!
BLOG: How did you hear about the United Way Grant?
Gary Chen: Lesley Horrall, AFH’s Education Coordinator
announced the United Way Youth Venture Grant during one of our staff meetings,
so I worked with my mentors Rob Gibbs and Sneha Shrestha, and took advantage of
the opportunity.
BLOG: Is this the first Grant you’ve applied for?
GC: Yes. I was new to this experience. The other groups that
competed for this grant were mostly in groups of 2-10 members, but I completed
this alone.
BLOG: What was the application process?
GC: I attended the first introduction presentation
describing the grant and how to apply. Then, I was paired up with a
coordinator, David Safaii, to help me plan and present my Venture idea to a
panel of judges.
BLOG: Tell us more about Paint Boston. What can we expect?
GC: Paint Boston
is a collaboration of local artists and community members to plan and paint a
series of graffiti murals around Boston. I will create a flier announcing a
contest with requirements and guidelines to submit sketches to me by email. I
will then determine the winners of the contest, who will paint the mural. Paint
Boston will help in reducing vandalism, encouraging graffiti art, and giving
artists a proper space to paint in public. An educational workshop with Rob
Gibbs (AFH co-founder and painting mentor) will be given during each mural
painting session for people interested in graffiti art and the proper way to
paint a mural.
BLOG: What are the next steps?
GC: The next steps will be meeting with community members to
locate and confirming a wall space. Then, I will select the winners of the contest who will be
painting their designs on the mural. I will also have to purchase paint,
gloves, and respirators for the artists. After that, we will prepare the wall for the mural…and then
paint it.
BLOG: How long will the project take?
GC: The mural paintings and educational workshop will be
once every 3-4 months depending on the weather, since this will be an outdoor
event.
BLOG: Where do you plan on creating the murals?
GC: I plan to seek locations in Roxbury, Allston, or
Dorchester to enlighten the community with a positive graffiti mural. Community
members are welcomed to view and join the workshops.
BLOG: What do you hope the reaction is?
GC: My goal is to decrease the amount of vandalism in the
community, and encourage more murals and inspire a new wave of artists.
BLOG: How do you differentiate between graffiti art and
vandalism?
GC: Graffiti art is a well thought-out piece that
incorporates color, form, composition, and some graffiti murals have themes.
However, vandalism is a quick tag of a vandal. These tags require little effort
or artistic element.
BLOG: When did you first start incorporating graffiti-themes
into your artwork?
GC: Graffiti has always been the influential theme in my
artwork. My artwork originates from graffiti. Graffiti taught me about line
work, light source, color, transitions, and more! If it wasn’t for graffiti
art, I might not have became an artist at all.
BLOG: What are your career goals/What do you plan to do
after high school?
GC: My career goal is to get a job I love doing, which
involves making my art. After high school, I look forward to attending an art
college.
BLOG: Who are some of your favorite artists?
GC: Artists that have inspired me would be the graffiti
artists “Daim” and “Peeta.” Looking at their work makes me want to push myself
to their level and someday past them…
BIG congrats again to Gary on this major accomplishment! Be
on the look-out this spring and summer for his inspiring murals and feel free
to submit your mural ideas and suggestions to him here.
For more exciting work happening in our painting studio,
click here!
For more info on United Way’s Youth Venture Awards, click here.
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