Taft Embraces Street Art, Creates New Vibe

A young graffiti artist has left his mark in the 103-year-old Taft building at the corner of Chapel and College.

It was not an act of vandalism and will not be visible to the general public. But for residents of the Taft Apartments (an historic former hotel), and more specifically those who use the building’s music practice room, the change from institutional white walls to the colorful urban-style mural is welcomed. 

“Residents love it” said Taft Apartments property manager Scott Ferguson.

Ferguson had a hand in facilitating the transformation, a process that stretched for a couple of years before the first jet of aerosol paint was applied to the music room’s walls.

“Our thought for years has been to get an art student from Co-op Arts & Humanities High School, down the street from us, to paint a mural or murals that represent New Haven,” Ferguson said. He figured the idea, while serving to ​“jazz up” the space, would also be a good opportunity for the student.

“Obviously this would benefit the Taft but it would also provide a place for a local student-artist who wanted to showcase their work,” he said.

The commission went to 17-year-old Danny ​“3modes,” a student with a music concentration at Co-op Arts and Humanities High School who was recommended by school staff.

Steeped in graffiti culture, and in keeping with one of the subculture’s many protocols, 3modes requested that his last name not be used for this article. The somewhat secretive persona graffiti writers adopt allows the focus to be on the work and in some cases provides a cloak of anonymity — though paradoxically, using one’s tag name in the graffiti represents the ultimate in personal advertising for the artist.

Mentored in part by one of New Haven’s most invisible, high-profile graffiti artists, 3modes explained the meaning of his tag. It refers to the three qualities required of any would-be writer wishing to be successful: originality, persistence, and motivation.

To prepare for the mural, 3modes created a series of sketches in keeping with the Taft’s New Haven-themed criteria and took only several days to complete the project. Although the final mural was created with aerosol paint, 3modes does not consider the mural to be traditional graffiti painting, which is typically dominated by highly stylized lettering forms.

The artist said he chose the symbolic scales of justice and jazz-themed imagery as an homage to the Taft’s many residents who are studying law and music. Two detailed and modeled bookending panels contrast sharply with the simpler central panel, which depicts a portion of the New Haven skyline with flat shapes and tones that contrast with highly stylized cloud formations above.

Part of 3mode’s immersion in the writing culture has meant adopting a code of conduct and protocols in the way graffiti artists treat each others’ work, including how and when it is appropriate to cover another artist’s work with one’s own. In a break with graffiti traditionalists, 3modes looks to his own code of conduct when it comes to tagging in the outside world: Churches and open businesses are off limits, but abandoned buildings are fair game. 3modes said he doesn’t do illegal painting despite criticism by other writers.

“I know I’m a graffiti artist and don’t need validation from other artists,” he said. He hopes to continue garnering commissioned work along with increasing his work in graffiti-related fashion wear.

Since the early 1970s, graffiti culture has evolved along with its own language and myriad forms. Its culture and expressive art form have become a global phenomenon due, in part, to the influence of American writers who have taken their art to a global audience. Corporate America has appropriated the art form for use in advertising. As the stigma and perceptions of graffiti continue to moderate, many graffiti artists have successfully made transitions into galleries and, in the case of 3modes, into prominent Apartment buildings.

Andrew Wolf, director of New Haven government’s Department of Arts, Culture, and Tourism, is a Taft Apartments resident.

“What an unusual dynamic for a property owner to reach out to the community to develop this creative vibe. It speaks well for the new direction for the city as part of the creative economy,” Wolf said.

3modes will be creating his next mural live at The Glass Cloud (Intelligent Gestalt Gallery) at 819 Chapel St. during a happening that will feature music by Bobby b, Tone eyeful, and OTE music group, with street wear by Garseeyuh Clothing, on April 10.

A collection of his design work can be viewed on Instagram.