Analysis of Graffiti Art - Essay Example

Nowadays Graffiti is ranging from vandalism to cherished artwork. Michael Walsh in his book "Graffito" compares two opposite points of view on this issue. He compares two statements. First is a claim of Eskae Oakland from California, who says that "Graffiti is a kick in the face to the Gallery/Museum system, where the artist is pimped like a whore for the capitalist system, made into another commodity for people to buy. . . . Graffiti art is free for all to come and view-no one can own it, it belongs to all of us"1. The opposite view in presented in the words of Gary Doyle from Public Works Officer, Nuisance Crime Abatement Unit, Oakland, California, who said, "I think graffiti is vandalism, pure and simple. . . . To them to get busted is like a Purple Heart. Nobody really slams the doors on those thugs. These graffiti vandals are causing people pain and grief. They think they're artists and have some right like free speech to express their individualism or artistry. If they want to be an artist they should go to work for a record company and do hip-hop CD covers. Graffiti might look good to them and their buddies, but the majority of the people don't want to look at that crap every day"2. As a matter of fact "any type of cultural or artistic production forces change on an environment. Most of the time, people abide by well-established rules for culture-producing activities. They do it through consuming certain products in certain ways or by creating symbols of their identity within the scope of what is legal for the entire society. In general, people who write graffiti produce culture in a different manner. No matter what it says, the manner in which graffiti is produced defines the writer's position as an outsider and alienates that person from the rest of society"3. Although there are hundreds of individual styles of graffiti, there are only seven basic forms in which it appears. These forms, the names of which are known to all graffiti writers, can be distinguished generally by their size, location, complexity of design, or the materials used to create them4. Bubble is a style, in which all similar to each other letters are rounded, joined with each other, and looks as though exaggerated, similar to bubbles bursting at the seams. More often it is used just few colors, basically two or three. This is one of the most popular styles of beginners. Wild Style differs from all the other styles, first of all, by the complexity of letters, which most often are non readable. They are so mazy that sometimes even people who know what's what in graffiti and write it, are not capable to puzzle out an inscription, let alone everymen. And only those, who draw in such style, without can easily read the text of the image. The point is that a writer adds additional elements to the letters, which distract attention from letters. FX (or 3D style) differs in absolute volume of letters. To think up such figure is very difficult. It is necessary to possess not ordinary imagination and uncommon thinking to draw a word in volume. Thus, it is necessary that all letters were combined with each other, and it was clear enough what is written. Far not every writer is capable to do it. Moreover a writer needs many years of trainings to write graffiti in this style. Messiah Style. Originality of this style is that letters look like written on separate sheets and imposed on each other. This style has been invented by the inhabitant of New York Vulcan, which works are characterized by original color scale. Charater is a style, in which the characters from the style of comics are used. Sometimes there is a framework of speech, in which can be present the signature of the writer (autograph), or speech of the character. On background often there is an inscription executed in other style. At the depicturing of the character nozzles with needles for allocation of thin lines, hair, wrinkles, etc. are used. This style is not for every writer as it demands art skills. Therefore graffiti in style of Charater it is more often executed by groups of writers. Throw up is a style, which characterizes the images executed very quickly. They are created by means of usual curves and look as roughly filled with white or silver color letters, with one or two outlines imposed atop. Bombers prefer throw up. The quantity for them is more important than quality. A basic element of their creativity is a speed. For a short time interval they manage to put in several places own names. Very often work of bombers sharply differs from creativity of original writers or stylers. The last develop own style in studio. From the social point of view, activity of bombers is in the road to recognition of the best from the art point of view products of writers. "Creations" of bombers often have lack of grace. Bombers choose hard-to-reach and dangerous places, but nevertheless appreciable for spectators. In style of Throw up work even great writers, but they develop the image, creating from an initial sign a complex composition. Bombers prefer to write short names very quickly or to write first and last letters of a name, putting an exclamation mark after it. This style became known owing to New York writer I.N. Blockbusters are large, often three-dimensional and very wide letters. In some cases they can be executed by means of outline, but sometimes illumination, for which white and silver paints are preferred, is also used. The feature of blocks is the use of ink-roller for painting of an internal margin. At very big size of graffiti in this style a group works. Blockbusters have appeared in Los Angeles, where they were used for a designation of the territory of street gangs. Enormous inscriptions served as an original border of a zone of influence. It is obvious that today we may agree to Perkins, who states that "while graffiti on canvas is widely popular and marketable, subway graffiti remains an illegal activity"5. But at the same we should realize that "whether or not graffiti is capable of being art and where it should be allowed is a fascinating subject for the Citizenship lesson considering freedom of expression, public and private ownership of space as well as competing rights and responsibilities"6. Bibliography: Castleman, Craig. Getting Up: Subway Graffiti in New York. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1982. Halstead, J. Mark, and Mark A. Pike. Citizenship and Moral Education Values in Action. London: Routledge, 2006. Perkins, William Eric. Droppin' Science: Critical Essays on Rap Music and Hip Hop Culture. Critical perspectives on the past. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1996. Phillips, Susan A. Wallbangin': Graffiti and Gangs in L.A.. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999. Walsh, Michael. Graffito. Berkeley, Calif: North Atlantic Books, 1996. Read More