Contradicting the Clandestine

Asking Permission to Graffiti

A piece by Banksy- The famously mysterious graffiti artist

When I think of graffiti I think of hooded teens, stealthily covering the hardest to reach crevices of a city’s treacherous landscape.  This project is taking another direction.  With artists armed with spray cans and money for materials in our back pocket, it is now time to find the wall waiting for our work.

In mid May, as Madrid heat danced on pavement creating glittering mirages of puddles ahead, Kaos and I scoured the Orcasitas neighborhood in search of blank faced walls.  We zig-zagged the streets, darting for spotty shade under the scrawny trees that brave the harshness of concrete. Every few blocks emerged soaring brick walls that encircle the various schools in the neighborhood.  We photographed each one, documenting our options for the mural.

We concluded our search near Ciudad de Jaen, the high school I teach in.  We trampled through the surrounding vacant lots, knee high in hostile weeds armed with prickles and thorns.  I stepped carefully, unaware of the beasts that may take refuge in such a place: bugs, mice, snakes, or worse yet crocodiles… you just never know. Ballet flats were clearly not the best choice for this excursion!

Nevertheless, the journey through the jungle of thorns led us the perfect wall for the project. It borders the wild and vacant lots surrounding my school, yet is clearly visible by the many cars that pass by on Avenida de los Poblados.

The exterior wall of Joan Miró

The wall belongs to a Special Education primary school called Joan Miró that works with mentally handicapped students.  Juan, the Community Outreach Coordinator at Tiempo Joven, set up a time for Kaos to meet with the director of the school.  Everyone at the school was overwhelmingly excited and the project quickly cleared all the way up the chain of command.

We have permission!

The following Thursday, as I left work I saw that the previously overgrown lot was cleared of it’s hostile inhabitants (both real and imagined) and our wall stood tall and proud, bursting with potential.  I was dying to capture its grandeur but decided against stopping to take a photograph as I imagined what my students would think of me photographing a barren brick wall.  As I walked by, a wave of regret hit me. I decided to just do it! I turned around decisively, took out my camera and began taking photos of the wall.

“Shhhwe… Americana… Shhueshh… un mural…”

I heard whispering from a large group of women staring inquisitively and pointing at me from the sidewalk. As I made eye contact, a woman approached to ask if I was the American planning on painting the school’s exterior wall. Word sure travels fast!  She introduced herself as a teacher at Joan Miró and rattled off a million questions with such excitement I worried she may burst.  At the end of our exuberant conversation, she explained that Joan Miró was a school for mentally handicapped students and asked if there was some way to include the mission of the school and the students into our mural plan.  “Absolutely” I responded. 

Back to the drawing board…

We are now working feverishly to complete our sketch by next week when we will meet with students and teachers from Joan Miró to gather ideas and share our plan. A section of the mural will be dedicated to these student’s unique artistic talents.  We will then complete the mural in two waves.  First we will work with students from Joan Miró to complete their part in June before school is out for the summer.  The second wave will begin on July 5^th when the graffiti artists are out of school and we have the time to work uninterrupted for days at a time. 

Now it’s time to get my sketch on! 

Banksy