Schools

Students Turn Wall of Graffiti Into Monument to School Pride

Students by the score attacked a graffiti covered wall behind Danbury High School, and claimed it for their own.

Under bright blue skies and a warm spring sun, students from all backgrounds came together to beautify a neglected wall facing the athletic fields. Art teacher and Department Head Michael Obre's team of dedicated art students were joined by several other groups to complete a project that has taken the entire year to complete.

 The work was completed by many students who came such diverse groups as  the National Art Honors Society, Aryn Storrs’ Advisory, Coach Rob Murray and the DHS Track Team, Coach Brough and the DHS Field Hockey, Advisor Catherine Monroe and the DHS National Honor Society, Lt. Col. Bryan Holmes and ROTC, and individual teachers and friends.

 According to Obre, “The wall was so filthy it had to be power washed then left to dry for much of the fall. Then we primed it, and had to take the winter off. In the spring, several groups came in and we did the stenciling.”

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 The stenciling was accomplished by setting a projector on a car and driving along the wall, projecting one letter at a time. The mastermind behind the design of the mural was DHS graduate and citywide beautification artist Joe DiGiuseppe.

DiGiuseppe's murals can be found on the building at Kennedy Square, in back of the Union Savings Bank and Escape to the Arts, on Crosby Street, many inside the Regional YMCA and at many doctors and dentists offices throughout the area. “Students helped with those murals as well,” said DiGiuseppe.

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 “I presented Dr. Rossi, the principal, with several designs, and he chose this one. It was the most traditional of them but it is right for this,” said DiGiuseppe. “It will give the teams and the people in the stands something permanent to be proud of.”

 “The majority of the money for the paint was raised by Dr. Rossi, who deserves a lot of credit for this. He was very supportive, and so was Athletic Director Dan Scavone,” said Obre.

 Students have taken the project very seriously as well, and Christina Felizardo and Gina Atanasoff felt the undertaking was a meaningful one for students. “I love this project. You see everyone here working together, it is giving the school unity,” said Atanasoff.

 Painting next to her was Felizardo, who agreed, and said, “I keep thinking that I will come back here in ten years and be able to look back and say, I contributed to this school.”

Another student, Afifa Iqbal, chimed in, “This means a lot to us. The wall was a big mess before and now anyone who comes here can see how hard we worked on it.”

 “I do track and when I go to other schools, it made me feel that Danbury needed this,” said another student, Shiney S. Patel.

 “I think it has been a golden opportunity for Danbury's kids to show their spirit and pride,” said Msgt. Hector Hernandez, retired from the United States Air Force and Instructor for the Junior ROTC program. “It has been such a great opportunity for these students, from all walks of life, to spend time together and get to know each other.”

 While there is some small concern that the wall could be being vandalized with graffiti again, DiGuiseppi said, “It could happen, but so far, none of the other murals I've done have been vandalized. People who do graffiti are artists, and they generally respect the art of others. But there is some space left, and maybe it would be a good idea to use it for students to express themselves and do their art installations.”

Ashley Dunn spoke about the condition of the wall when they started. She has worked on the project from the beginning, and said, “It was such a mess, I thought it would be impossible to to do this. But to see it, piece by piece come together like this, and to get to this stage today is just fantastic.”

 Dunn looked at the wall and beamed. It was covered top to bottom, and left to right, with teenagers armed with paint brushes. “The fact that we are all students, and not just art students is amazing. I am so proud of everybody.”

 Two young men working together, Eddie Reinwald and Francisco Villafane, agreed. Reinwald said, “I came to make the school look good. It should look good.”

 Villafane was exuberant. He announced his pride in the wall when he shouted, “Hello to the world! We are blue!”

 

To see a selection of DiGiuseppe's murals, click on the thumbnails on his website at http://joedigspi.com/Murals.html.

If you would like copies of photos, simply email the author.


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