We as humans all feel the need to express ourselves in some fashion. Some have an obvious talent for creative expression, and they articulate this passion in the form of a painting, an original poem, a beautiful song, maybe an emotional dance piece. Some creative types are lucky enough to be good enough at their chosen form of expression to make a living creating their art. Others eek out a living that allows them to create the art they are driven to make.

Most big cities that one might visit have a plethora of public art displays. A quick visit to Missoula’s city webpage reveals a list of almost fifty examples of known sanctioned public art. Some of my favorite art in cities that I’ve visited has been public art, from Oldenburg and van Bruggen’sFree Stamp in Cleveland to Anish Kapoor’s CLOUD GATE in Chicago’s Millenium Park.

Another form of art that is more controversial and less recognized that can be found in all big cities across the world is graffiti. Some argue that graffiti is not art at all, but vandalism — a crime.

I actually had an argument with a good friend of mine about this. She was born and raised in Missoula and says that she does not want outsiders coming into “her town” to “ugly it up” with their graffiti. I argued that it’s likely many of the graffiti artists (“they aren’t artists”, she says) were also born and raised Missoulians. And I pointed out that most people who do graffiti try to do so in a responsible way because they want their work to remain up as long as possible. So they avoid painting or writing on obvious private property, they do not write obscenities or hateful things, they try to express themselves honestly in a public forum that might cause a discussion, might cause someone to think. They are exercising their First Amendment right to free speech.

In the end, she became upset and we had to agree to disagree. I personally think that Missoula has some beautiful graffiti and that it needs to be documented before the horrid Gray Cancer overtakes it, one stencil and tag at a time.

There are others who would disagree, and there is a very interesting (though slightly outdated) discussion about this over at Patia Stevens’ site. The folks who spread the Gray Cancer in Missoula are volunteers, and I wonder what motivates them. I wonder how they feel when they paint over a piece of graffiti that they personally enjoy. I wonder if there is a person like Fahrenheit 451’s Montag among them, who before he “burns the book”, or in this case, paints over the art, secretly takes a digital photo of it. If there is no Montag, and we have to assume that there isn’t, we need to be documenting this fast fading art form in Missoula. And we need to be contributing to it.

If you are visiting Missoula, please, enjoy all of the natural beauty it and its surrounding areas have to offer. As you return to your hotel at the end of the day, leave the car in the parkinglot. Walk downtown if that’s possible. Notice some of the street art that’s available to you. ADD TO IT IF YOU WANT. Hell, you won’t be here to deal with any consequences later, right? But definitely take it in, photograph it, share it with those folks at home when you get back there, so that they know Missoula is not just beautiful rivers and mountains, but also alive with underground art out on the streets.

Finally, if you are going to be around this Friday, June 1st, a friend of mine, Marlo Crosifisso, who I’ve never known to paint in the streets of Missoula, will be presenting a collection of stencil artwork entitled “Legs, Stags, and Things that Fly.” Local music sensation Freewood will be serving up a scrumptious acoustic set. And… There will be two screenings (6:30 & 7:30) of Montana Canvas, a three part PBS series that profiles independent female artists throughout Montana: figurative narrative painter Stephanie Frostad, singer-songwriter Sonya Lacava, and clothing designer Emily Kurth. Each short film outlines the roots, challenges and processes of the artist, combining to give voice to Montana’s emerging collective of female artists. Directed by Valerie Krex, Emily Craword, David Macasaet and Toni Matlock. Total Running time: 22 minutes. As per usual, there will be cookies, and vino. Betty’s Divine is located @ 521 S Higgins in Missoula.

See also Street Art In Missoula, a photoset on Flickr.