(Enlarge) The bright colors and unusual shapes of the graffiti-style art on the wall on the side of the Sports Cuts barbershop, on East Drive in Arbutus, has attracted the attention, and ire, of some local residents. (Photo by Kevin Rector)

The bright blues, greens, pinks, yellows, oranges and purples on the side of Sports Cuts barber shop on East Drive in Arbutus jump out of the surrounding grays in the downtown district.

The artwork, said Sports Cuts owner Ron "Fats" Brown, is something he asked some friends to paint on the building to help his shop stand out after moving from its home of five years across the street to its new location a few weeks ago.

"I was trying to get the younger crowd, for them to notice me when they ride by," Brown said.

He added that students at the nearby University of Maryland, Baltimore County is a target audience for him and his partner, Donald Scott, of Baltimore.

"Maybe if they see (the art) they'll say, 'OK, it's a cool spot to come, somewhere you don't have to be uptight, where you can be yourself," the Catonsville resident said.

There's a barber's pole painted in one corner, a stylized male figure with a skull shirt eyeing the street, the words "Sports Cuts" in block lettering and a dark cityscape lining the wall's bottom edge.

There's a bunch of indiscernible, graffiti-style images, and farther down the alleyway on the wall is the phrase, "Life is short. Stay awake for it!"

The building's owner, Bob Wolf, who has been in town since 1973 and owns Wolf's Cycles and the pit beef stand next door, said he allowed Brown to paint the building with the proviso that the work not be lewd.

Wolf said he simply wanted to support his tenant and agrees that attracting younger customers is important for the small shops downtown.

"Without UMBC, I see the town deteriorating and going away," he said.

Regardless of whether students have noticed, the vivid hues have placed the small alleyway on the side of Brown's shop, at 5417 East Drive, squarely into the conversations of local residents.

Brown said he has gotten a lot of compliments on the work, but not everyone is happy with it.

"That's not art. That is trash, and it's bringing down the neighborhood," said Gerry Fowler, a 14-year resident of Claridge Avenue and treasurer of the Halethorpe Improvement Association.

"Concerned citizens that live here have to look at it, and we don't think it's artwork" he said.

According to Fowler, members of the association have been working with Baltimore County to remove unwanted graffiti from the community for years, and the fact that a store owner would ask for a painting of similar style is "unbelievable."

According to Bill Toohey, a Baltimore County police spokesman, officers responded to 34 complaints of graffiti in the 21227 ZIP code between Jan. 1, 2008 and Aug. 30, 2009.

That number likely does not include incidents of graffiti on school buildings that were taken care of by the Baltimore County school system.

Joe Kinsey, the association's former president and a local resident since 1963, said he was stunned when he saw the artwork on East Drive.

"I was so taken aback and shocked that I couldn't believe -- I couldn't possibly believe -- that it was happening," Kinsey said.

"I work so hard to get Arbutus and Halethorpe to where it would be a desirable place to move and live, and to increase the property values, and I don't see this mural as something that is going to reach that goal," he said.

The association's president, Sandra Cullen, a lifelong resident of the area, said the association has not taken "any official position" on the painting.

She said there have been "varying reactions" from members and didn't share her own thoughts on the work.

"People's initial reaction is to compare it to graffiti, and it's not," Cullen said.

"I think young people have a very different view of this than the more established residents."

Wolf said that is true, and likened the disconnect between how older and younger residents view the "hip hop" painting to generational disconnects of the 1960s.

"People don't like (stuff) that they don't understand," Wolf said. "It's just like the hippies and the peace sign and the Peter Max paintings."

Terry Nolan, president of the Arbutus Business and Professional Association, said his group has not discussed the painting.

"But as a citizen," Nolan said, "I note that Mr. Wolf has First Amendment rights of free speech and free expression.

"I don't think it's going to have any great effect on the neighborhood or the kids," he said.

"In a week or two, it will fade into the background of what we see and what we don't see every day."

Nolan called the disagreements over the painting "a tempest in a teapot."

As for the painting's legal standing, which some critics have questioned, it seems that as art it is perfectly legal.

According to Tim Kotroco, director of the county's Office of Permits and Development Management, there are no county regulations for outdoor murals and artwork.

But there is a catch.

"A decorative feature is unregulated by us, until such time as it starts to advertise something, and that's when we'll get involved," he said.

If the painted barber pole or the graffiti-style lettering spelling out the name of the shop were deemed advertising, they would become subject to regulations on the size and number of advertisements businesses can have, Kotroco said.

That judgment would be a "matter of interpretation" by Kotroco's office, and wouldn't be easy, he said.

"Determining what is art is not an easy thing," he said. "As they say, it's in the eye of the beholder."

According to Brown, the artwork wasn't meant to bother anyone.

Students at Arbutus elementary and middle schools who make the honor roll get free cuts in the shop and UMBC students get a $5 discount on the shop's $15 cuts, Brown said.

"I just hope everybody will give us a chance," he said.

user comments (2)

user says...

My name is Brenda Rodriguez, I have family in the Baltimore County and the Arbutus area. I think as a person who does not live in the area, but is in that area 3 to 4 times a week, the area in a whole is a very nice area. I think the long time residents of Arbutus did a very good job building the town the way they did. That being said, I also think that the artwork on the side of the barber shop is also nice and it can be a good start to updating and making new live improvements to an already nice area.

Posted 11:32 AM, 09.10.09

• Permalink

user joann says...

When the "students" starting paying mortgages and taxes in Arbutus, they can have a say about what is "cool". I moved to Arbutus from the city years ago for a reason. It's bad enough that decent stores are no longer on East Drive, now this. Lets change the name from East Drive to North Pennsylvania Drive!

Posted 8:24 AM, 09.16.09

• Permalink