Establishment meets street

I opened my newspaper Tuesday to see a beautiful sight -- a huge, swirling yellow nautilus shell, the mark of Craig Thomas, in vibrant colors, painted on a large slab of concrete.

What made it even better were the skateboarders in the background. Now here, we truly have a shining example of the local arts establishment embracing young people.

Thomas, a board member of the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri, isn't a young guy, but he's doing a lot to try to embrace young people and welcome them into the arts establishment. Along with Josh Dannenmueller, president of the Cape Girardeau Skate Park Association, Thomas is heading a project to paint the concrete floor of Cape's skate park at the corner of Fountain Street and Park Drive. And during the process, Thomas and Dannenmueller have brought in several young, local artists to help give the skaters something to look at as they fly face-first toward the pavement after trying to land a trick. Of course, it also gives them something to look at as they fly off a ramp and land a trick, too.

The ever-humble Thomas doesn't see the project as anything groundbreaking.

"You've got a battleship gray thing there, and that's it. Let's jazz it up a little bit," Thomas said of the thinking behind the project.

But if you ask me, painting the skate park is a big deal.

Regular readers of this column know that I've been railing for the local arts establishment to embrace young people more. We 20-somethings have a lot to contribute, and there are some gifted, cutting-edge artists among our ranks. This skate park project is a perfect example of the arts establishment doing just that -- welcoming young people with open arms.

Thomas was a bit older than the other volunteers. "I was definitely the oldest by twice," he said of the artists painting the park. But he's young at heart. He talks about the skate park in a sort of populist way -- art by the people, for the people. And given the nature of the skate park, who do you think is using the facility? Who will see the art on a regular basis? Young people, of course.

The idea is one of street art -- a sort of graffiti-ish phenomenon, but this one is sanctioned by the arts establishment in the form of the arts council. Thomas is well-versed in street art -- you've probably seen him oversee the sidewalk art competition at the annual ArtsCape festival, or street painting at the City of Roses Music Festival. But both of those events are much different than this project. This project is one that the young people who use the skate park will see every day. And I'm hopeful they'll remember that an emissary of the arts council was partially responsible for turning that "battleship gray thing" into something far more interesting.

The best part is that the project is meant to evolve. It's meant to change over the years. As art gets wiped out, Thomas and the others working on the project want other artists to paint new designs, to keep the art alive. Most of the time art like this would be illegal, but here it is, endorsed by the establishment. It's a thing of beauty.

All too often it seems the traditional art establishment looks at this kind of project as a bastardization of art, just as some music traditionalists don't respect the artistry of rock 'n' roll. Some might say that street art isn't real art -- it's not framed, it can't be displayed in a gallery. But street art can be beautiful. It can be one of the purest forms of expression.

Some people may not be happy to see the arts council involved in this kind of project. But I see it as a move in the right direction. The same people who use the skate park may be artists themselves, and one day they may be the people to carry on organizations like the arts council. With people like Thomas showing them they are welcome, maybe even more young blood can be injected into the local arts community.

Matt Sanders is the Arts & Leisure editor for the Southeast Missourian and the editor of OFF Magazine.