|
Identity and Art
Crimes
Have you ever passed a
wet concrete surface and were
tempted to write your name on it with your finger? what did you make out of that sudden impulse? did you call it self expression or just thought of it as a way to record the simple event that you were at this particular place at this particular moment? I am trying to make a comparison between the average person and the so called “street artist” aka the graffiti vandal, who simply say. in trying to justify the reasons behind his or her activities, : “I am only writing my name! ” No matter how much talent or graphic design ability that is displayed in such works, it is definitely frowned upon and largely considered as an anti social and criminal behaviour, and in almost all cases it is, it is destructive and costs the community millions of dollars every year. so why do those graffiti artists carry on their activities? Is it the primal and instinctive desire to make one’s mark? or the dark and notorious reputation achieved amongst their peers ? or could it be that great rush of adrenalin that is associated with taking these clandestine risks? no one really knows. Graffiti is, however, a fact of urban life and it represents but one facet of a self-proclaimed subculture known as Hip Hop. While there is certainly no intention on my part to turn this article into a blatant sociological attempt to condone such activities or to pretend to admire the freedom of expression and all the loyalty to the misguided ideals of “street community” and culture, I surely like to look at the artistic aspect of such culture and try to examine some of the questions and themes of the aesthetic practices reflected by an increased and quite a problematic number of the younger members of our society. Street art in this context has it’s roots in the African American fringe, said to be active in N.Y. City, with whole walls and trains covered in graffiti and while the transit authority upgraded procedures to combat these activities, graffiti moved further on to be of more significance as it bonded with “rapping” and “break dancing”, it has also evolved to be a prime manifestation and a mandatory requirement to the Hip Hop community of the Bronx in N.Y. City, which continue to evolve further today. Some aspects of the street graffiti has found, as expected, it’s way into main stream art circles, as a style by itself, with some graphic designers opting for a style that looks like an underground graffiti art as if to stress being cool, rebellious or street wise. Graffiti in Australia is similarly fused to street subculture and it is somewhat a distillation and a subset of the African American migratory cultural influences that find it’s way, somehow, to Australia, and become adapted by both groups and individuals on the fringe of main society who are ostracised and intimidated by conformity, but because of the absence of a similar and clearly defined ethnographic division, tends to be partially transmuted and reinterpreted then used as if it is a local product. That kind of subconscious flux is real and tends to have a valid artistic input in the cultural formation of such societal pockets who unintentionally transmute revolt into a chosen lifestyle, complete with rites of passage, clans symbols, crews attire, an illicit code of loyalty and of course a very personal identity. It is the search for an identity that, in my opinion, forms the underlaying strong bonding between a certain gang and it is the search for an identity that keeps the illusion of a pseudo society alive in the minds of it’s active members who assert this identity through the continuous “writing” and “tagging” of the gang’s name, however risky that may be. This Identity develops by means of peer example, social reinforcement, the use of a specific language and imagery. All that translates into a specific and distinctive art style, especially in the hands of the more able members of the graffiti fraternity. Graffiti writing is loosely divided into tags, panels, whole car and the piece, other types can be said to be derivatives of these main categories. Tags are the basic entry into graffiti (often called graft or graff) and its the way to display the crew’s name and style, we find this painted on walls, trains, seats and anywhere visible, thick nibbed markers are normally used. Tags are not very attractive or very artistic, even ugly at times, but they serve the purpose of “putting up” the gang’s identity and mark the territorial domain of their activities, not dissimilar to the way wild big cats mark their territory in the wild. Panels are usually of medium size and are done by a progressed graff artist and can be very attractive and colourful with elaborate borders and of varied themes. They display the gang’s tag very prominently as to advertise the status of the writer and his or her artistic ability. A whole car, as it is obviously mean, a total transformation of the whole paint job of a car into a work of street art with well recognised comic characters and cultural icons, very destructive to the car and costly to the car owner. The piece (as in masterpiece) also known as mural, normally executed on a large wall (some are legal, with authorisation) or on a whole side of a train carriage.
These are the highly
prized works of serious street artists who display vast experience and artistic flare, many of them have studied formal art but opted for their rogue status and they are usually the very core, around which, the rest of the gang forms and evolve their cultural identity. Painting a mural requires a lot of planning and involves a lot of expense as well, it is done by using aerosol paint cans from a colour coded sketch that has been prepared in advance. The writer works alone or with couple of taggers from his or her crew, it could take up to six to eight hours to finish. Work is done very late in the night, in silence, so attention of police or guards is not drawn, and that adds more zest to the furious pace of progression in a race to finish before discovered. It is not unusual to have police encounters and chases that end in being cut on barbed wires and bruised while jumping fences trying to evade the law on their tail, all adds, mind you, to the sense of adventure and reinforces the cultural identity, highlights and accentuates the divide of the us and them mentality. It is also notable that most graffitists are males who place big emphasis on gender and related physical superiority as this plays a great part in the perceived aura of the bad boy image, with all the woven heroic tales of law encounters and how this has contributed to a swift and triumphant escape. Females, sometimes, gain respect of their male counterparts, that kind of respect is often earned not just by artistic merit but it has also to have male qualities as well, like being able to run very fast as to evade the law in case a chase ensues. Having looked at all these aspects of graffiti, should we
preserve some of
the better executed murals or should
we even call it art at all? a fairly thorny question as any
attention by the
media or the main stream art
establishment could spark more graffiti attacks. There is no doubt that damaging properties with graffiti is vandalism and that is a crime, and that authorities, rightly, trying to wipe out from cities to no avail. On the other hand, Keeping a record of street art in general and graffiti in particular, serves to chronicle popular culture and transitional trends in a society, this has proved very valuable in many historical instances, a sure dilemma for the scholar and a complex argument for any law abiding citizen, so go figure!
P.S.
Lot of websites show graffiti work, both around the globe and in Australia, many amazing pieces are preserved in cyber space only as the originals are gone long ago. Please check these websites for graffiti viewing and links: Art Crimes http://www.graffiti.org/ Melbourne Graffiti Art http://pbp.infobroker.com.au/ Paint Fumes Graffiti http://www.arch.usyd.edu.au/~rell9015/newgrafpage.html Escape http://www.graffiti.org/melbourne/graffiti.html Newtown Graffiti http://www.arrakis.com.au/content/imagelib/graffiti/ |