Something better
If you grew up in Little Rock, you may remember the strange large characters that seemed to magically show up overnight on walls of various buildings in the city. The scary critter was called a Balstovitch, and came complete with a large face with eyes staring straight ahead and huge ears that looked like the business end of a horn of some kind. The bodiless character was supported by two large feet connected to the head by short legs.
Weird, to say the least. Which was probably at least partly the goal of the artist who sought to create a sense of wonderment.
Muralists see graffiti and street art as two different things.
The most obvious is that so-called street art is sanctioned, or even commissioned, by the city or a property owner. And a group in Little Rock believes the solution to graffiti (although they’re not entirely against graffiti) is, ironically, more art.
The reason is that most murals are not defaced because of an unwritten rule that frowns heavily on artists defacing the work of other artists. Therefore, the theory goes, if there are more murals, there will be less wall space for graffiti.
“I started Little Rock Graffiti Database as a place to document the scale of the graffiti problem . . . and to empower residents to identify and document graffiti,” said Michael Bynum, the group’s founder. “I wanted to bring awareness to the impact graffiti has on our city’s quality of life . . . . ”
“The bottom line is that graffiti has to be cleaned up . . . it’s worth it from an economic and quality-of-life standpoint.” He said the city can get a handle on it “if the whole community comes together.”
Part of that coming together is Downtown Little Rock Partnership’s MuralFest, planned for May 4. At noon that day, artists will go to the SoMa neighborhood to paint an alley behind the building where the Bagel Shop, Tea Capital and other shops are located.
The event will occur in tandem with block party 501 Fest, which includes live music and other activities on South Main Street, according to the paper.
Readers can make up their minds about the value or aesthetic improvement derived from large murals on the sides of buildings. Some people like them. Some don’t. However, we would argue that more people recoil at the sight of graffiti, which is sometimes gang-related, than recoil at the sight of colorful and professionally painted murals without vulgarity and meant to brighten the community.
For years, Little Rock has attempted to revitalize its downtown in order to attract businesses, which require the recruitment of young executives and their families. Will the presence of murals make that happen?
The answer is unclear, but we’re reasonably certain that businesses trying to recruit those young executives don’t point to graffiti as a reason to live here. So why not cover it up with something better?