Comments on Street Art
I have recently been very inspired by a youtube documentary about the Robbo vs. Banksy art war that took place in 2009 and 2010. It got me thinking about the morals and ethics regarding what is considered street art and what is considered "graffiti".
In the documentary, the narrator speaks on the behavior of the British Street Environmental Services (SES) and their department dedicated to graffiti cleanup. Their workers would regularly go out and remove the 'pieces' and tags of graffiti artists (some of which were gorgeous), and yet they would intentionally leave "street art" alone... When they did not know if something was regarded as "street art" or not, they would send photos to their boss/supervisor to determine if it should be removed or not.
Where do you draw the line between what is street art and what is graffiti? Why do street artist have more right to portray their work in the street than graffiti taggers? Is it because society thinks that street art is more socially palatable? The main way street artists become what they are is because of writing/tagging. You praise them when they create what society deems to be "artwork" but criminalize them when the art doesn't confine to your rules. Forcing art to confine into a small box of what society deems acceptable is exactly what good art is trying to combat.
Technically illegal works of Banksy 'street art' have been repeatedly and regularly repaired, immortalized, and preserved with plastic coverings. While the works of Robbo and other 'graffiti artists' have been chased by police and scrubbed off of the street...
He who holds the "authority of law" is he who determines the worth of the individual. The predominantly white and patriarchal society that we live in that has set the tone for what is socially acceptable limits the human condition by preventing the free speak of public art. This is but a small way that freedoms of expression and speech are policed in our day to day lives. I believe we should all take the thought and time to challenge the way society has taught us to think.
Anytime you catch yourself thinking something as an impulse reaction to seeing or encountering something that society has deemed 'unacceptable' or 'unfit', stop and evaluate why society has taught you to think that way. What biases are policing your thoughts?
Think on it.
