I'm going to just admit something right off - I like graffiti.
I do.
I like its subversive nature. I like that it is unsettling and disturbing. I like that it smacks of danger on the part of the artist as well as questionable legality and destruction of property. It challenges what is acceptable and makes everyone notice. Even if you hate it, it's been successful in that you noticed it.
Here's an interesting video (I don't love the associated animation, and there's a longer version available if you're inclined, but it gets the point across):
As the video points out, graffiti is nothing new, nor is it limited to a certain region. I've seen graffiti on walls in my hometown as well as on other continents. The Great Wall of China has graffiti. I've seen remote park benches along desert trails that are have graffiti, overlooked by graffiti on canyon walls that is hundreds of years old. I've seen "positive" graffiti, beautiful murals and messages on vast walls like canvases... And I've seen "negative" graffiti, sprawled across rail cars and bridge overpasses and highway signs. I've seen elaborate works of art, using many colors and textures in the way of true mastery... And I've seen ugly, quick scrawls that mark territory and taunt rivals. I've seen graffiti in languages I didn't understand and in languages that only the artist understands...
And it's awesome.
Oh, I get that it's a violation of property rights and it can make things look disorganized and ugly. I get that it's by its very nature destructive and disconcerting. And I get that it is used by criminal elements to send messages to each other, to enemies, and to the world at large.
But it's what they have. People feel the urge to create, to mark territory, and to leave something of themselves behind. People also want to affect change. And people will work with the media they are given. If we want people to use constructive and beneficial methods of communication and creation, we should give them the tools necessary to do so. In the absence of these more constructive methods, people will use what they have.
Graffiti is to art what hip hop is to music. They're both powerful and meaningful and effective. And it's what we've given people to work with.
I was at Independence Rock this past weekend, marveling at the names people scrawled into the rock. I also marveled that the State of Wyoming would celebrate this act of graffiti. Who knows? In 100 years, maybe the graffiti of today will come to be celebrated and revered.
But probably not.
I do.
I like its subversive nature. I like that it is unsettling and disturbing. I like that it smacks of danger on the part of the artist as well as questionable legality and destruction of property. It challenges what is acceptable and makes everyone notice. Even if you hate it, it's been successful in that you noticed it.
Here's an interesting video (I don't love the associated animation, and there's a longer version available if you're inclined, but it gets the point across):
As the video points out, graffiti is nothing new, nor is it limited to a certain region. I've seen graffiti on walls in my hometown as well as on other continents. The Great Wall of China has graffiti. I've seen remote park benches along desert trails that are have graffiti, overlooked by graffiti on canyon walls that is hundreds of years old. I've seen "positive" graffiti, beautiful murals and messages on vast walls like canvases... And I've seen "negative" graffiti, sprawled across rail cars and bridge overpasses and highway signs. I've seen elaborate works of art, using many colors and textures in the way of true mastery... And I've seen ugly, quick scrawls that mark territory and taunt rivals. I've seen graffiti in languages I didn't understand and in languages that only the artist understands...
And it's awesome.
Oh, I get that it's a violation of property rights and it can make things look disorganized and ugly. I get that it's by its very nature destructive and disconcerting. And I get that it is used by criminal elements to send messages to each other, to enemies, and to the world at large.
But it's what they have. People feel the urge to create, to mark territory, and to leave something of themselves behind. People also want to affect change. And people will work with the media they are given. If we want people to use constructive and beneficial methods of communication and creation, we should give them the tools necessary to do so. In the absence of these more constructive methods, people will use what they have.
Graffiti is to art what hip hop is to music. They're both powerful and meaningful and effective. And it's what we've given people to work with.
I was at Independence Rock this past weekend, marveling at the names people scrawled into the rock. I also marveled that the State of Wyoming would celebrate this act of graffiti. Who knows? In 100 years, maybe the graffiti of today will come to be celebrated and revered.
But probably not.
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