Graffiti ditch clogged with below-grade art: Kenny Be's Sign Language

A study of the tags on the retaining wall pictured above suggest that this may be the work of the street toughs enrolled at the nearby Rocky Mountain School of Expeditionary Learning. The hand-painted reminders of "Hope!!" and "you would do better" are lessons lifted straight from the mean hallways...

By Kenny Be

March 17, 2010

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "12017618",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17242653",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261320",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261321",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

A study of the tags on the retaining wall pictured above suggest that this may be the work of the street toughs enrolled at the nearby Rocky Mountain School of Expeditionary Learning. The hand-painted reminders of "Hope!!" and "you would do better" are lessons lifted straight from the mean hallways of a collaborative learning environment. The north retaining wall, awash in practice portraits and graffiti homework, can be seen below:

The photograph above aptly demonstrates how bad graffiti looks better when there is more of it! And that's just one of lessons learned by the students who have been ditched by the public schools.

KEEP WESTWORD FREE... Since we started Westword, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Denver, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.