a blog created by Assistant Professor Nicole Hodges Persley for Hip-Hop in Popular Culture,
a course offered by the Department of Theatre at The University of Kansas.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Week 5- Graffiti
This week, freestyle blog about GRAFFITI. Think about its profound influence on Hip-Hop culture.
This is a website for a company in Kansas City that specializes in graffiti removal. I guess graffiti artists are providing jobs and stimulating the economy.
Graffiti is awesome! I have always liked seeing graffiti around in areas that seem to be more run-down than others. I know many people see it as vandalism, but in my eyes it is exotic art. I actually have always wanted to have one wall of my room covered in graffiti because it interests me so much.
Personally, I believe graffiti has been a facet of society forever. From cavemen drawing history on the walls of caves to thugs putting explicit language on the walls of buildings. I also believe graffiti is a form of art when used constructively. For instance, when I visited Philadelphia there was a part of the city that legalized graffiti as long as it had an important issue from society as the forefront like the graffiti that was shown to us--a mural of Martin Luther King, Jr.
I like the Wild Style type of graffiti the most because it is full of color and is very bold. I also like the fact that you cannot read it most of the time then you can appreciate it as art without needed the underlining message. In this sense it’s like modern art. I enjoy seeing the bright bold colors associated with this type of graffiti. I feel like it brightens up the dull industrial parts of the city. This particular piece is nice because it is large and incorporates many different colors with its ribbon-like lettering.
When it comes to art, I personally cannot tell what's good and what's bad, besides the obvious 4th grade drawing versus a professional drawing. Yet, the most aesthetically pleasing art form to me comes from graffiti. It's hard to fathom how artists can make such layered, 3-D designs out of spray paint. It's a shame that graffiti plasters property and often times makes buildings, trains and other areas look rather trashy. Still, the art form is something else and very interesting to look at. Many of these artists could be fantastic if they used their talent for money and lost the idea that selling ones work and becoming famous is "selling out."
For my blog this week, I decided to draw graffiti. Since I can't actually draw, I used my computer. The word LIFE was used to make the viewer contemplate their personal definition of the word. I wasn't able to post the picture, so I sent it via email.
I feel that graffiti can go both ways as far as being destructive and a work of art. Some graffiti can be a great work of art (like the photo I uploaded as my profile picture. I took it this summer while I was visiting Romania) while some can be destructive and not nice to look at like profanity and vulgar images which I do not see the point to. Either way, I feel that it has affected our culture as well as those around the world and can be a great way for youth to express themselves.
The realm of hip hop contains many eclectic platform for artists to express themselves; from Emceeing, to behind the turn tables, dancing on the floor or stroking creativity onto walls, hip hop unleashes the silenced artist from within. Judge Matthews of the Bronx Family Court claims that: “Graffiti is an expression of social maladjustment” (Forman and Neal 26); those who up hold close minded standards and ideals concerning art forms would agree with him. Completely overlooking its raw talent and realism, and only focusing on it’s marred societal reputation. Since the outbreak in the seventies and eighties, a more contemporary view has been adopted and wider audience is able to see the beauty between the meaningful messages of hope and despair. There is grace and pride behind the uncut, untamed artistry that comes out of social angst. Taki reminds us that so many of these performers and artists do not engage their talents in hopes for fame, but for the soul purpose of expression. I find “clean” (not horribly profane) graffiti to be quite charming and unique to individual cities. The walls of the streets are like the reflection from a pond, telling stories of those who in habit it. Denver (where I am from) even goes as far as to provide space for local graffiti artists to showcase their talent without being destructive to high ranking government buildings. In fact many murals around the city are painted by these local artist and have remained untouched by other graffiti artists based on mutual respect. Graffiti has the power to inform, reflect and unite communities if it is mindful and is allocated the proper voice and education it calls for.
here's the website for my favorite graffiti crew. i'm not sure if they're kc-based or not, but they have some work around westport. if they caught your eye at all, there are a bunch of photos of their work on this forum: http://www.12ozprophet.com/forum/showthread.php?t=130807
One of my friends is really passionate about graffiti. He's always been into it, and in high school the art teacher was very receptive to his artwork. He would draft burners in class, and his final projects were always large graffiti burners on canvas.
I grew up around a group of kids that thought graffiti was really cool, and a bunch of the kids I hung around with stenciled all around Lawrence. No one ever got into any trouble, and some of the stencils are still around. It seems to me that in more affluent communities, like Lawrence, graffiti is less stigmatized and more celebrated. I know that this is not simply so; I remember when someone tagged the Oread and it was seen as vandalism. I do think that graffiti has achieved a level of popularity among young people around the world and across social classes.
Here's my friend's current blog. http://trompe-loeil.skyrock.com/
Like most cultural elements of hip-hop, graffiti has been happening since before hip-hop was an established movement. The caves at Lascaux are many millennia old. "When hip-hop encountered the downtown art scene in the late '70s, before it even had a name, aesthetes like Fab 5 Freddy and Afrika Bambaataa were arguing that youth street culture was vibrant, transformational, and radical. Both pointed to graffiti as hip-hop's indigenous visual art form (Chang 117)." "In 1972 subway graffiti became a political issue in New York City (Forman and Neal 21)." Whatever started graffiti as hip-hop culture, I think that we can all mostly agree that graffiti is art for arts sake, and not much more than a symbol the artist has chosen to reuse in an attempt to tag a lot of different places. Whether you love or hate graffiti, if you have ever been to a city you've undoubtedly seen some type of the art form. Regardless, graffiti is certainly political, if only because there are those people who argue the art should be left alone and others who think the art should be scrubbed away. According to one New York City judge, "Graffiti is an expression of social maladjustment, but the courts cannot cure all of society's ills. We have neither the time nor the facilities to handle graffiti cases (Forman and Neal 26)." In summary, graffiti is considered a petty crime. Several more famous artists, such as Shepard Fairey and Banksy, whose works are not only not removed from buildings but are in many ways celebrated by the public (Britain does not efface Banksy in most cases, despite having the most cameras of any major city, and Fairey created the HOPE campaign logo for Obama). Basquiat is another famous artist. In closing, I have included a link to my favorite Banksy article, from Intelligent Life...http://moreintelligentlife.com/story/im-tired-banksy
"Los Angeles has been called the mural capital of the world, counting nearly 1,500 artworks. Over 100 wall paintings devoted to the African American experience decorate Los Angeles. Many have been maintained, but a few have badly faded or suffered other abuses."
Just going back to what I said about seeing graffiti in an around Boston, it made me think more afterwards about the Boston graffiti artist Shepard Fairey, and his more notable pieces like the Andre the Giant tag and his design for President Barack Obama's "Hope" poster. It first made me think of both the political ties to hip hop in terms of elections and discourses, and then what that does for a graffiti artist in terms of gaining fame and such. In creating a poster such as the "Hope" poster for President Obama, it certainly succeeds in trying to connect to a younger audience. It's connecting a style associated with youth and advents in both youth and urban culture, and connecting themes such as identity within society and whatnot. In terms of Fairey as (more specifically) an artist, it certainly added to his fame and he's become a notable figure in pop culture art that has been adopted into several different marketing campaigns for different products (Pepsi for example, see any similarities to Obama graphic design campaigns?) that have nothing to do with politics. But as a graffiti artist, I feel like he sort of cheated out of the game: The point of graffiti is to become notoriously enigmatic and therefore your prestige as a graffiti artist increases. People want to look for his work, people want to copy his work or burn his work, and since Fairey has become very outspoken about his participation, not only did it get him arrested but it also gives out this contradiction of graffiti for the government. How can a campaign manager hire a graffiti artist to design murals and advocate for a Presidential nominee? But that could also mean that the general public is under a new discourse in terms of the understanding (or acceptance) that graffiti is a very legitimate form of art. On top of that, with all of the pro-Obama hip hop tracks (will.i.am., Yes, We Can) that came out to support his campaign, it automatically impresses audiences into showing how a cultural movement/ medium of expression can be politically conscience, when people still think that it's impossible because hip hop is "something that underprivileged, city-stricken, arguable uneducated black people do during their time off".
But on another note, it's really great to see that a Bostonian is getting fame for both a huge political and hip hop related event/moment in time. The hip hop scene in Boston is nearly non-existant, due to the fact that the hardcore scene, punk scene and general Irish-American scene is much bigger in Boston; There just isn't a lot of hip hop coming from Boston minus Gang Starr's MC Guru, who was raised in Roxbury, Mass., (which is one of the "ethnic" areas of the city) and Shepard Fairey. It's good that Boston gets some sort of recognition in the hip hop community.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevegarfield/3264850390/: This photo of a poster for the T, which is the subway/commuter rail system in Massachusetts, and the road that goes past that is most likely Interstate 95 or the "Mass Pike", where on the side of where that other brick building is, there's a lot of graffiti that peppers all across the buildings with the NUM Tag:
This photo shows the Boston University Boat House, and the bridge that connects Boston to Cambridge, where Harvard and MIT are. You can see Andre on the side of the bridge.
I was talking to my roommate about this assignment and she said that some of the coolest graffiti she has ever seen was in London. Apparently there are these tunnels that you drive through and they are just covered in graffiti. This was the best example I could find of it.
Graffiti can be viewed positively as art, but it can also be viewed negatively as vandalism. When graffiti is used to influence youth and society through positive messages, then I think it is respectable and creative. When it is used just to mock others or destroy buildings though, it sheds a negative light on all graffiti artists.
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air television show was another landmark for hip-hop culture and its movement towards commercially international acceptance, including the graffiti-themed logo of the show.
Now this is a story all about how my life got flipped turned upside down and I'd like to take a minute just sit right there I'll tell you how I become the prince of a town called Bel-Air...
I started to notice graffiti as a form of art around the age of 14. Before that time graffiti to me was mostly seen as scribbles that I never took much interest in and related it to crime and mischief. After meeting a local graffiti artist “scribe” who worked at my friends parents sign shop, I started to have more questions like, “how can he do this with a spray paint can?” His murals can be found all over Westport and Kansas City where he has been given permission to cover their exterior walls with his art. Mostly featuring caricatures that resemble rhinos and rabbits he has a style all his own that stands far above and beyond others. http://www.scribeswalk.com/walls/graff_01.html
Growing up living on the outskirts of Philadelphia, there was a LOT of graffiti. mostly it would show up on overpasses, train cars and abandoned buildings around the area. but the area was kind of run down, and it soon became part of something that was just a part of the environment i lived in. even at the schools i went to, they were supposed to be the nicer ones in the area and still you would walk into a bathroom stall and see tags, names, pictures sprawled across the walls and doors. when i moved to overland park, i didn't see much of this at all. especially when comparing the new school i went to, there were no messages, tags, or pictures on any of the bathroom stall walls or doors, and if there was a janitor was immediately sent to clean it. when i was younger i didn't really think much of graffiti when i saw it, i guess i saw it as a sign of the times, something people in the area did because the were bored. now that im older and understand a little more about why people decided to do this, i see it as an expression and extension of one's life experiences. at a young age i was exposed to this form of art, as my dad even had a book about Keith Haring. i see graffiti, not as a form of high art necessarily but i think it's a form of art that can reach the masses and explain the issues of our time, or it could simply be a really badass tag. regardless, i don't see graffiti as vandalism or anything of the like. i see it as an expression that is easily accessible.
I have seen numerous examples of graffiti in downtown Kansas City as well as during visits to New York and L.A.; although I have always found it interesting, I have never stopped to consider the artwork within the context of Hip-hop culture, until now. Graffiti is a means of creative expression and a deep-rooted facet of Hip-hop culture; it has grown out of the same struggles, frustrations and injustices that sparked the development of the music genre. Too many times graffiti it is looked down on and viewed as destructive and unwelcome on impervious surfaces in urbanized cities and rural areas alike. Craig Castleman takes an interesting point of view and examines graffiti from a Political perspective; it began with Taki 183 who gained media attention in a New York Times article after his unique tags began popping up all over New York Buildings, Subways etc. Graffiti became a subject of curiosity among the public until the city council president Sanford Garelik condemned the phenomenon as “pollution”, the art of graffiti became increasingly laden with political undertones as new artists began blatantly defying the law by defacing public property. The very act of bold rebellion and speaking out in a way that is so eye catching is quite unique and beautiful to those passing by. On the contrary, to the people who own or live near the properties; the graffiti can be harsh and chaotic, especially if gangs begin using areas for tagging wars. I really appreciate that the artists like KRS One in “Out For Fame” give credit to the originals like Fab 5 Freddy, even going as far as to say the Egyptians were the first Graffiti artists in the world.
Here is a picture of the river front wall in downtown St. Louis dedicated to local graffiti artists. Here they are allowed to freely create their art and place “tags”.
This is my interpretation of graffiti. I am a graphic design student, with no skills in the world of 'graffing'. So with the skills that I do possess this is a piece I did about 3 years ago, representing my hometown of KANSAS CITY. ENJOY
When defining “Fine Art” I would say it is a complete random category, you never know what would be considered fine art and it consist mostly a high brow culture/people. Fine Art is mostly an art form for the wealthy because they choose what pieces they want to spend their wealth on. One problem with graffiti is that it's canvas is mostly an object that cannot be sold or put into a museum and to me that is one reason why it hasn't been considered as fine art. But once people started putting their art work out there and on a canvas that was easily portable it was finally considered of a fine art. Once an artist went from tagging public property and started to put it on a canvas and selling it, making it mainstream, graffiti was starting to progress. Now you have two subcultures of graffiti, the underground and the “fine”/ public art from.
Each week we finish our Monday lecture and Wednesday discussion and I leave not knowing what to take from the class. I have been listening to Hip-Hip and have been intrigued by the culture since a probably too young of an age. Sure, the topics are interesting and the class has me engaged, but it was not until I watch Wild Style that I realized how influential the Hip-Hop music and culture are. I am perceiving Wild Style as an accurate display of the roots of New York Hip-Hop. In my perception from the movie, everyone seemed so passionate about his or her music, deejaying, breaking, tagging, etc. Their entire state of being was dedicated to their practice. Hip-Hop was an opportunity and those who were good at it, both, made the most of that opportunity and laid the foundation for what Hip-Hop has progressed into.
http://www.nicolecifani.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/071208-banksy.jpg
ReplyDeletehttp://llnw.image.cbslocal.com/27/2009/03/16/320x240/wbbm0316xwaygraffiti.jpg
ReplyDeletehttp://farm3.static.flickr.com/2637/3746850267_29a55995f0_z.jpg
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ubmkansascity.com/graffitiremoval.htm
ReplyDeleteThis is a website for a company in Kansas City that specializes in graffiti removal. I guess graffiti artists are providing jobs and stimulating the economy.
Graffiti is awesome! I have always liked seeing graffiti around in areas that seem to be more run-down than others. I know many people see it as vandalism, but in my eyes it is exotic art. I actually have always wanted to have one wall of my room covered in graffiti because it interests me so much.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I believe graffiti has been a facet of society forever. From cavemen drawing history on the walls of caves to thugs putting explicit language on the walls of buildings. I also believe graffiti is a form of art when used constructively. For instance, when I visited Philadelphia there was a part of the city that legalized graffiti as long as it had an important issue from society as the forefront like the graffiti that was shown to us--a mural of Martin Luther King, Jr.
ReplyDeletehttp://2.bp.blogspot.com/_36SFFFDlygA/SvV4dX5hkRI/AAAAAAAADXw/J0BRP6VH9Ws/s400/wild-style-graffiti2.jpg
ReplyDeleteI like the Wild Style type of graffiti the most because it is full of color and is very bold. I also like the fact that you cannot read it most of the time then you can appreciate it as art without needed the underlining message. In this sense it’s like modern art. I enjoy seeing the bright bold colors associated with this type of graffiti. I feel like it brightens up the dull industrial parts of the city. This particular piece is nice because it is large and incorporates many different colors with its ribbon-like lettering.
When it comes to art, I personally cannot tell what's good and what's bad, besides the obvious 4th grade drawing versus a professional drawing. Yet, the most aesthetically pleasing art form to me comes from graffiti. It's hard to fathom how artists can make such layered, 3-D designs out of spray paint. It's a shame that graffiti plasters property and often times makes buildings, trains and other areas look rather trashy. Still, the art form is something else and very interesting to look at. Many of these artists could be fantastic if they used their talent for money and lost the idea that selling ones work and becoming famous is "selling out."
ReplyDeletehttp://kaplang.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/graffiti-smoker.jpg
ReplyDeleteFor my blog this week, I decided to draw graffiti. Since I can't actually draw, I used my computer. The word LIFE was used to make the viewer contemplate their personal definition of the word. I wasn't able to post the picture, so I sent it via email.
ReplyDeleteMario- Let Me Love You- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NARjr3fMMvY
ReplyDeleteThis is a good video that shows some different styles of graffiti.
I feel that graffiti can go both ways as far as being destructive and a work of art. Some graffiti can be a great work of art (like the photo I uploaded as my profile picture. I took it this summer while I was visiting Romania) while some can be destructive and not nice to look at like profanity and vulgar images which I do not see the point to. Either way, I feel that it has affected our culture as well as those around the world and can be a great way for youth to express themselves.
ReplyDeletehttp://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44060000/jpg/_44060262_bushgraf203.jpg
ReplyDeleteThe graffiti artist is sharing how they feel about a politician. This expression of an opinion shows how graffiti itself is a form of art.
The realm of hip hop contains many eclectic platform for artists to express themselves; from Emceeing, to behind the turn tables, dancing on the floor or stroking creativity onto walls, hip hop unleashes the silenced artist from within. Judge Matthews of the Bronx Family Court claims that: “Graffiti is an expression of social maladjustment” (Forman and Neal 26); those who up hold close minded standards and ideals concerning art forms would agree with him. Completely overlooking its raw talent and realism, and only focusing on it’s marred societal reputation. Since the outbreak in the seventies and eighties, a more contemporary view has been adopted and wider audience is able to see the beauty between the meaningful messages of hope and despair. There is grace and pride behind the uncut, untamed artistry that comes out of social angst. Taki reminds us that so many of these performers and artists do not engage their talents in hopes for fame, but for the soul purpose of expression. I find “clean” (not horribly profane) graffiti to be quite charming and unique to individual cities. The walls of the streets are like the reflection from a pond, telling stories of those who in habit it. Denver (where I am from) even goes as far as to provide space for local graffiti artists to showcase their talent without being destructive to high ranking government buildings. In fact many murals around the city are painted by these local artist and have remained untouched by other graffiti artists based on mutual respect. Graffiti has the power to inform, reflect and unite communities if it is mindful and is allocated the proper voice and education it calls for.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.banksy.co.uk/outdoors/outuk/horizontal_1.htm
ReplyDeleteA great collection of Banksy, pretty interesting stuff.
here's the website for my favorite graffiti crew. i'm not sure if they're kc-based or not, but they have some work around westport. if they caught your eye at all, there are a bunch of photos of their work on this forum: http://www.12ozprophet.com/forum/showthread.php?t=130807
ReplyDeleteOne of my friends is really passionate about graffiti. He's always been into it, and in high school the art teacher was very receptive to his artwork. He would draft burners in class, and his final projects were always large graffiti burners on canvas.
ReplyDeleteI grew up around a group of kids that thought graffiti was really cool, and a bunch of the kids I hung around with stenciled all around Lawrence. No one ever got into any trouble, and some of the stencils are still around. It seems to me that in more affluent communities, like Lawrence, graffiti is less stigmatized and more celebrated. I know that this is not simply so; I remember when someone tagged the Oread and it was seen as vandalism. I do think that graffiti has achieved a level of popularity among young people around the world and across social classes.
Here's my friend's current blog. http://trompe-loeil.skyrock.com/
Like most cultural elements of hip-hop, graffiti has been happening since before hip-hop was an established movement. The caves at Lascaux are many millennia old. "When hip-hop encountered the downtown art scene in the late '70s, before it even had a name, aesthetes like Fab 5 Freddy and Afrika Bambaataa were arguing that youth street culture was vibrant, transformational, and radical. Both pointed to graffiti as hip-hop's indigenous visual art form (Chang 117)." "In 1972 subway graffiti became a political issue in New York City (Forman and Neal 21)." Whatever started graffiti as hip-hop culture, I think that we can all mostly agree that graffiti is art for arts sake, and not much more than a symbol the artist has chosen to reuse in an attempt to tag a lot of different places. Whether you love or hate graffiti, if you have ever been to a city you've undoubtedly seen some type of the art form. Regardless, graffiti is certainly political, if only because there are those people who argue the art should be left alone and others who think the art should be scrubbed away. According to one New York City judge, "Graffiti is an expression of social maladjustment, but the courts cannot cure all of society's ills. We have neither the time nor the facilities to handle graffiti cases (Forman and Neal 26)." In summary, graffiti is considered a petty crime. Several more famous artists, such as Shepard Fairey and Banksy, whose works are not only not removed from buildings but are in many ways celebrated by the public (Britain does not efface Banksy in most cases, despite having the most cameras of any major city, and Fairey created the HOPE campaign logo for Obama). Basquiat is another famous artist. In closing, I have included a link to my favorite Banksy article, from Intelligent Life...http://moreintelligentlife.com/story/im-tired-banksy
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete"Los Angeles has been called the mural capital of the world, counting nearly 1,500 artworks. Over 100 wall paintings devoted to the African American experience decorate Los Angeles. Many have been maintained, but a few have badly faded or suffered other abuses."
ReplyDeletehttp://s93883215.onlinehome.us/adamjaneiro/2008/10/first-obama-mural.html#comments
Here is a cool blog on LA mural graffiti. I prefer this kind of graffiti because it is usually making a statement.
http://www.collectables-now.com/banksy/
ReplyDeleteJust going back to what I said about seeing graffiti in an around Boston, it made me think more afterwards about the Boston graffiti artist Shepard Fairey, and his more notable pieces like the Andre the Giant tag and his design for President Barack Obama's "Hope" poster. It first made me think of both the political ties to hip hop in terms of elections and discourses, and then what that does for a graffiti artist in terms of gaining fame and such. In creating a poster such as the "Hope" poster for President Obama, it certainly succeeds in trying to connect to a younger audience. It's connecting a style associated with youth and advents in both youth and urban culture, and connecting themes such as identity within society and whatnot. In terms of Fairey as (more specifically) an artist, it certainly added to his fame and he's become a notable figure in pop culture art that has been adopted into several different marketing campaigns for different products (Pepsi for example, see any similarities to Obama graphic design campaigns?) that have nothing to do with politics. But as a graffiti artist, I feel like he sort of cheated out of the game: The point of graffiti is to become notoriously enigmatic and therefore your prestige as a graffiti artist increases. People want to look for his work, people want to copy his work or burn his work, and since Fairey has become very outspoken about his participation, not only did it get him arrested but it also gives out this contradiction of graffiti for the government. How can a campaign manager hire a graffiti artist to design murals and advocate for a Presidential nominee? But that could also mean that the general public is under a new discourse in terms of the understanding (or acceptance) that graffiti is a very legitimate form of art. On top of that, with all of the pro-Obama hip hop tracks (will.i.am., Yes, We Can) that came out to support his campaign, it automatically impresses audiences into showing how a cultural movement/ medium of expression can be politically conscience, when people still think that it's impossible because hip hop is "something that underprivileged, city-stricken, arguable uneducated black people do during their time off".
ReplyDeletehttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a9/Barack_Obama_Hope_poster.svg
But on another note, it's really great to see that a Bostonian is getting fame for both a huge political and hip hop related event/moment in time. The hip hop scene in Boston is nearly non-existant, due to the fact that the hardcore scene, punk scene and general Irish-American scene is much bigger in Boston; There just isn't a lot of hip hop coming from Boston minus Gang Starr's MC Guru, who was raised in Roxbury, Mass., (which is one of the "ethnic" areas of the city) and Shepard Fairey. It's good that Boston gets some sort of recognition in the hip hop community.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevegarfield/3264850390/:
This photo of a poster for the T, which is the subway/commuter rail system in Massachusetts, and the road that goes past that is most likely Interstate 95 or the "Mass Pike", where on the side of where that other brick building is, there's a lot of graffiti that peppers all across the buildings with the NUM Tag:
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1281/541527803_0cc182d396.jpg
This photo shows the Boston University Boat House, and the bridge that connects Boston to Cambridge, where Harvard and MIT are. You can see Andre on the side of the bridge.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevegarfield/3264037801/
I was talking to my roommate about this assignment and she said that some of the coolest graffiti she has ever seen was in London. Apparently there are these tunnels that you drive through and they are just covered in graffiti. This was the best example I could find of it.
ReplyDeletehttp://farm3.static.flickr.com/2546/4016045467_0683af085d_b.jpg
no way this is done without owners permission:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.freakingnews.com/Pictures/1/Graffiti.jpg
http://www.graffiti.org/kc/gearskrybe_monks.jpg
ReplyDeleteI choose this graffiti because the artist Scribe is a local of the Kansas City area and I'm pretty familiar with his work all over the Kansas City.
http://www.graffiti.org/kc/gearskrybe_idiots4.jpg
http://www.graffiti.org/kc/finished_wall_small.jpg
these are some of my favorite works by Scribe
Graffiti can be viewed positively as art, but it can also be viewed negatively as vandalism. When graffiti is used to influence youth and society through positive messages, then I think it is respectable and creative. When it is used just to mock others or destroy buildings though, it sheds a negative light on all graffiti artists.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nydailynews.com/img/2008/05/27/alg_graffiti.jpg
This work of graffiti is being used to unite people in New York and show support for those who work to protect and save our lives.
http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/images/reviews/84/1154671406.jpg
ReplyDeleteThe Fresh Prince of Bel-Air television show was another landmark for hip-hop culture and its movement towards commercially international acceptance, including the graffiti-themed logo of the show.
Now this is a story all about how
my life got flipped turned upside down
and I'd like to take a minute just sit right there
I'll tell you how I become the prince of a town called Bel-Air...
http://kansascitypaint.blogspot.com/2006/01/westport-midtown.html
ReplyDeleteGraffiti in the Westport area in Kansas City.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZffGXgAGEw
ReplyDeletehttp://www.space-invaders.com/
ReplyDeleteFrom the game "Space Invaders." Pretty cool
I started to notice graffiti as a form of art around the age of 14. Before that time graffiti to me was mostly seen as scribbles that I never took much interest in and related it to crime and mischief. After meeting a local graffiti artist “scribe” who worked at my friends parents sign shop, I started to have more questions like, “how can he do this with a spray paint can?” His murals can be found all over Westport and Kansas City where he has been given permission to cover their exterior walls with his art. Mostly featuring caricatures that resemble rhinos and rabbits he has a style all his own that stands far above and beyond others.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.scribeswalk.com/walls/graff_01.html
Growing up living on the outskirts of Philadelphia, there was a LOT of graffiti. mostly it would show up on overpasses, train cars and abandoned buildings around the area. but the area was kind of run down, and it soon became part of something that was just a part of the environment i lived in. even at the schools i went to, they were supposed to be the nicer ones in the area and still you would walk into a bathroom stall and see tags, names, pictures sprawled across the walls and doors. when i moved to overland park, i didn't see much of this at all. especially when comparing the new school i went to, there were no messages, tags, or pictures on any of the bathroom stall walls or doors, and if there was a janitor was immediately sent to clean it. when i was younger i didn't really think much of graffiti when i saw it, i guess i saw it as a sign of the times, something people in the area did because the were bored. now that im older and understand a little more about why people decided to do this, i see it as an expression and extension of one's life experiences. at a young age i was exposed to this form of art, as my dad even had a book about Keith Haring. i see graffiti, not as a form of high art necessarily but i think it's a form of art that can reach the masses and explain the issues of our time, or it could simply be a really badass tag. regardless, i don't see graffiti as vandalism or anything of the like. i see it as an expression that is easily accessible.
ReplyDeleteI have seen numerous examples of graffiti in downtown Kansas City as well as during visits to New York and L.A.; although I have always found it interesting, I have never stopped to consider the artwork within the context of Hip-hop culture, until now. Graffiti is a means of creative expression and a deep-rooted facet of Hip-hop culture; it has grown out of the same struggles, frustrations and injustices that sparked the development of the music genre. Too many times graffiti it is looked down on and viewed as destructive and unwelcome on impervious surfaces in urbanized cities and rural areas alike. Craig Castleman takes an interesting point of view and examines graffiti from a Political perspective; it began with Taki 183 who gained media attention in a New York Times article after his unique tags began popping up all over New York Buildings, Subways etc. Graffiti became a subject of curiosity among the public until the city council president Sanford Garelik condemned the phenomenon as “pollution”, the art of graffiti became increasingly laden with political undertones as new artists began blatantly defying the law by defacing public property. The very act of bold rebellion and speaking out in a way that is so eye catching is quite unique and beautiful to those passing by. On the contrary, to the people who own or live near the properties; the graffiti can be harsh and chaotic, especially if gangs begin using areas for tagging wars. I really appreciate that the artists like KRS One in “Out For Fame” give credit to the originals like Fab 5 Freddy, even going as far as to say the Egyptians were the first Graffiti artists in the world.
ReplyDeleteSome examples…
http://www.duncancumming.co.uk/images/woosterwall-closeup1.jpg
http://2720cherokee.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Graffiti-wall.jpg
http://www.thedirtfloor.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/rev-ksn-crew-motoryard-los-angeles-1988.jpg
ReplyDeletehttp://www.waymarking.com/gallery/image.aspx?f=1&guid=f7362f3f-8c7b-46b8-96b1-503876dfdafa&gid=3
ReplyDeleteHere is a picture of the river front wall in downtown St. Louis dedicated to local graffiti artists. Here they are allowed to freely create their art and place “tags”.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_W_vu0tSow-0/S48R_DiaKII/AAAAAAAAALM/dC7yyWdqpW0/s1600-h/Screen+shot+2010-03-03+at+3.44.12+PM.png
ReplyDeleteThis is my interpretation of graffiti. I am a graphic design student, with no skills in the world of 'graffing'. So with the skills that I do possess this is a piece I did about 3 years ago, representing my hometown of KANSAS CITY.
ENJOY
When defining “Fine Art” I would say it is a complete random category, you never know what would be considered fine art and it consist mostly a high brow culture/people. Fine Art is mostly an art form for the wealthy because they choose what pieces they want to spend their wealth on. One problem with graffiti is that it's canvas is mostly an object that cannot be sold or put into a museum and to me that is one reason why it hasn't been considered as fine art. But once people started putting their art work out there and on a canvas that was easily portable it was finally considered of a fine art. Once an artist went from tagging public property and started to put it on a canvas and selling it, making it mainstream, graffiti was starting to progress. Now you have two subcultures of graffiti, the underground and the “fine”/ public art from.
ReplyDeleteEach week we finish our Monday lecture and Wednesday discussion and I leave not knowing what to take from the class. I have been listening to Hip-Hip and have been intrigued by the culture since a probably too young of an age. Sure, the topics are interesting and the class has me engaged, but it was not until I watch Wild Style that I realized how influential the Hip-Hop music and culture are. I am perceiving Wild Style as an accurate display of the roots of New York Hip-Hop. In my perception from the movie, everyone seemed so passionate about his or her music, deejaying, breaking, tagging, etc. Their entire state of being was dedicated to their practice. Hip-Hop was an opportunity and those who were good at it, both, made the most of that opportunity and laid the foundation for what Hip-Hop has progressed into.
ReplyDeletehttp://kaplang.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/invisible-graffiti.jpg
ReplyDeletehttp://themelbournederive.wordpress.com/2009/09/25/best-graffiti-spots/
ReplyDeleteMy favorite is the fourth one down.