Asheville Greenworks on Merrimon

If you're an artist, you're supposed to think that graffiti is raw and vital and somehow transcends property rights in the name of vision. Whatever. If you're an Ashevillian, you're pretty tired of it. It's one thing in the River District, where there are actual artists painting on spaces reserved for graffiti. It's another when every third wall downtown has the same stencil hastily applied by kids wearing Che Guevara shirts they bought at the mall.

There are certain notable exceptions. I enjoy Chicken Alley. But in any event, real painting is hard work, and the Asheville GreenWorks crew is pretty serious about it.