GRAFFITI artists have been at work at York Minster this week -
but this time with the blessing of the Dean and Chapter.
Instead of "tagging" walls and windows with their spray cans,
the painters from the Leeds co- operative Black Rose have been
using large canvases and light-boxes to show how the medieval
minster can inspire their work.
The displays, which continue tonight and tomorrow, are part of
York Minster Nights, in which the cathedral opened its doors after
dark and cleared the nave of furniture for the first time in a
decade to allow the public to experience the space of its
276-foot-high nave.
The Dean, the Very Revd Vivienne Faull, said on Monday: "By
taking lots of the chairs out, it gives the artists a chance to
respond to the building itself. It's an interesting process of
interaction with artists coming from quite a different tradition,
although they do say that, in the broadest sense, they call
themselves spiritual people. They have a great respect for the
building.
"Besides the displays there will be activities, too. Everyone
who comes to take part will have a chance to make their own
poster."
Among the artists is "Inkie", reputedly one of the most
notorious and prolific graffiti writers in the UK. He has painted
alongside Banksy, and his work is collected by celebrities
including Robbie Williams, Jade Jagger, and Jude Law.
The event coincides with the feast of All Saints and the
commemoration of All Souls, and with York schools' half-term
holiday.
"We are looking to encourage those in their teens to come into
the minster in the early evening," Dean Faull said. "We want to
show that this building in one sense has been a young person's
building for ever.Those who built the minster were really young. .
. Those who are rebuilding the minster now are similarly in their
teens and twenties, so there's a continuity with that."