The Artistry of Graffiti
So this is (clearly) a final for my class, but I'm liking it quite a bit, so I thought, y'know what, this is going on the internet. It's quite lengthy, but I hope someone enjoys!
The Artistry of Graffing
Graffiti has spread all across the world in recent years. What began merely as a form of vandalism has evolved into an authentic form of art. It is still widely debated, though, whether or not graffiti should be considered artwork or merely vandalism, simply because of the manner in which graffiti is commonly presented. The answer is clear. Graffiti is art that should not be considered as an issue to societies. What began as a simple feat of self-importance has since evolved into a form of artistic expression that can add culture and value to otherwise neglected areas all around the world.
The term ‘graffiti’ is defined as unauthorized drawing, writing, or painting on a surface in a public space (Gerstenfeld, 406). Graffiti began to become more popular in the known world in the early 1970’s, just as the hip-hop scene was exploding, and by 2004, Gerstenfeld claims that most urban areas around the world had significant amounts of graffiti (406). The craze began when a street artist known only as Taki183 began tagging, painting his signature on public spaces in New York City (Boland Jr).
Seeing the popularity and attention being credited to Taki183, many young New Yorkers began to emulate him, presumably in order to gain “street cred” and notoriety. Soon tagging became a competition in which the taggers would try to make their tags more stylish than their competitors (Rhak). Before long hey would begin adding colors, special effects, and they would make their tags of larger scale, which would soon lead to, what hip-hop culturists call, the “style wars”, which is when street artists first took it upon themselves to “style up” run down locations of their cities and turn them into art work (Cyte).
As proven by the style wars, graffiti art can beautify and even add cultural relevance to dilapidated areas and wall spaces in communities that would be considered eyesores otherwise. Graffiti commonly has a strong social or political message which is showcased through a mixture of pictures and words. A famous British graffiti artist known as “Banksy” creates street-art with concise messages for his society to view. His art is usually made with stencils and spray paint and often reverses the normal roles people have in society. In November 2014, Banksy put up a piece of graffiti that showed four pigeons holding anti-immigration signs, directed at an exotic species of bird. One of the pigeons’ signs’ said “Go Back to Africa.” The piece, titled ‘Protesting Birds’, skillfully platforms the ongoing immigration and race issues that are being heavily debated around the world every day.
In Dakar, Senegal, graffiti has never had an illegal status, and so it has been called “the paradise of graffiti.” The citizens in Dakar view graffiti as a power that can cleanse and beautify the decomposing spaces in their economically disadvantaged city (Rabine 91). A graffer called Docta leads an annual festival titled ‘Festigraff’ that puts the city’s graffiti artists to work in platforming the positive effects graffiti can have. The common festival day begins with Mad Zoo, the “representative of all the graffers”, gathering the artists and giving them one sentence for a theme that is geared at inspiring the people of the city to positive action (Rabine 91). Street artists like those that participate in Festigraff are proving that graffiti art can have a truly positive effect on a society.
The definition of art is stated to be “the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination” (Oxford Dictionary). Primarily, though, art is conceived to be visual, such as sculpting, painting and photography. It is clear that graffiti art meets all of the aforementioned criteria, as all of the visual properties and criterion, from the element of color to the intricate issue of artist intention, which are credited to other works in order to depict them as art can all be found in examples of graffiti art. In an interview about opinions on graffiti as art, Ronald Mills, resident of Monterey, California said “Of course (graffiti) is art, because everything that is called art is subjective. I hate some art with so much passion, but that doesn’t change the fact that it is art.” Also, forty-four percent of Americans polled consider graffiti art in contrast to a poll three years prior in which the approval rating was forty percent, according to the CBS website. These statistics show that the general population’s approval and acceptance of graffiti as a art form is increasing.
In the nineteen eighties when graffiti was just beginning to be popularized, graffiti artists, such as Jean-Michael Basquiat, were featured in single art exhibitions at commercial galleries and gained international fame quickly (Thompson and Margo 143). Seeing similarities in the expressionist qualities of the graffiti art drew galleries to feature the artists’ works, and the galleries in turn spawned enthusiasm amongst patrons. Basquiat did gain commercial fame in his short lifetime, yet he preached that the value of art could not be told by critics, he once said “I don't listen to what art critics say. I don't know anybody who needs a critic to find out what art is” (Thompson and Margo).
Graffiti art has been known to be sold for substantial sums of money, and thus can potentially add to property value. For example, in June of 2014, an auction house Sotheby’s Auction House accommodated several Banksy originals, which were being sold for up to seven-hundred and fifty thousand dollars. A few years earlier at the same auction house, ten of Banksy’s original pieces sold for an average of over seven hundred thousand dollars per piece, peaking with ‘Keep It Spotless’ which sold for one million eight hundred and seventy thousand dollars (The Guardian). Also, a self-hosted exhibition held by street artist Mr. Brainwash turned into a cultural sensation. Chronicled in the documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop, the narrator of the films states “[Los Angeles’] art fans watched, spellbound, as a major new star was born before their very eyes.” By the end of its opening week, Mr. Brainwash’s exhibit brought in nearly one million dollars (Exit Through the Gift Shop).
Graffiti can also generate income for nearby business owners through the act of drawing tourists to the area. For example, the official tourism website for Toronto, Canada has a page dedicated to what is unofficially called the ‘Graffiti Alley’ which artists from all over the world have traveled to Toronto to add to its beautiful diversity, and the city has a progressive policy to encourage street art in Toronto, their motto being “Inspiring neighborhoods one wall at a time” (Pocock).
Some would argue, though, that graffiti offends citizens and conveys bad messages, so it should not be considered a valid art form. They claim that a large amount of graffiti pieces convey extremely bad and/or violent messages, such as gang-related graffiti, graffiti art of guns and other weaponry, and graffiti of exploding buildings or other violent acts to ‘represent terrorism’. They also mention the use of swear words in graffiti and even crude depictions of sexual acts. However, just as all songs cannot be grouped into one genre, not all graffiti art can be lumped into the same category and labeled as offensive or conveying violent messages to viewers. There are many pieces, such as the aforementioned pieces done by Senegalese artists or those works in graffiti alley that are aimed to inspire, which is the exact opposite of offending. Furthermore, while pieces like ‘Protesting Birds’ might seem offensive at a glance, the underlying meaning of the piece denounces the racist sentiment that is ever-present in societies in an artful way. Despite this some people will still call the work ‘crude’ and completely ignore the artistic manifestation in the piece.
Criticizers would also argue that the illegality of graffiti should disbar it from being considered as true art. It’s true that graffing may result in informal probation, a fine that can range from one to five thousand dollars, and up to one year in county jail (California Vandalism Laws | Penal Code 594 pc). Graffiti also accounts for thirty-five percent of all vandalism charges and can be associated with gang violence (Graffiti Hurts). Despite this, the illegalities do not disqualify graffiti from being considered true art. The term ‘graffiti’ has evolved from its dictionary definition and now carries its own meaning as a style of art, it no longer refers to simple tags or spray-painted lines on the side of a house which are only meant to vandalize and which would not in any way constitute art. Graffiti can now refer to works done on paper or computers, and not just those done on wall spaces. The idea that graffiti should be on a visible public or private space only highlights the idea that graffiti is meant to be completely accessible to the public for immediate appreciation, but it is not a requirement for a work to be considered graffiti art.
In conclusion, the graffiti movement is simply one way artists choose to express themselves and share their ideals with communities. Graffiti can be beautiful and masterfully done, and the process can be stunning to witness. In some instances graffiti may even provide a sense of pride to the community through beautification and even economically benefit by drawing tourists to the area. Many years ago, Shakespeare was considered crude and vulgar, but now his works are seen clearly as the art pieces that they are, and in time, graffiti art will evolve in the same way.
Works Cited:
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