Roadside Attractions: Graffiti As Art?
Graffiti images and lettering–scratched, scrawled, or painted on public and private property–have existed since ancient times, with examples dating back to Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire. The famous ‘Kilroy was here’ phrase and image, scribbled across Europe during World War II as American soldiers marched through, is engraved on the WWII monument in Washington DC, in commemoration of its ubiquitous appearance during this war. In recent years, graffiti has been adopted by gangs to ‘tag’ where they’ve been; it also experienced a renaissance in the hip-hop culture of the 1980s. One of the most poignant uses of graffiti as ‘memorial’ occurred in spontaneous expression of collective grief immediately following the 9/11 Tragedy in New York City.
Examples of this graffiti can be found in the 9/11 Memorial Museum, near the location of the fallen Twin Towers. Similarly, Hurricane Katrina and recent floods have given rise to outcries through this medium. (See our photo ‘graffiti gallery’ immediately below this article)Framed chewing gum sculpture at MOMA in NYC
Graffiti Lives: Beyond the Tag in New York’s Urban Underground, is a book recently penned by Professor Gregory J. Snyder, a Baruch College sociologist. In it, he argues that graffiti artists cannot be understood merely as practitioners of vandalism and social disorder, but also as members of a diverse subculture who, in many cases, have used their experiences to build legitimate careers. The book, published by New York University Press, argues that graffiti culture has, in some ways, been uniquely democratic. “What is lost sometimes in the cacophony of the debate over whether graffiti is art or vandalism is that when it’s art, it is free art,” he writes.“You don’t need money, or special knowledge, or the right outfit, or a car, or an ID to see it. This is why the graffiti subculture has inspired such a diversity of young people.
”Contemporary post-subway graffiti,” he writes, takes three forms: the tag, a writer’s signature, rendered in marker or paint; the throw-up (or “fill-in”), usually painted with an outline color and a fill-in color; and the piece (short for masterpiece), a colorful mural. Large graffiti works today are often produced legally, in broad daylight, on storefronts or in public parks with the consent of property owners or nonprofit groups. In another step forward, “Many writers have taken their illegal youthful pursuits and turned them into legal adult careers,” Professor Snyder says.
We don’t want to make the argument that graffiti is art and not vandalism. In fact, in his ‘cloaked’ appearance in the movie Exit Through the Gift Shop, the “Scottish Pimpernel” of graffiti artists, Banksy, calls his own work vandalism remarking that “while making art (the documentary), my vandalism suffered.” It seems to be both in our eyes. While recently in NYC, we had mixed feelings about it. There is no question that it is vandalism, but we couldn’t stop looking at it or taking photos of it. We admire it, and at the same time, we feel the pain of the architects and owners of the buildings where it occurs in living color. Some of the work is intentional; some creates itself over time as weathering flyers peel partially away to reveal paint underneath and the graffitist takes advantage of the visual gifts as opportunity. We like the undirected collages as much as the premeditated murals.
Perhaps it really is democraticart and a creative, if somewhat inelegant, response to ‘real art’ created, promoted, purchased, exhibited, auctioned, and decided upon by the select, where an elite cadre of people have say as to what is “good.” We are observers seeking art. We find it on the streets, as well as in the ‘cabinetry of the wealthy.’
