From Slums to Street Art

This is a video about two guys that use the walls of a slum in Brazil as their canvas. Their idea was to try and make the slum a safer place by making it more lively and beautiful. I think that this is a great use of art. The same way that JR's photography acted as roofs for people, these walls make the streets safer and calmer. Street art isn't mindless vandalism, it can be a tool to make neighborhoods better places. 

JR's Inside Out Project

This is a form of public art that has a major purpose. Public art, while sometimes illegal, can be very important and can become something much bigger. This man started at 15, and is now changing the scenery of places all over the world. He has something to say, so he uses photography as public art. Public art isn't just graffiti or paintings, it can be all kinds of art.

What's the Point?

Graffiti and public art pieces seem to be everywhere in this day and age. Not because all of a sudden it came up, but because we have the internet to see it all at once instead of coming across it on the street. It also has begun transcend from the streets to pop culture; being brought into mainstream society by big names like Obey (Shepard Fairey) and Banksy. I have been doing research about said topic and have found some very interesting and surprising pieces of information. I have read books, articles, and watched videos and documentaries of graffiti artists talking about their life and their work. 

I have always loved all sorts of art, but this was one kind that started to catch my attention at the beginning of my high school career. I had never taken it seriously until then, when I watched Exit Through The Gift Shop, a documentary about graffiti and public artists. Though the legitimacy of this documentary has been debated since it's release, it got me thinking about it as an actual art form, not just as a kid righting on walls. Lately, however, I've been thinking about what was the reason for all of this art. What's the point? To get to that answer, I feel that I have to first explore when and why it started, and how and why it became mainstream. With a subculture now becoming part of pop culture, is part of it's original essence lost? Or is it just an inside joke that only certain people know the punchline to? Can any of these questions even be answered?

How Graffiti Works: The Basics

Here's an introduction to graffiti and the social rules of such work:

When it comes to graffiti, there is a hierarchy. 

At the bottom is the hand style

.

Then above that are hollow throw ups, then there are filled throw ups.    

On top of that there are straight letters, then pieces.

 

At the very top of the food chain are murals.

What this means is that whatever you put down, can not cover up something that is above it on the food chain.That is to say, if you want to put something down like a throw up hollow, it can only be put on top of hand styles. This obviously means that murals can be put on top of anything and handstyles are not put on anything. If you want to to put a mural or a piece down, you do not cover someone else’s piece or mural unless you cover the entire thing. Covering just part of a piece unless you want to get into an altercation with the artist’s piece.

It is all based off of respect. That is basically the biggest rule of the game. Do not tag places of worship, cemeteries, or personal belongings (houses, mail boxes, fences). If there is a piece that is in memory of or by a person who has died, do not cover that piece. That doesn’t even need to be explained. Don’t use a graffiti legends name, this makes you look ignorant and disrespectful. Do not continue the work of another artist without their permission. That is their piece, not yours, do not incorporate their work into your own. If there is a piece that has been there for a long time (20+ years) it is now a part of that place, it’s part of that culture. Do not cover the culture of a place, ever. Respect and following the hierarchy of work are the basics as to how graffiti works. There’s a lot more that goes into it, but more on that later.

PBS News Hour:

'The History of American Graffiti': From Subway to Gallery

This is a clip about the book 'The History of American Graffiti', and even though it's more like a trailer about the book, it contains some interesting information.

Public Art and Questions

Oh hello there!

This is a blog about graffiti and public art and how it has evolved. Why do some people have a need to put art on the walls of their cities, even if it is illegal? How does public art and graffiti differ from country to country? Where did it start? When did it start? Where is graffiti and public art headed? Continue to read my blog to find out the answer to these questions and more!