Crime, art, redemption. I love getting my hair cut at Spin’s.
Spin’s Barbershop has a rotating display of art on the walls, and the latest set caught my eye a few weeks back, as I sat in the chair under the blade.
“What’s the story with the art,” I asked.
So he tells me.
Ow and Phantom attend a local high school and produced art, which they distributed for free.
On stickers.
Where “distributed” meant “stuck in public places that seemed that they might benefit, in the artist’s aesthetic opinion, from the addition of said stickers”.
Then, Ow got caught. A couple of times.
“What happened,” he explained, “is basically I got caught a couple of times (by property owners, police, and my mom, who saw me putting up stickers). My mom, fed up with ‘this sticker business’, decided to take all of my sticker making supplies away. This was only momentarily discouraging.”
So Ow and Phantom did what any normal, well-adjusted high school student would do.
No, that doesn’t mean “disappear into the basement to play video games, send text messages and send regrettable selfies until college”. It means they called up local businesses looking for somewhere legitimate to display their art. Spin answered the call.
“We told Spin the story, and he asked to see a sample of our art. We showed it to him and he liked it so we set up our art show,” he continued.
“I started making ‘street art’ in middle school, intrigued by others in my classes doing graffiti on tables. Early tag names included ‘game’, ‘take’ toke’, ‘who was here’ and ‘spez’. I used to hold ‘graffiti offs’ where friends and I would do pieces on paper and compare them, giving each one a score. Most of the illegal art I started with was me scratching off signs and editing them to say things like ‘push buttocks for signal’. I’ve been putting up characters under the name ‘OW’ since November 2012.
“Some artists that really inspired me are: Comfy, Starheadboy, and Abot. I used to see their characters around and point them all out to friends saying ‘look at that awesome sticker’, scheming in my head ways to emulate their styles and become even bigger and better than them….Actually I still point their stickers out, and I still scheme.”
Now, having lived through the “clean pole Wallingford” days, plus having seen the impact graffiti has had on our neighborhood, I know what you’re thinking: “this is vandalism, not art! How can Wallyhood take such a cavalier attitude towards these miscreants.”
“I’ve always thought of stickers as being much less offensive than spraypaint,” Owen feels. “I notice people in general spend a lot of time on stickers and they generally look nice. However that’s not to say that there aren’t nice spraypaint pieces out there…”
“Stickers allow us to make actual art and not just put an unreadable name on a wall,” added Phantom. “We only do it on public property where it will not be destructive.”
I’ve got a feeling that there will be a certain amount of negative response in the comments to the “it’s OK, it’s only public property” line of reasoning.
And the future for these boys?
“I definitely see myself making art for the rest of my life,” says Ow. “For me, there’s no reason not to. And only the future will tell where I will go with it. I’d like to experiment with animation at some point, so maybe in 10 years I’ll be ready. For now, I try to focus on the present and focus on whatever ideas I currently have.”
Art on display at Spin’s Barber Shop (4501 Interlake Ave N).
You know, I like how this article started, as in, a great idea for making a space available for posting art. Hurrah for Spin’s Barbershop! And I also like to hear that young people are contemplating art as a career. So far, so good.
But the rest of the story is discouraging, as it speaks mainly to an assumption of privilege, along with a disregard for others. I don’t much care for that, and I don’t see it as consistent with being “normal, well-adjusted high school students.”
Here’s the thing: under City law, posting stickers is unlawful, as stickers do fall under the definition of graffiti.
So “Ow” and “Phantom” (interesting that you’re not showing your faces, by the way), here’s my request. Our community is not your canvas: unless you are able to obtain permission, please do not post your stickers on either private or public property. Sure, you may think your postings are somehow “less offensive” than spray paint, but that’s not especially relevant, and it doesn’t change that there are costs involved with removing those stickers. {Or, you could step up and remove them yourself, or ask your parents to organize a work team to do it. That would be cool.} As a civilized community, the laws apply to all of us.
Back to Spin’s Barbershop, I hope you will continue to work WITH the community so that your work can be on view. Get the permission that is needed, and post away!
I agree with Neighbor2You.
I’m a volunteer in the neighborhood public schools, and am not impressed by these guys learning how to create graffiti on the school tables. Like I say to the elementary school kids, “Would you do that in your house?” Sheesh.
I’d like to see more designated public spaces made available to street artists. I’ve always appreciated the constant changing art on the Tubs site (legally allowed) and the underpass at Campus Parkway & Roosevelt (not legal?).
At the same time, artists and taggers alike should be held accountable if caught putting up art anywhere else, public or private without permission. There’s this mistaken idea that if it’s public, it’s okay. That would only be okay if the public taxpayers/city specifically agree that it’s okay. As it is, we have a process to get permission to alter the sidewalks, remodel a home, get signage changed, etc. Artists are not special and exempt from this.
No, the Campus Parkway underpass graffiti is not legal. There is a mural underneath all of that graffiti. A lot of effort went into making that stretch something more than gray concrete. Then, some jackasses came along and spray painted their “names” on top of artwork.
Thanks again Spin! And thanks for the article Jordan. As mom of one of the boys featured I know how excited they were to exhibit their work, and to have you contact them for this article. I am a little disappointed that you chose to slant the article toward the controversial and past actions, rather than the choice to pursue legal display space and the effort it took to seek out a location and prepare and hang a display. Ow was pretty clear that decision was, in part, due to accepting that his ideas about his stickers were not shared by property owners, police, or his mother, as well as wanting to share his work. This was his first interview and he presented himself unedited, without attempting to spin the truth. Not surprisingly the ensuing comments have focused on the negative past rather than the positive present.
Neighbor2You, these boys are minors and chose not to show their faces for that reason, as well as wanting to represent themselves as the characters in their art. Your presumptions about “privilege” and “disregard for others” are as off the mark as Jordan’s caricature of “normal, well adjusted” teenage behavior.
neighborBarb, I am also not impressed by kids writing on tables in school, but remember lots of that happening back in the many years ago I went to school as well, it’s hardly a new phenomenon. “These guys” (or one of them) were inspired by what they saw to do graffiti offs on paper as an alternative.
I’ve seen these stickers around, and I’ve enjoyed them. To me this is very much different than tagging/scribbling a name, or writing ‘shitbarf’ which I’ve seen all over Capitol Hill (though this did make me giggle the first time I saw it). Sorry about the condescending comments above, and good luck with your art!
I admit I’ve become pretty confused here. The article, and its quote from Ow, led me to conclude that (1) space was being made available at places like Spin’s Barbershop, for display of sticker art (Yay!), but also that (2) sticker-posting in public spaces, without permission, was continuing, meaning our City graffiti laws were being disregarded. (Boo!)
The post from mom_ow, however, seemed to clarify that the unlawful posting had ceased sometime ago, and that the young artists were continuing their pursuits in appropriate venues like Spin’s. (Yay!)
But the post from Wimsicle seems to suggest that the sticker-posting without permission–which falls within the City’s laws regarding graffiti–is continuing (but maybe it’s not by Ow and Phantom?), and that, somehow, it’s OK. We’re definitely not going to see eye-to-eye on that one. Along with the disregard for the law, this doesn’t take into account the cost of removal, which must be borne either by the property owner, or by City departments…and therefore, us. Separate from whether I admire the talent and creativity, I guess I just don’t get why that would be OK.
So back to Spin’s Barbershop, and also, with a nod to Cindy’s comments: I hope there are continued efforts to find places for artists, especially young ones, to lawfully display their work. For me, this is the best way for artists to be part of our community…and for us to be able to appreciate what they create.
stickering in seattle on public property is not illegal. just cause an anti graffiti web site say it is does not make it true. i have been through the system and my charges were dropped because stickers fall into the same category as posters, and postering has been and will always be legal in seattle.
if you don’t like them don’t look at them.
its sad how much of our town is ignorant of art.
ow, good job. keep it up! and be more careful.