For a couple of years, the Nook between Aura Coffee and Voertman鈥檚 bookstore on Hickory Street has been an official community art space for those who wish to express themselves through public art like murals and graffiti.
The Nook had once been known as the off-campus smoking spot since it鈥檚 across the street from the University of North Texas. 鈥淭he Nook embodies the college student. It鈥檚 art. It鈥檚 trash. It鈥檚 a bunch of psychological problems. It鈥檚 a good place to discover yourself,鈥� then-UNT student Emily Fryksater told the North Texas Daily .
It had been a space for graffiti and murals for years until Voertman鈥檚, which owns the space, decided to officially designate it as a free artistic expression space.
鈥淲e kept doing murals and stuff out there, and they just kept getting vandalized, and so we鈥檙e like, why not embrace that and let people have a creative outlet space that鈥檚 legal?鈥� Reagan Boerner from Voertman鈥檚 told the Record-Chronicle .
Since then, the space has displayed artistic expression in the form of graffiti, portraits, posters and other artist expression (as long as it follows Voertman鈥檚 rules and doesn鈥檛 include vulgarity). Hank Hill from King of the Hill made an appearance there, as did Albert Einstein and the all-seeing eye.
Here recently, it was showcasing support for LGBTQ+ rights.
But at some point between Saturday night and Sunday morning, someone painted the whole space purple and tagged it with a hashtag: 鈥�#DentonCleanUp.鈥�
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it was the city,鈥� said Robyn Baker, one of the managers at Voertman鈥檚. 鈥淚t鈥檚 completely legal to spray paint there. It鈥檚 a free speech space.鈥�
Kurt Van Zandt, an assistant manager at Aura Coffee, first noticed Voertman鈥檚 community art space had been painted over with purple paint on Sunday. He couldn鈥檛 recall it ever being completely repainted like this.
鈥淚 highly doubt the city would do a slop job,鈥� Van Zandt said.
By Monday afternoon, artists had already started painting over the purple space with messages to the city and anyone else who will listen:
鈥滺ow about you give back our buses.鈥�
鈥滵enton condemn scumbag landlords.鈥�
鈥漇olve the real problems.鈥�
鈥滸OBACK 2 Dallas.鈥�
The #DentonCleanUp tag was marked through with yellow paint. Underneath it reads 鈥�#DentonSuckIt鈥�.
Voertman鈥檚 rules for the Nook were also tagged by graffiti.
Since at least 2006, has been part of the city鈥檚 Graffiti Abatement Program and its comprehensive plan to eliminate graffiti on public and private property and to prevent graffiti and vandalism, according to city staff.
The city offers a document titled 鈥�#DentonCleanUp鈥� with a section labeled 鈥淗ow You Can Wipeout Graffiti鈥� in three easy steps: report, record and remove.
Under 鈥渞emove,鈥� the city recommends that you remove graffiti within 24 to 48 hours to keep it from spreading. The city offers a free service for property owners who wish to have the graffiti removed; otherwise, they have 15 days to remove it since it is illegal.
The penalty for graffiti depends on the monetary loss and the location. It could range from a Class C misdemeanor if the amount is less than $100 or a first-degree felony if the amount is $300,000 or more, according to Section 28.08 of the Texas Penal Code.
鈥淚 confirmed with our staff that the covering of the area was not done by the city,鈥� city of Denton Chief of Staff Ryan Adams wrote in a Monday morning email. 鈥淥n a side note, when we abate, we would power-wash brick and the city would not paint a hashtag.鈥�
Local muralist Dan Black is familiar with graffiti. His Band on the Run mural over at Andy鈥檚 Bar was recently tagged. It wasn鈥檛 the first instance of graffiti on the huge mural downtown, but in the past, Andy鈥檚 has been able to take care of street-level vandalism. The most recent one, though, was in a spot higher on the mural where quite a few colors come together, which required Andy鈥檚 to call him to come back and repair it.
Black said he finished repainting it last week, and it took about a day. He鈥檚 currently repainting some of his other murals that were tagged along Bell Avenue at Robertson Street and at Eagle Drive.
鈥淚鈥檓 not a huge fan of vandalism and painting on other people鈥檚 stuff,鈥� Black said. 鈥淚t feels rude.鈥�
The damage Black is cleaning up for the city wasn鈥檛 done by the same taggers, he said.
But he said what is unique about Voertman鈥檚 is that it has been designated as a free speech wall, and he wondered if the person who painted over the space with purple paint and a city hashtag wasn鈥檛 simply making a statement.
鈥淚t sounds to me like they are taking advantage of the opportunity for free speech to share an opinion,鈥� Black said.
Black said Voertman鈥檚 has taken a risk by opening its free speech wall, and he is grateful for it since it is difficult, stressful and challenging to facilitate because it is inevitable that someone will have something to say that will frustrate other people.
鈥淲hen a business opens a free graffiti wall, it gives young people a place to practice, and ideally, they will grow to become a muralist,鈥� Black said. 鈥淚 really hope no heat is coming down on them. I鈥檇 hate to see it go away. It鈥檚 something that helps the city.鈥�
When he was starting out as an artist in East Texas, Black said he didn鈥檛 have any space to practice his graffiti. He had to rely on sheets to perfect his art into a muralist style. The space that Voertman鈥檚 offer allows artists to perfect their art, he said.
He鈥檇 fallen in love with street art when he was growing up in Houston. He鈥檇 see different types of graffiti on dilapidated buildings that turned them into powerful pieces of art.
鈥淚t was amazing and beautiful, the power of the thin coat of paint,鈥� Black said. 鈥淚t affects people differently [when they see it], and that seems magical to me.鈥�