With COVID-19 imposing a world-wide self-quarantine, things have been changing dramatically. To be specific, we are not able to make the same connections with physical spaces as we were before. FitzPatrick summarizes the work of Edward Soja, a well-known spatial theorist, to explain the connections we make with spatiality. The dynamic of these connections is represented through a trialectic that proposes three categories: perceived spatiality, conceived spatiality, and lived spatiality. According to Soja, lived spatiality serves as the most important category because it adds an essential third dimension that analyzes personal connections and the uses a space can present to an individual (qtd. in FitzPatrick 2). Our current lifestyle is eliminating our lived spatiality as it takes away the ability to create physical interaction with the spaces that are outside of the essential spaces of daily living. Because of this, the explorations of Secret Pittsburgh as a class have been limited to pictures and videos of the area.
Thankfully, the nature of the Color Park provides a lot of communication through pictures as it is filled with an endless variety of messages that are presented using graffiti. A visit to the Color Park—quarantine style—consists of a 360-degree virtual tour and some images to show specific works of art in detail. The virtual nature provided the physical characteristics of the Color Park allowing us to build a perceived space. Through a digital 360-degree tour, we can get a general idea of how the park sits along a cemented trail used for hikers, walkers, bikers, etc (FitzPatrick). We can observe the colorful nature of expression on the cement blocks along the trails that line the river. These observations allow us to speculate at what the art represents using our previously existing perceptions of the components that make up the art. Analyzing this art and trying to decipher the message allows us to put our own spin on the space and develop a connection between the real spaces and the imagined spaces we’ve created; we take the real physicality of the art and cultivate an imagined message of what the art means to us. This restores a portion of the experiences that lived spatiality consists of. Although a virtual tour is limited to head turning and lacks the element of walking through all of what the park offers, we are still able to pay attention to the smallest of details that are presented through the art.
Because the Color Park is open for anyone to create art, there is a large variety in the messages and the depth to the art. The audience of the Color Park is also extremely diverse as it is open to anyone in the public. The online education course regarding graffiti from The Open University states: “the wider popular appeal of some types of graffiti is often linked to how innovative, entertaining, surprising, acceptable or relevant the messages graffiti convey are perceived to be by a wider audience” (Sinclair). The large range of artwork done in the Color Park includes memorials, tags, admirations of Pittsburgh, political views, life mottos, etc. Even within these categorizations of the art, there is more variety. While analyzing the digital images available of the Color Park, you see art that memorializes both personal friends/family members and well-known artists that originated in the area. These can be seen in the images that recognize Nate Assad (“Nate Assad memorial”) and Mac Miller (“Mac Miller memorial”). These images also represent the variety of styles and skills that can be seen throughout the park. The graffiti honoring Mac Miller has a variety of colors, patterns, and even a robot; the memorial for Nate Assad, a person not as commonly recognized, represents a simplistic style with smaller, basic symbols (a crown and a heart).
One of the most frequently seen pieces of art at the Color Park is an open eye created by Baron Batch, the founder of the park (“Tag of Baron Batch”). This represents a form of personal branding or tagging. Rafael Schacter, in “Ornament and Order: Graffiti, Street Art and the Parergon”, discusses the act of tagging as he writes, “…so too tagging must be seen in the same way, as an accessory and an embellishment to a secondary structure, as an adjunctive and decorative aesthetic” (26). Batch’s tag marks the territory as being the only legal place in Pittsburgh in which you are able to share your message through Graffiti. As I interpret Batch’s tag further, I see a representation of his feelings towards graffiti and the opportunities it gives to spread awareness of what the residents of a city believe are important. To me this is telling you to open your eyes to what everyone has to share. The graffiti artists of Pittsburgh fulfill the requests of Batch by spreading their feelings and beliefs through their art, and the visitors oblige by opening their minds to the ideas of others while viewing the art.
If we move slightly more into the political feelings and beliefs that can be found within the park, one of my personal favorites is the image that shows a work of art that states, “When we stop and listen, that’ll be the end of WAR and beginning of peace” (See “Desire for peace”). This piece of art is slightly worn down and looks to be older than some of the other works throughout the park. I believe that is because other visitors and artists respected this piece enough to not paint over it. The artist of this work of graffiti is trying to spread the belief that listening to our opponents is the key to preventing violence and creating peaceful connections. The artist may be considering world peace between countries, or she may be considering difficulty in personal connections that feel similar to a constant war.
When visiting the Color Park, you may have your own internal debates on what certain pieces represent and how they relate to you. These are the thoughts that you can interpret for yourself to determine what YOU SEE when visiting the Color Park, as we all may see it a little differently. For now, individualized art and portions of the layout of the Color Park can be seen using the 360-degree virtual tour that initiates personal connections to the art. However, when the world once again returns to normalcy after the madness we have experienced in beginning of 2020, a physical visit may enhance those connections and allow you to follow one interesting piece of art to the next creating a detailed, personal experience that contributes to your own lived spatiality for The Color Park.
Works Cited
FitzPatrick, Jessica, director. Explore the Color Park in 360. YouTube, 21 Mar. 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUedllKX7h4&feature=youtu.be.
FitzPatrick, Jessica. “Outlining Space & Place” Secret Pittsburgh, 2020.
Schacter, Rafael. Ornament and Order: Graffiti, Street Art and the Parergon. 1st ed., Taylor & Francis Group, 2014.
Sinclair, Stefanie. “Visions of Protest: Graffiti.” The Open University, Royal Charter, www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/visions-protest-graffiti/content-section-5.