Everyday People: Art today, gone tomorrow
Along the Pader, Germany's shortest river, Chris and three other artists create masterpieces in smooth sprays of bright greens, rich blacks and sparkling chrome.
Today's graffiti vision for Chris is a swirling palette, like a pinwheel spinning over the open water. As he lays another line of black, his friend shakes a new can open and the ball clanks against the metal. It's quiet here, relly, seeing that the surrounding streets are full of thousands of people cheering along the annual Karneval route. There's the creek, a playground, a walk and a flock of greese flying over the statues of the women washing clothes in the river, between them. They don't notice. As they work, girls in matching rabbit costumes and a guy in a top hat and bloody face stop to watch.
The guys have licenses to paint — and repaint. There are a few other walls designated for art in Paderborn, but Chris this is the best.
It's an open invite from the city of Paderborn. He and others can create here, whenever they want. Inspired, they spray murals on top of the existing art.
Chris likes changing it up, but it means you need to have a Zen-like approach to the end result. Enjoy the process. At some time, that baby's getting painted over. Maybe even by himself.
"You can paint here as often as you like," says Chris. "It could be gone tomorrow. That's the way it is."