Spotlight

The

painted city

city

STREET ART IS ONE OF THE MOST ACCESSIBLE ART FORMS YOU CAN FIND IN MODERN CITIES. IT’S THERE FOR ALL TO SEE AND ANYONE CAN CONTRIBUTE (LEGALLY OROTHERWISE). THE WALLS OF UTRECHT ARE GRADUALLY TAKING ON MORE COLOUR.

By Wieneke van Koppen

Artist JanIsDeMan asked residents of Mimosastraat to name their favourite books. He and fellow-artist Deef Feed then painted a gigantic bookcase on the corner of the street and Amsterdamsestraatweg, 1 bursting with titles such as The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. He’d never experienced so much personal interest in a work of art before, says Jan. ‘These books are the favourites of lots of other people too. They come from near and far to admire the mural. And standing there in front of it, they also notice the local shop next door. So the bookcase is having an impact on the local economy too.’ This bookcase has been in the national and international spotlight, but it’s not the only graffiti icon in Utrecht: there’s also an eccentric gnome with a red pointy hat and a big mouth called KBTR, whose maker has been leaving his/her mark anonymously for twenty years. ‘They cherish the mystery,’ says Jan, who is familiar with KBTR. ‘Very few people know who it is, which is why the artist is able to continue.’ He laughs: ‘If I were to spray JanIsDeMan

everywhere, people would soon know where to find me.’ You’ll

also come across KBTR outside Utrecht, and even abroad. ‘His omnipresence as an underground character commands respect among the entire graffiti community,’

Find it on the map See page 64

explains Didi Steen, organiser of street art projects and tours. ‘He’s usually jolly, but there are a few more engaged, contemporary examples, such as the yellow jacket from 2018.’

TEMPORARY CHARACTER KBTR was innovative in his day - characters weren’t common on the Dutch graffiti scene. Most artists created name tags (a sort of signature, ed.) These aren’t appreciated as much, particularly not when they’re sprayed across other, larger works of art. This is ‘not done’ on the scene. Jan is one of the few fans of tags. ‘People are proving that they exist. I get that. Nothing is forever on the street; let’s face it, it’s just paint.’ Jan experiments with this temporary character of graffiti at the skate park in Grift park. 2 ‘I saw the potential for a wicked graffiti painting. Skate parks are often covered in graffiti, just like

trains. So I decided to spray trains around the skate park, so that other graffiti artists could spray their work or tags over them. Some people think that’s a shame, but I can see the funny side.’ The municipality agreed to the plan and other graffiti artists soon got in on the act. KBTR was one of them - it’s a prominent presence at the skate park.

OLD MASTERPIECES The artists cooperative De Strakke Hand also work outdoors, but with a brush. Founder Michiel Meulemans: ‘Most of us have never even held an aerosol.’ Last year, the ten of

‘THE BEST WORKS OF ART USUALLY REMAIN FOR LONGER BECAUSE NO-ONE WANTS TO SPRAY OVER THEM’

them copied works of art from the Centraal Museum onto walls in public spaces. They brought Sleeping Mars 3 by Hendrick ter Brugghen (1629) to Westplein and The Flute Player 4 by Abraham Bloemaert (1621) to Overvecht. The unique collaboration between the De Strakke Hand, Centraal Museum and Utrecht Marketing means that people who never visit museums are still exposed to visual art. De Strakke Hand was responsible for finding suitable buildings for these enormous murals. Michiel: ‘Everything had to be right. The fabric of the wall, the location and the vibe. The monumental building on Van Asch van Wijckskade was perfect for the classical portrait by Pyke Koch, 5 and the high-rise flat in Kanaleneiland was ideally suited to The Lute Player 6 by Dirck van Baburen.’ Every masterpiece was inspected digitally to work out the best way of copying it onto the building. The sketches were projected onto the walls using special beamers, before the artists were hoisted onto lifting platforms to carefully apply the paint, layer by layer. Didi Steen regularly takes visitors to see the Pyke Koch portrait. ‘It’s a favourite stop on the street art tour, and tourists often get into discussions about the gender of the person being portrayed.’

HALL OF FAME There isn’t much room for large, new outdoor works of art in the centre of Utrecht. Districts like Kanaleneiland and Leidsche Rijn provide more opportunity. In fact, a Hall of Fame for graffiti work was recently created on Berlijnplein 7 in Leidsche Rijn. This is crucial to the development of street art, says Didi. ‘Every successful graffiti artist spent their formative years experimenting with an aerosol. Unfortunately, you don’t have much time to refine your work when what you’re doing is illegal. The Hall of Fame allows up-and-coming artists to create finished, larger works of art legally, so they can experiment at a higher level. They simply choose their spot and start spraying.’ The Hall of Fame features very diverse work by different types of artists. Didi: ‘The best works of art usually remain for longer because no-one wants to spray over them. But you may still find that your favourite piece, however good it was, has been replaced by something else a week later. So the Hall of Fame is constantly renewing itself.’ Which is the whole point of street art.

For more information about Didi Steen’s street art tours, go to: greetingsfromutrecht.nl