Don’t get too engrossed in your smartphone or a good book while riding Denver’s RTD light rail and commuter lines. Instead, raise your gaze, look out the windows and savor splashes of color and amazing local artistic talent along the way. It’s like an art gallery whizzing by.
To gain some insight about art along the metro area’s rail lines, VISIT DENVER checked in with Pat Milbery, a visionary, former professional snowboarder and longtime creative who founded So-Gnar, a collective that encompasses streetwear, events and snowboard camps and has a primary focus on public art.
The So-Gnar Creative Division is a collective comprised of Pat and fellow artist Pat McKinney, along with a rotating team of Denver artists. The collective specializes in creating large-scale public and commercial works of art and collaborates with communities on public art initiatives. In 2018 alone, So-Gnar completed close to 70 large-scale projects. Milbery and his crews have adorned the walls of dozens of boutiques, breweries, residences, bars and other businesses in Denver, across the country and around the globe.
Milbery partially attributes the growing culture of street art around urban areas to “business owners wanting to support artists and add great character through art to the facades of their properties.” Also, digital art and technology capabilities have grown, which has increased the accessibility for anyone who can create on a laptop or tablet. The result? “Many artists have chosen to take their art to the streets for visibility at a whole other level. Plus, it’s really fun to paint big!” he says.
While spray paint once had a bad reputation due to its association with disrespectful vandalism to private property, Milbery notes that it’s an art medium gaining new level of understanding, appreciation and respect. “The aerosol paint market has exploded with color options, many new manufacturers and affordability. The technology with aerosol cans has also advanced with adjusted low- and high-pressure options and is now applicable for more uses. All sorts of caps and tips allow artists to create really detailed work. You can paint like you can create on the computer.”
Q&A WITH PAT MILBERRY
VD: What are the main differences between graffiti, tagging, street art and murals?
PM: Graffiti is the root and inspiration of street art. In the 1960s, '70s, '80s and '90s, people were writing on walls in New York and Europe with markers, spray paint, etc. It was mainly a form of expression, propaganda, territorial, political and tagging. Graffiti turned into an art form…penmanship put into letter formation. That is what graffiti is, beautiful layered lettering that is cryptic. It is hard for an average eye to read it, like a code within a piece of art. The idea is to have a distinct lettering that is different than anyone else’s with gradient fades, textures and outlining techniques.
Tagging is more like vandalism. Throw-ups or bubble letters are quicker and easier to paint and is what you do if you don’t have time to create an entire piece of graffiti. Tagging marks territory and has been found on trains or around train lines for decades.
Street art is more planned out, sometimes generated on a computer or from a sketch. It utilizes the layering technique of graffiti and is an expression of the now. Lots of artists who hope to express themselves on the street don’t desire to be a graffiti writer, they simply want to paint a large-scale piece of art to transform the space. A common person can look at street art and understand, where graffiti you might not be able.
Murals have been around forever. Street art is progressive and a more common expression, whereas mural art is something you find that is around for generations, is very beautiful, and has a lot of artistic brushstrokes. Street art is the modern definition of mural art, done more with aerosol paint. Mural art is traditionally brush painted using a more classic painting approach.
