Graffiti Art: Spectacle or Nuisance?
One of the biggest controversial topics of today is whether or not "graffiti art" is an act of vandalism to property or beautifully displayed public murals. Well after watching this "Bomb" graffiti-documentary video for the last two days in my art class, I understood that graffiti art can be more than just defacing public property and territorial tagging. Beautiful murals and masterpieces have been created along the outdoors and decorate street walls at the hands of urban artists. All around the world, graffiti art has been thriving and expressing the artists' messages all over city buildings. The video actually inspired me when it came to a spray-painting project. It taught me that whatever I created didn't need to have expectations because it was my own art where I could let my imagination piece together whatever I wanted. At Venice Beach, it was awesome being surrounded with detailed murals around me. Most of the art work had come from artists who've been "bombing" for around 20 years and they left their trademark of beautiful intricate designs that covered the walls there in Venice Beach.
What you have discovered about graffiti is entirely true. There are some affects of graffiti that are frowned upon, yet there is also an artistic, free spirited feel to some of the art work that graces the walls of venice beach and other cities across the United States. It has been around for so long, and will probably never cease to exist, so it has become something that people must develop their own opinions on it. The student art locker rooms in the FA4 building are a sight to see... there is graffiti from head to toe in there. If you haven't already checked it out I recommend you do so!
ReplyDeleteI'm really glad you posted this because I've seen some amazing, absolutely beautiful graffiti art out there. And some terrible art. But it's sad that so many artists are considered "vandalizers" because they are being compared to the amateur artists who are just looking to put their "tag" on something.
ReplyDeleteWe must have the same art class, because I just recently did that. Before I watched that documentary, I saw graffiti as vandalism. It really opened my eyes as to how it’s art. One man from the documentary said “Taggers aren’t selling anything, they just want to show that they exist.” At the Venice Art Walls I painted my own little character called Space Cow. I thought it was a lot of fun, and it was a creative project to really show us graffiti through experience, rather than learning it from books. I thought a lot of the art work in Venice and the murals shown in the documentary were beautiful :)
ReplyDeleteBravo to you for making a post to remind me to appreciate the art that is graffiti! I have to say that I found your post to be pretty interesting, seeing how I live near Venice, and I see graffiti everywhere. It’s nice to see beautiful works of art around the city as a way of expressing oneself but when people get territorial and start making their “marks” it can get irritating. However, I do acknowledge that graffiti is an art form that is easily misunderstood. My friend actually does graffiti designs for fun and I admire her for it since it is easier said than done! Thanks for the great post and reminding me to appreciate the works of art I see around the streets!
ReplyDeleteI love this. You're entirely right. I had from the beginning, always thought of graffiti as an art, but i read your article and decided to watch the movie anyway. I cannot begin to say how much more i am convinced! In high school there were these amazing artists in my class and they loved to work with spray paint and mexican/chicano culture yet when we joined competitions, for school, i noticed that pieces that were considered graffiti never gained much recognition. Kids with sketchbooks in school also got their art confiscated and the reason was that their art was gang related. Graffiti art doesn't have to be gang related and can be such a beautiful thing to look at in a concrete jungle like the one we live in.
ReplyDeleteI feel as though graffiti art is a sense of expression. It is a way for artists to express their emotions and creative talents. I believe there needs to be areas where graffiti art can and cannot be created. When it is abused by gangs for a certain kind of calling, or something of that nature, then graffiti is illegal. However, when it is being used simply for artist purposes, then who is to say it can't done? Many question then, how do we tell the difference between the two? I feel there needs to be a system where legal graffiti artists have some sort of permit or section where they can free work so as to not disturb those who oppose graffiti art altogether.
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