Ingham County Land Bank Teams-Up to Revive Inn One Last Time
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
By Tricia Bobeda
Lansing State Journal
Jul 29, 2010
LANSING, MI -- The Ingham County Land Bank purchased the dilapidated property formally called the Deluxe Inn during 2009. With plans to demolish the property and grow new life for the area, the Ingham County Land Bank is partnering with LEAP to breathe life into the building one last time before it comes crumbling down. “We are always looking for opportunities that come with redeveloping property and this comes as a perfect opportunity for the Ingham County Land Bank to be creative as well. I like to think of this project as „Creative Destruction.‟ We are all looking forward to the start of the event this weekend,” says Eric Schertzing, Ingham County Treasurer.
From July 30 through August 8 the former Deluxe Inn in Lansing will be transformed into a notable work of art. Nearly thirty-five artists from across Michigan including Grand Rapids, Lansing and Detroit as well as Chicago will be leaving their creative tag on this area inn through the art of graffiti.
Joe Manzella of LEAP has partnered with artist Sam DeBourbon on the project. Manzella and DeBourbon understand that most people see graffiti art as nothing more than the defacing of property. In reality, graffiti can be enjoyed as a work of art as long as the body of work has found placement in a proper location. The purpose of this project is more than to adorn an old property; it is to bring awareness to graffiti as a modern art form.
While traveling through Europe in years past, Manzella was inspired by being able to see the Berlin Wall, a known space for graffiti artists to gather and leave their tag. “It was known where artists could and could not graffiti” Manzella mentions. “It was confined, and those boundaries were respected. That is what we are hoping to accomplish here as well ― to give artists a space for which they can make their own, have creative freedom to create their murals and do so without the fear of getting caught.”
DeBourbon had a similar experience while in Europe when his host family brought him to an abandoned warehouse. Here he saw where many artists freely came to graffiti: a confined and well-known space to make their own in an otherwise clean and “graffiti free” neighborhood. The locals respected these boundaries and through this introduction into the world of spray painting, DeBourbon became artistically inspired and carried his love for this medium back to Michigan.
DeBourbon continues, “the [now vacant] Deluxe Inn, once full of crime, drugs and prostitution, will for a week be completely covered in vivid color, with life, and will have one last wind before [its demolition].” There are high hopes that this is just the beginning; that this project will in turn develop many more opportunities for artists to showcase their talents and to brighten up otherwise darker areas of Lansing. And so, the Graffiti Art Project is born.
From July 30 through August 8 the former Deluxe Inn in Lansing will be transformed into a notable work of art. Nearly thirty-five artists from across Michigan including Grand Rapids, Lansing and Detroit as well as Chicago will be leaving their creative tag on this area inn through the art of graffiti.
Joe Manzella of LEAP has partnered with artist Sam DeBourbon on the project. Manzella and DeBourbon understand that most people see graffiti art as nothing more than the defacing of property. In reality, graffiti can be enjoyed as a work of art as long as the body of work has found placement in a proper location. The purpose of this project is more than to adorn an old property; it is to bring awareness to graffiti as a modern art form.
While traveling through Europe in years past, Manzella was inspired by being able to see the Berlin Wall, a known space for graffiti artists to gather and leave their tag. “It was known where artists could and could not graffiti” Manzella mentions. “It was confined, and those boundaries were respected. That is what we are hoping to accomplish here as well ― to give artists a space for which they can make their own, have creative freedom to create their murals and do so without the fear of getting caught.”
DeBourbon had a similar experience while in Europe when his host family brought him to an abandoned warehouse. Here he saw where many artists freely came to graffiti: a confined and well-known space to make their own in an otherwise clean and “graffiti free” neighborhood. The locals respected these boundaries and through this introduction into the world of spray painting, DeBourbon became artistically inspired and carried his love for this medium back to Michigan.
DeBourbon continues, “the [now vacant] Deluxe Inn, once full of crime, drugs and prostitution, will for a week be completely covered in vivid color, with life, and will have one last wind before [its demolition].” There are high hopes that this is just the beginning; that this project will in turn develop many more opportunities for artists to showcase their talents and to brighten up otherwise darker areas of Lansing. And so, the Graffiti Art Project is born.
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