Repaint the rocks. A group of volunteers, most of them artists, are “cleaning up” the rocks along the coast of Rhode Island defaced by illegal and tasteless graffiti. And the method they use to “restore” becomes an art form in itself. The rocks are geological jewels that for centuries have characterized the Atlantic coasts of the small state of New England, and that some “vandals or self-proclaimed artists” have decided to use as a free canvas to give vent to their talent. Thus was born the group of volunteer “anti-graffiti vigilantes” who also had to resort to painting to restore the rocks to their natural color. Washing off the colors used by the so-called “graffiti artists” is impossible, because the rocks are porous, so the volunteers create alchemies of shades that correspond to the original color of the boulders, perfectly re-painting the smeared surface. Even up close you can no longer see anything and the panorama returns to its original appearance.
As PBS Weekly reports, the method employed by the vigilantes has become an art in itself. «I love those rocks, I've always known them. So I take it very personally when they are defaced with vile writings and drawings,” explains Holley Flagg, an artist and volunteer who talks about her connection with those centuries-old formations that define the 400 miles of Rhode Island's rugged coastline. It's the view of her from the window of her study on the third floor of the house where her family has lived for generations. The rocks were her childhood playground. «I grew up there, I picnicked there, I ran on the rocks, I know them like the back of my hand. Plus, I'm an artist, so I love their beauty. They are simply unique,” explains Flagg who creates designs for the Metropolitan Opera and the Museum of Natural History in New York.
When so-called “street art”—spray-painted graffiti—began to proliferate along the rocks in her Narragansett neighborhood, the artist flew into a rage. «When you observe someone defacing your environment, perhaps by writing personal messages, a sense of anger rises in you, it's simply visceral», says the artist. Whose indignation pushed her to form the citizen group “Anti-Graffiti Vigilantes”. Armed only with a brush and cans of latex paint, she began to hunt down what she considered “unnatural crimes”. Soon, she was followed by a small group of like-minded volunteers. The restoration of geological gems requires the erasure of words and images in such a way as to deceive the eye. Instead of just being a cover, the rocks magically appear as they once were. The key to good work is to blend the color very lightly, letting the texture of the rock emerge,” says Flagg.
The vigilantes initially tried to remove the spray paint with wire brushes and chemicals, but it didn't work because the rocks are too porous. The beach is also too steep for sandblasting equipment, so space was given to art. «I know painting, colors and shades, we said let's try to paint over the color, camouflaging it», says Flagg, whose camouflage technique has been refined over time in an almost unconscious way. It was simple. You keep adjusting the paint colors as you go about cleaning it up, and you keep doing it until you like the look you've got.” The anti-graffiti vigilantes say that those who go for a walk along the shore often express appreciation for the work carried out by the volunteers and sometimes offer their help.
«I want each of us to be able to look at these beautiful rocks and not read things about them, I want to enjoy this spectacle of nature without words, without images – concludes the artist -. And just say, 'wow, these rocks are really beautiful, this ocean is beautiful and we are so grateful to nature for giving them to us.”
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