Post 12: Graffiti Warriors: Fighting for Graffiti

Why do people say that graffiti is art and yet say that it should not be legal? 

Graffiti is illegal because it is vandalism; it is done without the consent of the owner to write on their wall. The problem of every graffiti artist is their canvas or place where they are painting, because the main idea of graffiti is writing on walls not on the traditional canvas so it leads to vandalism. Vandalism is a crime and if caught doing it you have to face the consequences like jail time. Why would the police put a person in jail for years just for simple crime? Why can't they just give them community work or other stuff?

I've looked for some articles regarding on support for graffiti, fighting for their rights to write and this is one of the article I've found: "Should graffiti be legal?" In this website www.debate.org they asked a question that if graffiti should be legal and the majority said "Yes." They've all agreed that graffiti is a form of art and should not be restricted, even the ones who said "No" agreed that graffiti is art but they just don't agree on its ways which is vandalism.

Here’s another article, "Graffiti: Art or a Crime?" In this article written by Anthony it that tackles on giving the writers alternative punishments because being put to jail for years is a very harsh thing to give to a simple crime, and it is also said that the population of graffiti. Did you know that 85% of the written graffiti are tags and 10% are gang related activities? Maybe that is the reason why officials decided that the punishment is jail time because it is stocked in their minds that all writers are members of gangs.

Graffiti is getting really popular these days and many people are now in to making graffiti, and also graffiti is now being considered as art which is also called street art. Yet some people think that it is still a low kind of action to be noticed and be popular, but what do they not know is that graffiti writers do graffiti is to express their feelings regarding to their life, politics and other stuff; they express it artistically through writing on walls using spray paints as their mediums.

In conclusion, if graffiti is now getting popular and many are now recognizing it, authorities should make an action to this situation because they can’t stop graffiti from spreading; if they try to erase one graffiti piece another one will just show up. One thing authorities can do is to assign places where graffiti writers can write freely, by doing these things this can limit the graffiti writers from writing on private walls.

Post 11: Graffiti, disappear: graffiti police

Why is graffiti still spreading all over the town even though it is been restricted by the government? What are the police doing to this kind of problem?

I browsed the internet to find some answers for my questions and this is what I've seen, "Graffiti: What it Means, What to Do" by Sheriff Ted Mink. In this article they discussed what graffiti is and what to do if once you've seen one. They clearly listed the things and procedure on how to remove graffiti in different kinds of surface, and also they classified graffiti into three parts tagging, vandalism and gang related.  The classification of graffiti they used is just like tagging which are just writings on walls. Their minds is too closed to this new kind of art, they all have made a conclusion that graffiti is just vandals and not to be considered as art.

There is another article that I have found, "Who are the most likely offenders of graffiti" in the website called “Goodbye Graffiti” by Western Australian Government. In this article is states that caught graffiti writers had committed other serious crimes than just vandalism. To make this clear that not all graffiti writers are criminals, most of them are from the middle class which is not a gang member they are just in for the art. Also in this article they have shown the statistic of the age group of graffiti offenders, as you can see there that many young people are in to graffiti.

To follow up to the topic there’s another article that I have found, "Graffiti: Vandalism posing as art?" From the website “Creationtips” by teen topics. It is said in the article that using graffiti is a bad act and a big offense to the law of the Lord. Again as I have said their thinking to graffiti is so narrow that they have concluded that every graffiti is bad, what they don’t know is that graffiti now is being accepted as a form of art and being acknowledged by museums because they see graffiti specifically pieces as art.

There is another way that the government have determine what to keep and not to in graffiti, “Banksy’s graffiti is part of the nation’s heritage and deserves protection by law, claim academics” by Daily Mail Reporter. It is said that they are keeping all of banksy’s work because it has affected the history of Britain, but all of graffiti works are being removed which is unfair to other writers because Banksy’s work are just like theirs it is also illegal.

To sum up all of the four articles they all think graffiti is just vandalism and it needs to be removed immediately. It is very unfair to the rest of the writers who are giving their time effort and talent to this kind art and people are just judging it by its negative sides.

Post 10: Do’s and Don’ts in Graffiti

 Even though graffiti is an illegal act and it looks like a rebellious act, it also has rules that every writer must obey. Although graffiti is being categorized as a rebellious art, writers still values respect.

I've searched the net if there are rules given or made by graffiti writers in making graffiti works, and here’s what I've seen, "World Famous Design Junkies Official Rules of Graffiti" by World Famous Design Junkies. In this article I've read that if you’re still a beginner in writing graffiti never start off making it on the streets, if they want to practice writing they should practice on hidden walls, plywood, card board, papers, also in spreading your work or word there are a lot of places that are off limits or not likely to work with, because your work might get stepped on or drawn on that will make them mad. Writing on walls even you’re still a beginner will just make your name bad because everyone will see you are just a good for nothing writer and other people will just get irritated with your work.

Some of the specific places where beginning writers must not right on are; Houses of worship, people’s houses in general, other writer’s name, and tombstones. Writing on those places can offend other person that is why they must avoid those places it is important to writers to have respect to other. There is this one time that a writer wrote on another writer’s work and used it as his own work and those two are Banksy who is the user and Robbo the offended, and this started the feud between two graffiti artist. Their feud was held on a wall at Regents Canal, Camaden London, wherein Banksy used Robbo’s piece as his own then Robbo had his revenge and mocked Banksy’s work and they did this for many times. You can watch the documentary of the battle at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulOiB3xEkzM.  By this event this has affected many graffiti writers especially the ones who are supporting Robbo and Banksy, this event also shows that respect to ones work is really important to a graffiti artist and a simple disobedient to a law can lead to hatred and war between two people.

What happened to Banksy and Robbo is an example of the one that breaks the name of graffiti being accepted as art, because some writers write on perfectly good looking murals which have been made by another artist and the result will look like trash.

In conclusion, another way to see and determine if graffiti is an art is its capability to not destroy a work and still shows aesthetic beauty to the observers.  Also that without rules graffiti will truly be a disast

Post 9: Distinguishing Graffiti as art: Principles of Design

           

Some people judge graffiti by its history and the person who's making it, but let me tell you this there are many things that you can use to judge graffiti like the elements of art and Principles of design.

In this article made by John Lovett entitled "Design and Colour", the part where the Principles of design is discussed. There are 7 principles are discussed in this article and these are: Balance, Gradation, Repetition, Contrast, Harmony, Dominance and Unity. I've studied the principles in my art class and this helped me make my work more interesting to the viewer.

Why am I talking about the principles?  It’s because these principles can also help us determine if one graffiti is a legitimate art or not. Always remember that in art there are also rules in making it and by these rules can make a piece of art more interesting.

                         

 As you can see in this photo the principles of art are used in this piece. One of the principles used in this is the balance, as you look at the photo nothing feels heavier and it just feels right. Another element is the Harmony the colors are perfectly matched together that made the piece look better.

The elements of art and the principles of design are big factors on helping other people judge graffiti. By using this method this will help people understand and appreciate more the art of graffiti.  

Post 8: Distinguishing Graffiti as Art: Elements of Art

To an ordinary person graffiti is just vandalism and filth on walls that makes the environment dirty. But what they do not know they are misjudging the graffiti from tags. So when are they able to tell if graffiti is art or not?

As this question goes through my head I’ve searched for some answers but unluckily I’ve found nothing. I have thought of a new plan to answer this question, It is by using the elements of art on commenting and criticizing on a piece. Why am I using this kind of method? It is because we are now accepting graffiti as art, so to easily differentiate graffiti art from other nonsense vandalism we have to use how critics criticize a person’s artwork.

 In this article made by Marianne Vanderklok the "Elements of Art" is composed of 6 different types of elements. These are the elements that makes an art work; line, color, texture, space and mass, form and value.  It is said that one artwork must contain these elements to consider it as art, using these elements can help us to determine if one graffiti is art or not.

First of all before we define every graffiti in every element, I must make it clear first that tagging is not a form of graffiti art.

As you can see in this image they are just writings on walls and don’t have any aesthetic value, that is what you call tagging. Tagging is one of the things that destroys the image of graffiti art and makes the people think that all graffiti is just vandals and not considered as art.

Unlike this kind of work which is called the piece, it has most of the elements of art. This kind of work has Line, Color, Texture, Space, form and value which makes it appealing to the eyes.

To the following Blogs I will determine if a graffiti is an art or not, by using the standards of  people to define critique  art.

Post 4: Graffiti a protest?

Did it ever come to your mind what is the meaning of some graffiti? what does it really say to the people?

I've searched about graffiti and how does it affect us, then I saw these pictures and really looked closely and understood the work and something had added to my knowledge about graffiti, Graffiti is also a form of protest!

Example of protest art:

Why am I Showing Banksy's work? it's because most of his work are pertaining to every social problem that is happening to this world. His works are an eye opener to each and every one who is able to see his work, it's not only because the work is good but also it has a very deep meaning to it like the first picture from the right; it says that beggars does not need our money he wants change to what is happening to the world.

Having your protest being done by graffiti for me is safer and will require less man power, why? Because in original protest many people will come and gather to a certain place and there they will execute their protest that lead to traffic jams, violence towards the police and the protesters, destruction of properties, and they will also require lots of materials that will soon to be trash. However in graffiti your message will be seen by many people and it will last long for them to see because it is painted on walls and it can also spread through the internet by taking pictures of it and post it on social networking sites.

For me as a citizen seeing these works really made an impact to me because I am an artist and I know what is like to express something through art.

In conclusion, graffiti can also be a projection of your feelings like your dislikes and likes on how the world is changing and other stuff or how the government runs the country. Graffiti is also a safe type of protest where in you will not need that much man power, equipment and violence to let the world understand what you want to say. So if you want to express something to the issues around you why not try graffiti

Post 3: Graffiti, Graffiti Everywhere!

Do you know why people are so in to graffiti? Graffiti has really affected and contributed  greatly to our pop culture we see them on shirts, notebook covers, photo-shoots and many more. Why do people embrace this type of art? Maybe because of it's intricate style and color that attracts them the most.

I've searched how graffiti affects culture and this is what I saw, "Graffiti and Hip Hop Culture" written by Juli, in this article it states that graffiti had been a big contribution to culture especially in hip hop, breakdancing, beat boxing, skating, and street fashion.

The article I've read is true because as you see in every music video, movies, and other media related stuff, graffiti is being used to symbolize culture and to add color. Imagine a rapper in a music video without graffiti for his background , what would it be like? It would feel that there is something lacking, because graffiti and hip hop is always linked together no one can ever separate the two and also graffiti represents hip hop.

Also in this article, it is told that graffiti had contributed to fashion. I agree to his statement because in stores they use graffiti fonts for their shirt designs like from Tribal, Tap out, Vans, and many more. Why do you think these stores use graffiti for their designs? It's because their target buyers are guys who are always on the streets who always see the work and appreciates it like skater, rappers, and beat boxers.

Now as I've found out more information to this new type of art I became more interested to it and I would want to be a part of the culture it has.

In conclusion, graffiti has a big contribution to our society not just painting walls, street signs, and buildings but also in our fashion, outfits, movies, music videos, and other culture like hip hop and many more.

post 2: MODERN ART: Street art (Graffiti)

How those simple writings on walls or so called Graffiti evolved into Street art? What are the differences of traditional art from street art?

I became more curious about these questions that is going around through my head so I've searched some stuff that would answer my question, then I came across this interesting movie entitled “Exit through the gift shop”  directed by Banksy. The movie was very interesting because it showed the viewers what is really happening behind those graffiti works. The movie also showed what are the artist’s or the “writer’s” (term they call to graffiti artists) triumphs, hindrances, and problems before they can proceed to their work.

In the movie they also showed how graffiti turned into street art. The writers organizes some sort of exhibit showing their works then people would go to the exhibit and they will pass on the news of the exhibit and it will be known, but before the do such thing first they must build their name and credibility by showing their works on street walls because that’s where people will notice your work and they will be more curious about it. One of the factors that really made graffiti into a work of art to the people’s eyes is that it’s being recognized by famous people and collectors are buying their work.

For me street art and traditional art is not that different because they all both send a message to the viewer and they are both made artistically, however street art I think is more harder than traditional painting because street art is illegal and when making it time is of the essences but in traditional art you can have all the time you want to finish your work.

In conclusion, graffiti is now becoming more and more popular and being noticed by a lot of people but not just only ordinary people but also famous stars, so I think it’s really time to accept it as a work of art as we have accepted the traditional art.

post 1: What is Graffiti?

Have you ever wondered what are those words and drawings depicted on walls? Isn't it illegal?  Is it some kind of art form?

I saw the meaning of graffiti in the Oxford Dictionaries, and it is said there that “Graffiti is writing or drawings scribbled, scratched, or sprayed illicitly on a wall or other surface in a public place.”  After I have known the meaning my interest to graffiti got bigger, so I've searched more about it. I came across to an article by Susan A. Phillips entitled Graffiti Definition: The Dictionary of art. She defined graffiti “as illicit marks that has coherent compositions.” She also defined it as “a type of discontinuous communicative strategy through which people can engage in a visual dialogue which does not rely on face-to-face interaction or necessary knowledge of the writers' identities.”

Based on my understanding to the article, Graffiti is some sort of illegal action made by people because it is vandalism. It is also a type of communication where the message is delivered to all who sees the work. Graffiti also transformed from simple toilet vandals to colorful artistic writings on walls.

She also stated that graffiti “has also become attractive to certain professional fine artists -- the work of the late Keith Haring in particular became "legitimized" as it moved from New York's subway walls to the walls of galleries and private collectors in the USA.” By that statement I can say that graffiti is a form of art. Personally I look at graffiti as a form of art, because of its fine details and color.

In conclusion, Graffiti is seen everywhere (on walls, streets, buildings and other place that can be painted on). It is illegal because it is not permitted by the government and it is vandalism, but if you will understand and look closely to these work you will appreciate it as a work of art.