INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – CityWay isn’t open yet, but it’s already been vandalized.
The downtown Indianapolis development commissioned English graffiti specialist Nick Walker to bombard its parking facilities with murals spotlighting his signature character “Vandal”: a bowler-hatted gentleman who paints his world red (not to mention blue, green, orange and yellow).
Walker is several days into his work, with the Vandal already visible as he rides a bicycle on one wall and camps out under an umbrella on another.
At first glance, the character in a pinstriped suit doesn’t seem geared for mischief.
“That’s a decoy,” Walker told The Indianapolis Star. “Anyone dressed like that, you’d never expect him to be doing graffiti.”
The installation is part of a collaboration between the Indianapolis Museum of Art and real-estate developer Buckingham Companies.
The IMA and Buckingham will place more than 40 works by 20 contemporary artists inside The Alexander, 333 S. Delaware St., a boutique hotel at CityWay.
Buckingham creative director Jim Smith said CEO Bradley Chambers challenged his staff to bring creativity to the parking facilities. The IMA’s contemporary art department chairman, Lisa Freiman, brought Walker to the project.
“Five months ago, Bradley said that we want to make sure the garage is at the same level as the hotel and the same level as the (apartment) residences: ‘We can’t just have a plain, boring garage,’” Smith said.
Within England’s “street art” movement, Walker is a contemporary of Banksy, the famed underground tagger who strives to remain anonymous.
In 2008, Walker sold $1.5 million of paintings and prints during a solo exhibition at a London gallery.
Bristol, home to both Walker and Banksy, has hosted a street art festival titled “See No Evil” for two years running. Walker contributed an eight-story version of the Vandal pouring a bucket of paint on the side of a building.
CityWay’s large concrete spaces appeal to Walker.
“You put work on a door these days, chances are that it will go missing and end up in an auction,” he said.
On a recent Tuesday afternoon, Walker used multiple stencils on a concrete post to paint Vandal Child, a tween-aged girl wearing a polka-dot dress and ski mask while holding two aerosol cans.
While Walker at times spurs controversy with visual commentary on politics and religion (stencils of can-can dancers cloaked in Islamic veils, for instance), Buckingham executive Smith said his company collaborated with the artist for a relatively whimsical concept in the garage.
“We want everybody and anybody to come see this,” Smith said.
When asked if Walker’s work might inspire other street artists to add their own touches to the garage, Buckingham Companies simply stated that CityWay will feature the same level of security as the company’s other properties.
Walker said the upscale environment of CityWay – a $155 million neighborhood of residential, retail and office spaces – isn’t incongruous with his art.
“I’m comfortable with it,” Walker said. “You have to earn a living, haven’t you? I’ve done my time on the street.”
Still, as he works about a block south of the CSX railroad tracks, Walker said he enjoys the sound of trains and sights of graffiti on boxcars.
“I saw that and said, ‘All right, nice one,’” Walker said.
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Information from: The Indianapolis Star, http://www.indystar.com
Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
AP-WF-12-11-12 1543GMT
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