Menace to Masterpiece: Graffiti Artists Defy Stereotypes
Courtney Davis

Even as a 12-year-old, Eliot White saw himself as an artist, and it got him in trouble. Watching a friend of a friend's older brother do a sketch ignited White’s interest in graffiti art and inspired him to learn more. Something about the art form spoke to him as an urban youth, and he wanted to match the artistic skills of his peers, maybe even become better. Soon he was on his way to perfecting his technique everywhere, even drawing on his dresser and spray painting the inside of his closet, much to the displeasure of his mother. As he grew older, his mother wasn’t the only one who disapproved of his means of artistic expression. In fact, it was against the law. The only way for White and other aspiring graffiti artists to practice their skills was by spray painting illegally.

Since White’s childhood, however, graffiti art has transformed. Once only found in alleyways and under bridges, graffiti now adorns walls of businesses, community centers and private homes and is more culturally accepted worldwide. Free and commissioned spaces in Wisconsin cities now allow graffiti artists to express themselves legally.

“Back then, you had to develop your style either by tagging or with illegal murals, and if you weren’t doing those two, you were just planning your sketch work and not painting at all,” White said. “Now it's different because people like myself are trying to offer alternatives.”

White and fellow co-founder Sarah Dollhausen head T.R.U.E. Skool, a Milwaukee-based non-profit organization that supports hip-hop culture and graffiti art as tools to achieve cultural change. T.R.U.E. Skool connects artists who create custom graffiti with interested patrons and holds gallery shows where the public can buy graffiti artwork.

White recalled a four-year hiatus where he sacrificed his graffiti art for corporate life. He said he was frustrated that he let go of his talent, but the break allowed him to redefine himself as an artist. Now, White has found a way to use his art to pay the bills and has done graffiti

design work creating murals for large companies such as Harley Davidson and U.S. Cellular.  “It’s no different from a computer person or a guy who loves business or a doctor who loves being a doctor,” White said. “We love to be graffiti artists, and there are opportunities for us to get paid.”

"Graffiti art has definitely become much more accepted,” Dollhausen said. “It's gone from young people on the street stealing spray paint to people paying thousands of dollars to commission artists to do murals."

Dollhausen said misperceptions about graffiti often stem from officials using the term when referring to criminal activity and a lack of education in general about the art form. According to White, Milwaukee’s war against graffiti only makes things worse. He said that publicizing graffiti on the news aggravates and encourages other youth to engage in vandalism.

“Instead of setting up programs, it’s like they’re just trying to stomp out roaches,” White said. “They stomp the ones they see, and what they don’t realize is that others are popping up, you just can’t see them.”

In addition, White said the penalties for graffiti are too severe. Youth accused of vandalism can be charged with a felony, the same harshness used against criminals who rape and murder.

“Sex predators get counseling; drunken drivers get counseling. [These kids] may not need counseling, but what they do need is an outlet,” White said.

Part of T.R.U.E. Skool’s mission involves preventing illegal graffiti through education. For aspiring artists, they hold how-to classes and abatement and juvenile offender programs that teach young adults the difference between vandalism and graffiti art. To Dollhausen, that difference lies in attaining permission and understanding the legalities of graffiti.

“This is an art form,” Dollhausen said. “Although there will al

ways be the underground aspect to graffiti, what we teach is not about tagging or vandalism.” John Hain, the owner of Mother Fool’s Coffee House in Madison, said although the community was mainly supportive of his Graffiti Mural Project - a program that [fill in the blank here] - some people had reservations when he proposed free wall-space for local graffiti artists.

When the project began in 2001, he said a few area residents worried that allowing graffiti on the wall might spur vandalism elsewhere in the community. Contrary to their concerns, Hain said he noticed a decrease in illegal graffiti in the area since the introduction of the wall. According to Hain, if more businesses followed his lead, more communities would experience a reduction in the tagging that currently costs businesses money for removal.

“There are a lot of people who want to express themselves [through graffiti art], but it’s always a criminal activity,” Hain said. “As a way to prevent the [illegal] graffiti that we all agree is problematic, we should embrace the idea of having [free] walls all over the city.”

Hain, who said he has had a long-standing interest in public art, was introduced to Don Wettach, the original artist of the Mother Fool’s mural, through the local alderwoman, Judy Olsen. Hain had expressed interest in offering public graffiti space, and Wettach had approached Olsen, requesting a public place to display his work. The three of them met and began the Mother Fool’s Graffiti Mural Project.

Mother Fool’s graffiti wall rotates images as often as once a week to create a constantly changing mural on the side of the coffee shop. Since the first mural was painted, the wall has featured images ranging from political figures to the statue of liberty after September 11, 2001 to a birthday cake celebrating the fifth anniversary of the project. Each image is as uniquely meaningful and as equally stimulating as the other.

“I enjoy graffiti art,” Hain said. “Unfortunately, since its illegal, artists often don’t have time to develop their themes. Making it legal gives them a chance to really develop their art.”

Overall, Hain said he has received positive responses to the murals. Some fans have told him that they purposely walk by the wall as often as they can. Dollhausen said she sees this turning of grey walls into masterful works of art as playing a large role in community building.

“Graffiti can be a kind of community beautification,” she said. “It can play a role in improving the space we live in and getting young people involved in the community.”

Graffiti art, with its unique canvas, exaggerated characters and lettering that is sometimes virtually illegible to the untrained eye, is not exactly considered conventional art. However, Hain said part of what makes graffiti special is the fact that sometimes artists paint graffiti murals that people just plain don’t like.

“Art sparks dialog about what we like to see and what we don’t,” he said. “Everyone will have their own subjective view and that’s part of what art is. If they have a problem with it, they can avert their eyes or go a different route.”

Dollhausen said graffiti art also encourages discussion about social issues and has long had its roots in the climates of social change. She said that often, illegal graffiti artists are rebelling against a society in which they feel unseen or unheard.

“They [graffiti artists] are putting up the message ‘You aren't listening to us, you aren't hearing what we're saying,’” Dollhausen said. “When you see graffiti, you can't ignore it.”

Murals created at Mother Fool’s and by T.R.U.E. Skool have featured statements about political candidates, patriotism and racism. Artists use the sheer size and location of graffiti art to get their message across, and according to Dollhausen, the result is something everyone can appreciate.

“Hip-hop has been one of the few uniting forces since the Civil Rights Movement," Dollhausen said. "Anyone of any culture can belong to hip-hop. It is worldwide and has no borders. Graffiti is the visual piece to the culture, it is a voice and a means for social change through art.”

Dollhausen likens graffiti artists to other controversial artists of the past, like Picasso, who were originally dismissed but now have world fame. Similarly, in the Mother Fool’s mural, Hain said he has noticed all kinds of different art techniques and styles, like cubism and photo realism, which graffiti artists have incorporated in their work. According to Dollhausen, the only difference between graffiti art and other more traditional art forms are the tools: spray paint, markers and stencils.

To Hain, graffiti art is set apart from the rest of the art world because by definition, it’s temporary.

“[The impermanence] is something that makes you have to cherish it in the moment. Tomorrow it might not be there,” Hain said. “[Like you’ve] just been let in on a secret, and who knows how long that will last.”

White said graffiti’s uniqueness lies in its style.

“There is no other art form that centers itself around a lettering style and that is so abstract,” he said. “It’s all based on a couple of different styles, but as individuals, we all have our own twist.”

In today’s graffiti scene, White said kids are doing things with spray paint cans “you’d never imagine.” According to White, Wisconsin’s graffiti art scene doesn’t get enough credit. He said many graffiti artists here are artistically better than big-city artists but are overlooked because they are from Wisconsin.

“There are a lot of great artists here and people outside of the state would never guess that we get down the way we get down,” White said. “People think [Wisconsin] is only country and beer and cheese.”

White said that aside from great artists, Milwaukee also breeds division, even among different groups of graffiti artists. White and Dollhausen hope to overcome Milwaukee’s splintering using hip-hop culture. Their annual block party is a step in the right direction according to White. He said it brings together graffiti artists and other members of the community who haven’t spoken to each other in years. By the end of the event, White said, its “all peace, love, handshakes and hugs.”

“You gotta be an agent of change, an agent of positivity,” White said. “Being positive and making something out of nothing is always the best way to go.”

Whether making social change or simply making the world a prettier place to look at, White, Dollhausen and Hain all agreed that graffiti art deserves a chance to be seen and heard, and they are doing their part to make sure it is.