The city of Pittsburgh is filled with all sort of hidden gems and cool attractions. There are a lot of things to discover when in Pittsburgh, but what people do not often know is the stories behind these locations. Color Park is a vibrant area along the Three Rivers Heritage Trail in the South Side of Pittsburgh, with funky art and a beautiful view. It attracts people from across the country and Pittsburgh and unites them under one interest: art and expression. Anyone is allowed to paint or spray at Color Park, creating a community like no other.
Graffiti artists are often looked down upon in many people’s eyes. They see graffiti as illegal and destructive. However, many of those artists view their work as a way to add beauty to an area or even voice political or social views (DeNotto). Color Park is a perfect place for graffiti artists to come express themselves and add beauty to an area without getting in trouble with the law. But Color Park is not only open to “professional” artists. Any common citizen can come add to the color if they want. This connects the population with the artists in way that would not be possible without this freedom. In addition, Color Park is a great way for these artists to get a name for themselves. As John Berger discusses in his BBC series Ways of Seeing, artwork does not have to be in one place anymore (Berger). Cameras and social media have enabled people to see and experience the same artwork in many locations. For Color Park, this vastly expands the community. People do not have to go to the actual park to see the artwork, they can experience it on their phone and computer. This means the graffiti artists’ tags are being seen all over the internet, not just at Color Park. People can also experience the art through social media, like the Color Park Facebook Group for instance. In this group people can ask questions and post inquiries and pictures of the park. This creates another digital community in addition of the physical one seen at the park and in its making.
However, Color Park gives a very different experience when it is visited in person as opposed to on the internet. When you go to the park, you can see all the artwork just as on the internet, but you can also see some of the inspiration to that artwork. I can recall a specific piece that is a silhouette of the city. Behind this piece you can see the exact cityscape that it is based off of. This gives the art a much more deeper meaning because it shows how much people appreciate Color Park. They are painting the view from the park, not a random view of the city.
The art itself at Color Park says a lot about the community it has created as well. When I visited the park there was a lot of artwork with references to the city of Pittsburgh and the people’s love for it. All across the park, people have painted messages like “412,” “PGH,” and cityscapes of Pittsburgh. When given the opportunity to express anything they want, a lot of people chose to express their love for the city in which they live. The people around Pittsburgh have a lot of pride for their city and Color Park gives them a great opportunity to show everyone else this pride.
Additionally, when you look closely at all the little details and small artworks you can see the variety of communities that visit the park. There are a lot of references to the University of Pittsburgh and other colleges around the city like a piece spray-painted that reads, “H2P.” There is a rock just outside the park which reads “RIP MAC,” showing the widespread rap community and their love for the late Pittsburgh rapper, Mac Miller. Someone painted “Put the guns down,” showing a political affiliation against gun violence. There are also many tags created by graffiti artists that are well known within the graffiti world. You can also read “Steel City” across the park which represents the widespread steel mill industry across Pittsburgh. All of these groups are unique in their own way and come together at Color Park to share their value and create a beautiful place.
One big establishment that Color Park gives back to is BikePGH, a non-profit organization that works to make the city of Pittsburgh safer and more accessible to bicycle transportation and encourages people to ride their bikes more (BikePGH). Color Park just so happens to run through one of the largest bike paths to run through Pittsburgh. Before Color Park was created, the area was a broken-down industrial site with rubble scattered about and it was not very pleasant to look at or ride through. Now, through the help of various communities, it is an upbeat colorful area that is fun to visit or even ride through. Color Park made the path more beautiful, which helps BikePGH’s initiative to get more people out on their bikes.
Furthermore, people at Color Park have a unique way of communicating. When I visited the park, I had the opportunity to talk to the founder, Baron Batch. He told me that when they first created the park, they just put plain colored paint on all the rocks and around the park and then allowed everyone to come and add art to it. He never specified what was off limits or where people were not allowed to paint. However, for a long time no one painted on the table and the benches that are in the park or the bike path running through it. However, as soon as one person painted on the table, many more people followed in suit. In addition, for a long time path that runs through the area was left completely untouched, but now people are starting to paint on it and pretty soon it will be covered just like the rest of the park.
Moreover, this community is open to all ages and people make sure that the park is relatively appropriate for that. There are no restrictions on what people can paint, anyone can paint anything. However, if something is painted that is offensive or inappropriate for the park, it seems as though most times someone just paints something else over it. There are all these unspoken rules that people enforce without there being a distinct list of rules. Everyone is working together to keep the park beautiful and open to everyone.
Color Park has become so successful with the help of many people around the city. There’s the student population, a rap community, political groups, BikePGH, and even the steel mill industry. All these groups eventually come together to form the much larger faction of Color Park which has created a safe space where anyone is welcome to express themselves.
Works Cited
“About Us.” BikePGH, www.bikepgh.org/.
Batch, Baron. “On the Color Park.” 18 October 2019, Color Park. Site Tour
Berger, John. The Ways of Seeing Part 1. British Broadcasting Center, 1972, www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pDE4VX_9Kk&feature=youtu.be.
DeNotto, Michael. “Street Art and Graffiti: Resources for Online Study.” College and Research Libraries News, 2014
“The Color Park.” Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/TheColorPark/.
Various Artists. Color Park Graffiti. 18 October 2019, Color Park.