artsculture

Art @ Large

The name Art @ Large is a play on a police bulletin alerting the public that a suspect is running a muck in the community. When Julie Cain chose the name for her summer graffiti camp for area youth she had the illegal nature and history of aerosol related art in mind. Graffiti like skateboarding has always had a negative reputation due to its association with the destruction of public property. When Julie opened her indoor skatepark in Melbourne she wanted to give the local skaters a positive and safe environment to enjoy their passion so the creation of a summer camp for an art form that has become so connected with skateboarding only seemed like a natural progression.

Graffiti (singular: graffito; the plural is used as a mass noun) is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property. Graffiti is any type of public markings that may appear in the forms of simple written words to elaborate wall paintings. Graffiti has existed since ancient times, with examples dating back to ancient Greece and the Roman Empire. Where most fine artists create their work then sign it in small print or script, in Graffiti the signature itself in the form of tags became the art. Art @ Large was created as an innovative method to educate local young artists and the local community that aerosol art is as legitimate and respected as any watercolor or oil painting. Thanks to local events such as “Robot Love 2.0” and last years “From the Gutter to the Gallery” this art form is finally starting to get the respect and attention it deserves.

The idea has been such a success that this year it will be expanded with the addition of a second week, which will feature traditional fine art. Like the aerosol version, the fine art camp will focus on the techniques as well as the history and movements in fine art. Each day will focus on a different medium including pencil, charcoal, watercolor, pastels and acrylic paint. While the day camp starts at 8:30am and ends at 5pm only the first three hours will be structured teaching, after having the provided lunch they will be able to continue their art work or spend the rest of the day skating. So it’s not the summer camp experience that many parents recall nostalgically, but it just might be a perfect fit for today’s youth. I know it would have kept me out of quite a bit of summertime mischief. For more information on Art @ Large contact Julie Cain at The Park by calling 321-726-8075 or email thepark_info@yahoo.com .