CHICAGO – Religious art may inspire thoughts of stained-glass windows or Michelangelo’s famous frescoes at the Sistine Chapel.
For a growing segment of enthusiasts, religious art now also includes graffiti. Its use as an art form by Christian ministries like Gospel Graffiti Crew and Upward Sports shows the genre has broad appeal.
The term “graffiti” originates from a Greek word, meaning “to write.”
While it has a long association with vandalism, graffiti is a form of expression that has been around for centuries, dating back to ancient Egypt and Rome. However, its contemporary application is more closely connected to rap and hip-hop, giving voice to subversive culture.
Aric Diaz – who goes by his initials A.D. – started painting graffiti when he was a teenager in Texas. Now married and with two young kids, it’s still a passion he has carried to his new hometown of Chicago.
Today, his work serves both as an outlet for creativity, artistic expression and as a form of worship.
“When we started at the wall on 53rd and Halsted {Streets},” Diaz recalled leading his paint crew in the following prayers: “‘God, I thank you. God, help me. I need you. I can’t do this apart from you.'”
The cross streets refer to the location of one of his latest pieces. It’s a colorful mural incorporating Chicago scenery, religious themes, and Bible verses. His canvas was the exterior wall of an abandoned building in the Englewood neighborhood in the city’s South Side – commissioned for an evangelistic shoe-giveaway in June.
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Initially, he downplayed the significance but quickly saw that his project resonated with others.
“The feedback came right away,” he explained. “I started doing outlines. I started filling in, and people – regulars – would come by, honk, {and shout} ‘I love your work!’ {and} ‘You’re doing amazing. Let’s go!'”
His current art catalog is sanctioned – paid gigs for churches and other groups wanting Diaz to use their interior and exterior walls as his canvas. That was not the case when he picked up his first can of spray paint.
“I’m getting arrested. The police officers are taking my spray tips, and I remember them throwing them,” Diaz reflected. “Initially, I was convicted that maybe this is idolatry. I was convicted that I was putting {graffiti} before God.”
He had a change of heart after he became a Christian and considered putting down the spray cans for good. But mentors at his summer youth camp convinced him to use his skills for God.
“They began to use my gifts. They said, ‘Hey, we’re going to put some spray cans in your hands,'” he told CBN News.
Diaz also leaned on a passage of scripture as his inspiration.
“1 Corinthians 10:31 {is} a very special verse to me: ‘So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do unto the glory of God,'” Diaz recited by memory. “And, so now I began to do it for the Lord.”
He applies that verse when he’s painting, preaching at summer camp, or working his other passion: mentoring young kids.
Diaz manages volunteers for Chicago’s GRIP Outreach for Youth, a religious nonprofit. Mentors with the group work with area school students to help them grow spiritually and gain important life skills.
“I would not be getting my associate’s degree – coming out of high school with my associate’s degree. I would not be doing none of this if it wasn’t for my mentor teaching me how to see life in a different way,” said Kemarion Jones, a GRIP student participant.
Raymond Diaz, who shares the same last name but is unrelated to AD, is another program participant. He told CBN News it has been a pleasure getting to know AD. “He’s a great mentor,” he said.
Diaz, the artist, believes graffiti is about community. He paints positive messages and shares his passion – and often his paint cans – with the kids he mentors. He sees graffiti as a way to connect with young kids, allowing them to open up, gain confidence, and navigate the pressures of growing up.
“With the social media generation, there’s no room for weakness. There’s no room for poverty. So, there’s a lot of fronts,” he told CBN News. “They don’t come down until they know that you care about them.”
Diaz believes his work resonates both artistically and spiritually.
“We are longing for freedom. We’re longing for life, for redemption,” he explained. “And somehow I think spray paint and graffiti captures that. It’s like you see browns; you see grays everywhere. And then, all of a sudden, you’re driving on the highway – or you see on the ‘L’ {Chicago Transit Authority Trains}, you see life.”
The pride he feels from pieces like the one at 53rd and Halsted is no longer personal. He shares the sense of accomplishment with his mentees and the community at large.
“I hope he does more of these across the city, because it brings a positive message to the city – of hope, of light, sharing the gospel,” said Eric Brown, a Chicago resident who was taking pictures of the mural with his two sons.
Diaz wants that positive message to last long after his paint peels or fades away.
