Bland urban landscapes transformed by nondestructive street art

Minneapolis, Minnesota-based street artist Eric Reiger wouldn’t describe himself as a graffiti artist… anymore. That period of his life has passed. Now he simply goes by the personally significant moniker HOTTEA. The name envelopes both his past experiences and future vision. A vision that spans the entire urban landscape.

Reiger used to have hot tea at meaningful moments in his life, including with his grandmother Socorro, who he dedicated a past installation to. These relational flashbacks have led to a flash forward, or, more literally, a “splash” forward — a splash of color that is. Everything Reiger does has a meaning (and plenty of colors) behind it. His dedication to taking back the public space is as strong as the brick and mortar he modifies. Yarn is usually his nondestructive medium of choice, but more recently HOTTEA projects have been taking on a life of their own.

One such project occurred this summer. Reiger joined forces with the Kingfield neighborhood of Minneapolis to construct a roof for the chain-link aluminum-fenced 40th Street Bridge pedestrian walkway that passes over the eight-lane I-35W highway. But there was a catch with the artist-made awning: it was made of yarn. In total, the project consisted of 2,016 separate strands of yarn changing color from green to blue while spanning the length of the entire bridge.

This type of community collaboration is occurring more frequently in the Twin Cities, as well as around the globe. It has been used to tackle environmental issues, urban decay and neighborhood safety. The latter being redefined by Minnesota-based Ashoka Fellow Steven Clift and his e-Democracy.org neighborhood-involvement forums.

Online actions are definitely a part of the citizen sector more than ever, but for now Reiger will keep his project in and around the streets where it started. “Being able to interact with the corporate dialogue we see everyday is an opportunity a lot of artists are starting to take,” he says. “What we see and hear on a daily basis should be a conversation that we can be a part of.”

Catch Reiger in action November 19 at 7 p.m. during the opening for HOTTEA: Flying Solo at HAUS Salon (4240 Nicollet Av. S., Minneapolis, MN). The show will represent his transition from early typeface works to the larger, more pronounced pieces that now signify HOTTEA.

Know of cool community collaborations in your neck of the woods? Comment them below and share the inspiration.

Photos by Tristan Pollock and Eli Eijadi, respectively.