Thursday, October 7, 2010
Public Issue
My public issue deals with graffiti in the public. To me graffiti is an art and when used positively can be used as a powerful form of public opinion. The issue is that no public space has been provided to graffiti artists so all they can resort to is to paint on public property. I know that some people are ignorant and even if space was provided, they wouldn't correct their actions. But I believe that if we tried to implent public painting spaces, such as Venice Beach has done, that more artists would transfer their energy from public buildings and property to these designated positions. I think everyone has seen graffiti misplaced within their city and can relate. I am interested to what people think? Remember that art/graffiti can be powerful and influential in the form of murals and paintings.
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I do agree that artistic graffiti can be amazing! I do like the idea of implementing a wall or something in the communities and call it 'color our world' or something. haha, I know, that was cheesy.
ReplyDeleteBut as an aspiring artist, I do think that some of these graffiti artists could change their art into something influential and not eye sores.
Is graffiti still about marking territory anymore? Or has that changed now?
I think that graffiti used in public space can be a powerful tool of subversion as well, but as with many forms of subversion it is also seen as an act of vandalism by many people. What I think you should discuss is how graffiti can be mainstreamed as a form of societal commentary while still retaining its commentary aspect.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. I also agree; graffiti, when done tastefully is super inspiring art. Whenever I see these "designated" walls I always stop and admire the talent.
ReplyDeleteIt's also interesting to see how graffiti differs in every country outside of the U.S. For instance, a lot of times graffiti in Europe is used as a "tool" to voice political opinion. This primary usage of graffiti is evident throughout the world as well. I remember being in a very small city in Ecuador (South America) and 8 out of 10 times the graffiti was political (The most frequent taggings encouraged people to vote. The other times you would see "Yo amo Maria (I love Maria)" or something of that sort).
Here in the mighty land of America, graffiti, as far as I'm informed, is still used to claim territory. I live in Riverside, and as "non-ghetto" as that city is, you will often see graffiti with gang names on cars, fences, walls, garage doors. So yes. This is definitely an annoying Public issue that needs some resolving.
In Singapore, a "tagger", when caught, can be sentenced to receiving up to 10 lashings and hours upon hours of community service. I'm not an advocate of "Captial punishment," but I do agree that careless and ruthless actions, such as vandalism, needs some sort of beneficial repercussions.
Give these "artists" (and no disrespect to the great graffiti artists out there) their walls!
I think that this is a great topic Julian! Especially in a city like San Bernardino where misused graffiti is found often.
ReplyDeleteSomething to think about is, what is "appropriate art"? What some artists consider appropriate and artistic (nudity, profanity) may not be appropriate for nearly all public areas.
Also, where would you like to position these public free spaces for graffiti? Are you talking about San Bernardino County, California, in general, or in your home town? It may be easier to write about a specific area.
This is a very interesting topic to me because I would often shake my head at billboards and public buildings scribbled all over and wonder why people vandalized so often and caused so much damage. However, it's important not to throw everyone who does graffiti into that group. My friend is a graffiti artist and he took me to a place in LA where an old building had been designated for graffiti artists to showcase their work. I watched everyone in their chosen spot creating works of art and it changed my mind about the whole issue (it helped that my friend used my name in one his artworks). Issues like these need to be brought into the spotlight to show that there is a difference between art and vandalism. I'm looking forward to reading more :)
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