"Melbourne is the proud capital of street painting with stencils. Its large, colonial-era walls and labyrinth of back alleys drip with graffiti that is more diverse and original than any other city in the world. Well, that was until a few weeks ago, when preparations for the Commonwealth games brought a tidal wave of grey paint, obliterating years of unique and vibrant culture overnight." You can read the complete article in The Guardian.
Over the last half century the battle over the classification and cultural acceptance of graffiti has raged. The spectrum of opinions on graffiti range from "vandalism" on one hand to "art" on the other. Graffiti as defined on Wikipedia gives some insight to the general perspective of the medium.
Historically, the term graffiti originally referred to the inscriptions, figure drawings, etc., found on the walls of ancient sepulchers or ruins, as in the Catacombs of Rome or at Pompeii. Usage of the word has evolved to include any decorations (inscribed on any surface) that one can regard as vandalism; or to cover pictures or writing placed on surfaces, usually external walls and sidewalks, without the permission of an owner.
Today graffiti has become a complex and diverse visual culture with its own
language, standards, categories and history. Groups such as
Art Crimes use the internet to record and preserve the evolution and diversity of modern graffiti around the world. The division between graffiti being viewed as an urban "street art" or recognized as a "legitimate (high) art" is continually blurred as the makers of graffiti move between unsactioned and sanctioned sites/canvases, create "pieces" on commission (murals, installations), and their imagery is co-opted by mainstream commercialism.
What is your view of graffiti? Does it play a role in our culture? Would you classify it as "art"?
Noe 2Now you can even
design your own tag from the convenience and safety of your own computer.
