Graffiti Artists vs. the City: You Can’t Stop the Bumrush

By, Yousef Faroniya

There’s nothing worse to a graffiti artist than a big, blank wall in a prime location. What a waste of space. Why wouldn’t you want to turn an ugly, gray slab of concrete into something more, something noticeable, something artistic? Right?

Well, P.B.J. (Pain Brings Joy), an Ohio graf crew of over 30 artists, sure thinks so. They thought they hit the jackpot when the owner of Industry Standard Boutique and Recording Studio on the corner of High and Euclid St asked the crew to paint on the bland south wall of his building.

“It was an ugly blank wall,” said Ender of P.B.J. “Kids were writing on it that didn’t know what they were doing.”

The artists painted the mural for no pay, with the owner of the building compensating the crew for the cost of paint.

“The spot was too prolific to pass up,” said Ender. The wall sits at the always busy N. High St area between the Short North and Campus, a prime location and entrance to The Ohio State University area.

So the crew, with a blueprint from 8-year graf veteran Bryer, created a mural that as he puts it “beautified the area,” while maintaining the urban feel that the owner was aiming for.

“We showcased our writer names and tied it all together as a collaborative effort,” said Bryer. “Columbus graffiti history is represented on that wall.”

Unfortunately for the crew, the city of Columbus views the mural differently.

The city’s Graffiti Blasters Program, in place since 2001, has the stated aim of “removing graffiti from public property within 2 working days.” Despite this goal clearly mentioning “public property,” the city wants the graffiti mural removed or changed from the private business’ wall.

“Business owners can’t decide what they want on their walls,” commented artist/rapper Levdon, adding “[The city] thinks that we’re a gang.”

Bryar agrees. “Because its graffiti and organized they consider it organized crime.”

So, now P.B.J. must redo the mural sans any graffiti words or have the whole wall painted over.

The battle between graffiti artists and cities has been waged for the entirety of the hip hop era. Cities, in an attempt to fight gang-related graffiti, have gone as far as banning the possession of spray paint in such major cities as Chicago.

But when will a city finally distinguish between gang-related graffiti and graffiti art? Or are city officials more concerned with being “tough on crime” than being fair?

Bryer, though, sees this conflict as inevitable.

“We go against the grain by default,” Bryer says matter-of-factly. “You can’t stop the bumrush. It will be embraced eventually.”

Until that time comes, graffiti words will not be welcome on city walls, and the mural has since been replaced. But, for those who did not get the chance to see the mural, here’s P.B.J’s original work.