Sumptuous street art
The wall paintings differ, but all are created from the heart
BY ALENA HOROWITZ
Spokane boasts a thriving and supportive arts scene and is home to wonderful, wild and weird street art in the form of murals. The wall paintings differ, but all are created from the heart. Many of Spokane’s murals are inspired by the elements of nature in the region and their interaction with humanity.
Animated works by Melissa Cole were commissioned by Spokane Arts, leading at-risk youth in creating five massive murals.
Her murals often involve community participation, instilling a sense of pride in those that have contributed. Art helps people “find the confidence to create and share their stories with others,” said Cole. “Art allows everyone to come together and to create something beautiful and long-lasting.”
With her background in zoology and marine ecology, her work is inspired by wildlife. “I bring environmental themes to urban locations,” she says. “My themes revolve around protecting the Earth, Pacific Northwest ecosystems and the beauty of our area — pollination, the plight of bees, and local plants traditionally harvested by Native tribes.”
She’s traveling when not making art, deriving inspiration for her vividly patterned paintings from her astounding encounters.
“Unfortunately, in my travels, I’ve witnessed the rapid destruction of environments,” says Cole. “Because of this, I feel it is important to bring the natural realm to urban settings. These serve as reminders to people within a glass and concrete landscape, and it helps them reconnect with nature.”
Her artwork is an escape for both viewer and artist. “[They] are dreams filled with emotion, desire, energy and joy — a touch of what I wish for this earth,” she says. Working as a Peace Corps volunteer in a village of artisans showed her what a powerful force art has on people. “It breaks down cross-cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic barriers,” she says. “I relish the moments when my artwork makes people stop their hurtle through life to pause, breathe and enjoy.”
When Justin Gibbens first put pen to paper, he rendered the “boyhood standards — dinosaurs, creepy crawlers, freakish fauna. Not much has changed,” he says. What has changed is that his work is now admired throughout the Northwest and beyond.
A master draftsman, Gibbens studied scientific illustration and traditional Chinese fine-line painting. He employs training in “subversive zoological drawings,” lifting the conventions of classic natural-science illustration, reimagining the “curious wildlife of a forgotten natural history.” Gibbens’ work will surprise you unconventionally by “celebrating the beauty and strangeness of the world that surrounds us, blending hard science with mythical imagination.”
Gibbens’ paintings ode to “evolution, mutation and biodiversity. Perhaps they serve as cautionary tales for our anthropocentric selves?” In the eyes of Gibbens, “Our world is mysteriously fascinating and amazingly weird. Humankind’s relationship to [nature] is layered, complex and ambiguous.” He takes pleasure in the strangeness and serendipity of life.
“In a time when attention spans are fleeting, and our experience of nature is more and more mediated,” Gibbens “finds solace in the representation of nature on paper” (or under viaducts). “We are living in a suspended state of urgency as ‘new normals’ present themselves.”
Primarily a studio artist, Gibbens adapts images for large-scale mural projects. While Pacific Northwest Legends mural “has been the target of some graffiti and vandalism,” his artistry “showcases historical and contemporary cryptids that inhabit the collective imagination.”
Outside, Gibbens spends time bird-watching and chasing reptilian creatures. He is a founding member of PUNCH Projects, and if you made it to the MAC this summer, you might have seen his works on grand-display.
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