TrackTown tagger: ‘His medium is his spray can’
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EUGENE, Ore. -- There’s some serious tagging going on near 19th and Agate St. in Eugene, but not the kind that defaces public property.
“His medium is his spray can, and you can see every stroke, every bit of energy that he’s squeezing on there,” said Marcia Pollard as she stood in front of a large mural in front of the Adidas Athlete’s Lounge on Thursday. “It’s going right into his painting.”
With the Olympic Track Trials just down the block from Hayward Field, community artist Dylan Freeman said he has no shortage of inspiration.
“So the energy, I just try to express that with the jumping, their likeness, their speed, their sprit,” said Freeman, who goes by the tag name Kauz, as he stood in front of his giant Tracktown mural on Thursday.
Painted for the trial’s athletes, Freeman said he’s pleased its drawing attention from so many spectators.
Freeman is living in Portland but grew up in Eugene. He was contracted by Adidas to paint the mural for the lounge.
Like the awe-inspiring athletes from the Olympic Trials, Freeman said he hopes his talents can also lead by example.
“I saw a lot of people, a little younger than me, getting in trouble, getting locked up for tagging and stuff,” said Freeman. “So, I started doing projects that opened up walls for them.”
And while not everyone will get to see the Olympic Track Trials from inside Hayward Field, Freeman said he hopes to show the excitement of the meet through his art.
"This mural is about just the energy and inspiration and the dedication of the athletes, you know,” he said. “And just giving it up to them and being inspired by them."
Freeman said his Tracktown mural is a work in progress and will be taking shape throughout the trials as athletes compete.
