The City of Lawrence’s skatepark is covered with bad graffiti. The vast majority has little to no artistic value and there are lewd references and curse words sprinkled throughout the glorified doodles.
An Indianapolis skater and skateboard builder who uses the park regularly is working hard to change that. Casper Jones, a volunteer with the international nonprofit Skatepark Respect, is coordinating with the Lawrence Parks Department to clean the skatepark, make minor repairs and plan how to not only discourage bad graffiti but encourage kids who want to create good graffiti.
Jones was at the park on a beautiful summer morning, measuring the site and making plans. He said graffiti is an ongoing issue at skateparks. One solution is, ironically, graffiti — the good kind.
“We’ve got big graffiti artists coming in to put big, acceptable, not-vulgar stuff everywhere,” he said. “That kind of helps the graffiti community police itself. It’s a respect thing.”
Because, he said, anyone who defaces a well-known graffiti artist’s work is going to face some social consequences.
Jones said Indianapolis muralist Robert Bentley is curating a team of Hoosier graffiti and street artists, including Eli Shaw, Tylar Lee, Aaron Scamihorn and Fabcrew.
“We’re also trying to bring in some of these kids that did some of the better art, so then they can get some tips from the guys,” Jones said, pointing to a couple drawings that showed some skill. “And also, just kind of (show) we’re working with them. That way, we don’t get any retaliation against it.”
Jones said skating and graffiti tend to go together, although he was unwilling to call the drawings currently covering the surfaces of the Lawrence skatepark “graffiti.”
“This is what the city thinks graffiti looks like, because this is all they see,” he said. “We’re showing them that art can be good in a skate park.”
City of Lawrence Parks Director Eric Martin admits that he doesn’t know much about skating or graffiti art, and he’s grateful Jones offered his expertise and connections.
“It is very welcome, because we don’t have the same mindset,” he said of himself and other city officials. “We see graffiti and we see that it needs to be cleaned up. where they see an art form that will maintain itself if it’s done correctly with the right people.”
Martin said it had gotten to the point where the Parks Department pretty much gave up trying to clean up the skatepark, because as soon as they removed graffiti, new drawings would pop up the next day. He’s hopeful Jones’ plan will result in a better park for everyone.
“If there’s buy-in from their group and the kids and people around the Lawrence area that utilize it. I think it’ll maintain itself well,” he said.
The Lawrence skatepark was built in 2008. Martin said that while they don’t keep count of how many people use the park, there’s up to a dozen at a time, depending on the time of day.
“I can also say (this is) the first time I’ve come up and there’s not been a lot of trash,” he said. “So, they’re doing a good job.”
Jones has been regularly picking up trash in and around the skatepark and said some of the kids have joined in after watching him set an example. He was inspired to volunteer his time for this project for a simple reason — he loves skateparks, uses skateparks and wants cities to continue to build, expand and offer skateparks. That won’t happen if city officials are frustrated by ongoing problems with vandalism.
“The first park I cleaned was Greenwood a long time ago and that was like, right after it got built and it was clear there was no expansion happening because of (the graffiti),” he said. “Until the cities understand the difference between (bad and good graffiti), we’ve got to do stuff like this and work with them. Eventually, we hope that the cities start seeking out graffiti artists and then (the artists) get paid to do this kind of thing. But right now, it’s just a good partnership, so that everybody’s working together.”
Jones said he was pleasantly surprised by how receptive Martin and the Lawrence Parks Board were to his proposals.
“The goal right now is just show them — show Eric and everybody else that we care for the park,” he said. “Then hopefully, down the road, (they will move) toward expansions, things like that, to make this park a destination spot.”
Jones said the day for painting new artwork is tentatively set for Sept. 7 at the skatepark, which is inside Lawrence Community Park, 5301 N. Franklin Rd. The public will be welcome to watch the artists’ progress.
Skatepark Respect
Indianapolis skateboarder Casper Jones is a member of the international nonprofit Skatepark Respect, which promotes volunteer efforts within the skating community to clean up and maintain the parks that they use.
“They send me stuff like gloves, a little grabber, scrapers for picking the gum off the ground, all that kind of stuff,” he said. “They kind of lit a fire under me to start doing this kind of thing.”
According to the organization’s website, they work under the “broken windows theory.”
“The theory posits that a broken window, if left broken, sends a message that disorder is acceptable, causing more broken windows, more crime, more disorder,” the website states. “Disorder causes crime, and crime causes further disorder and crime. Fixing the broken window sends a message that it is not acceptable and that someone cares and takes ownership of the issue.”
The organization’s mission is to create a sense of responsibility among those who use skateparks to keep those parks clean and to dispel negative stereotypes about skating through positive action.
For more, visit skateparkrespect.org.
