Street art and subculture - Essay Example

Does street art remain the popular expression of a subculture? Introduction Ross (11) defines street art as a hybrid model in the global visual culture. It is a post-modern field defined more by real-time practice than any unified theory, movement or communication. It is clear that many modern artists do not relate themselves to the street or graffiti artists, but as artists who use their city as a working environment. This community has its rules, codes, hierarchies, and mode of communication. In the beginning, the street art culture was a subversive, lawless appropriation of public visual surfaces that became a popular part of visual space not only in the cities, but also in the museums. This paper discusses why street art remains a popular expression of a subculture despite its critical issues within the neighborhood and the art community. Street artists continue being a key part of a better story on the subject of modern art and visual culture. According to Bradley and Charles (25), street art invents and distributes a visual manifestation, and collection of stylistic records immediately identified all through mass culture. The museums and the galleries together with the international media have embraced street art into the institutionally authorized art world. In addition, street art continues receiving substantial bibliography, and this assists it in securing its well-documented type as an object of study. The globalized street art model symbolizes a cultural changing point as permanent. Significant and irreversible compared to the 1960s pop art. For modern visual culture, street art is also a linkage for multiple punitive and institutional fields that rarely interconnect with this discriminating state of visibility. This crashing force surrounding street art depicts most of the concealed questions. Some of the questions involve the relationship between visibility and public space, the role of cultural communities’ practice, the proper location and space of art. Other suppressed questions include the competing arguments on street art and its relation to the public among others. Street art subcultures symbolize some amazingly imaginative and improvisational practices in every day’s life. According to (Toby et al 4), street artists represent a challenge for visibility, its regulation in public places, and policies that bounder the art and artist’s legitimacy. However, the street artists continue fighting for their right while developing with a resistance. Nevertheless, their art represents some hybrid artwork with generative logic of mix making it one-step ahead of the cultural police hailing from any jurisdiction. Earlier in the days, street art seemed like a ghost trying to project its repressed dreams and fantasies on the street walls. According to Snyder (36), most cities illegalized the practice arguing that it defaced private property. However, many of the artists could argue that the art gave a better image or beautified the cityscape. This scenario raises the question whether this makes graffiti or street art an illegal movement. It also raises the question on whether graffiti only becomes art if placed in galleries. Graffiti has been around for many years, and evidence lies in the Roman architecture. The original objective of the street work and graffiti was to inform the public about political and social problems arising within the region. This method made it a silent but highly effective means of protest against the increasing problems in the society. The street art may seem utopian, aggressive, or juvenile, but most artists started it with a lot of empathy for the city. The empathy may have been through beautification, protest, humor, or critique among others. An excellent street piece will reveal the meaning of its material context, which makes the invisible to become visible again. The social meaning of street art according to (Bradley & Charles 70) is a work of a site with all their already structured symbolic values, and the city location remains most vulnerable. Every art movement has its legends depending on its source and initial moments. The current street artists have no formalized work theories like the previous known artists. Some people argue that street artists are inheritors of earlier art movements mainly because their ideas came from Dada movement. They can remix arguments, ideas, performances, and subversions among others. It is clear that street art continues to reveal that there is no neutral urban space meaning that walls and streets scenery are boundaries for socially constructed territories, and the vertical space regulates by system of visibility. Some graffiti artists have the permission to work on some public places in different cities. These murals as commonly generally have a message, and the owners of the space share the idea with the artist. According to Ferrell (56), street art and graffiti face many controversies and always linked to criminal gangs. The main objective of gang gravity is to identify with a territory, and this raises the question of its criminality. In addition, a person may ask if personalities should dictate the value of a street artist. Ferrell (25) argues that Picasso’s art and many other popular works would not be criminalized if found on the street walls. This means that vandalism changes meaning according to the artist involved. On the other hand, the law on anti-graffiti seems unfair because like in Chicago, it is illegal to purchase a can of aerosol, which many artists mostly use in street art. Likewise, any piece of street art found in Chicago is illegal whether on private or public property, and the government and immediately buffers and sprays the place. Unfortunately, the public has no say regarding the graffiti despite the fact that the government uses their tax to clean up any street artwork in the name of discontinuing vandalism. It is true that some street artist seem to force their work on to the citizens, which may sometimes invade their space level and comfort. However, every city has several billboards advertising different events and products, and yet it does not regard that as vandalism. These personal invasions seem legal, unlike the street art. Therefore, if the government has to ban street art, it should equally ban the billboards elected in the cities, and mounted on the walls. Street art remains a very popular subculture, and this shows in the interests of galleries and museums in holding these street art pieces. Firat (260) argues that there has been a continuous campaign on moving graffiti to the galleries and the museums, which may completely void the entire message behind graffiti work and objective. As earlier mentioned, the main aim of the street art is to express the message to the open society on criticism and humor among other things. However, holding these images in the galleries limits the audience. According to Snyder (40), the galleries and the museum relate to the middle and upper class because of the exorbitant prices at the gates. However, the street artists offer free information to every member of public. Therefore, the poor person will easily access the gravity on the city walls compared to that in the galleries or museums. Galleries and museums are out to make money, unlike the street artist who offers free information and entertainment. Street art also remains a popular subculture especially among the adolescents whether male or female (Bradley & Charles 62). These adolescents use street art as an experiment in identity working to develop a sense of self. The street art helps this adolescent to progress artistically and developmentally aiding them to join adulthood. Peer pressure equally plays a big role in popularizing street art although the law tends to remain strict about it. Stereotyping plays a big role in making the street art popular. While blanket stereotyping may create issues on relationships, young adults find it cool associating with graffiti gangs. The street artists argue that their work adds to the street value, enhancing a much-needed artistic appeal. The street art or graffiti culture also plays a big role in popularizing this artwork. Many scholars raise the questions on why people practice street art and graffiti. However, according to (Bradley & Charles 68), the identity of a person is a direct consequence of both heredity and the environment. The theory means that a person does not choose the path to follow at birth, but rather the society dictates the opportunities around them. Unfortunately, the lower class in the urban areas seems completely disenfranchised, and they remain locked in social situations that make them work full-time in order to make the ends meet. Unlike the older generation, the young adults have the energy to remain alive, and therefore they do not allow the environment to pull them down. They can create images that will live to tell their story, and that is how they end up writing on these walls. They pick their idea and adapt it to their urban environment explaining to the public why they did it. The rich children do not relate to rebellion forgetting that some of the poor children remain locked in economic situations without alternatives. Globalization is another aspect that continues popularizing street art and graffiti (Austin 201). With modernization, everyone seems to be relocating to the urban areas. In addition, the smaller towns have grown to become big cities. This expansion means that more streets and walls continue receiving more images from the street artists. After all, the young population seems to expand in the urban areas with globalization. According to Austin 211), with urbanization, the streets are the new play fields considering that the society has grabbed every available field. Therefore, the street disorder is here to stay, and it remains the best place to write a speech mostly of dissatisfaction. Most of these adults in the urban areas need to express their concerns, and the only way they can do it is through graffiti since no one seems to listen to them. Most of the jobless young adults will try graffiti as a pass-time, and although this may have a bad influence among these cliques, the adolescents find it an achievement. They also feel like they own the place as long as they have their messages on the wall. Unfortunately, most of the graffiti and street artists prefer remaining anonymous considering the illegality of their work. Therefore, despite the great messages they send to the society, they do not benefit from their work other than in self-satisfaction. They have no monetary value for their work. However, if their pieces landed in the galleries or the museums the upper class would buy them for a significant amount of prices (Austin 203). The interests from the upper class and the government confirm the popularity of street art and graffiti. Unfortunately, the government prefers a clean society top the cries of the disfranchised. The upper class has not received punches that would force them to turn to the streets in order to express their frustrations and anger. That is why they continue suppressing street art and gravity because they know its popularity may expose the government corruption, and sometimes it may cause riots. Commercialization helps in popularizing street art, and technology seems to advance the design of street art and graffiti culture. The internet seems to revolutionize people’s ideas on graffiti, and ways of sharing of sharing the techniques. Some popular websites like Art Crimes evidently show that graffiti is a popular tool for mass communication. Such websites also show that artists can use graffiti to influence the society in certain ways. Therefore, just like mass communication, graffiti can communicate positively spreading positive messages especially to the youth for a social change. In addition, using graffiti and other street arts for advertisement is a good idea. Unfortunately, graffiti cannot advertise consumer goods considering it does not relate well with the upper class. Conclusion While the government and some people in the society relate street art, and graffiti to vandalism, it is clear that this art’s popularity is here to stay. Some social motives and implications of graffiti seem to legitimize this form of art and that is why murals have a license for graffiti. In addition, some of the street art’s atheistic qualities fully validate this art. The demand for the street art and graffiti by both galleries and museum confirm their qualities. These forms of arts remain popular especially among the young adolescents who find pleasure in expressing themselves, while entertaining people through street art and graffiti. While this art’s motives stem from the dehumanizing working class, research shows that it has gained popularity across all classes. Today, graffiti and street art does not only relate to social motive, but its creativeness and originality captures the eyes of other potential artists. In addition, there is a new generation of street art and graffiti due to its development outside the traditional expressions to improved methods of communication. Works cited Austin, Joe. Taking the Train: How Graffiti Art Became an Urban Crisis in New York City. New York: Columbia University Press, 2001. Print. Bradley, Will, and Charles Esche. Art and Social Change: A Critical Reader. London: Tate, 2007. Print. Ferrell, Jeff. Crimes of Style: Urban Graffiti and the Politics of Criminality. Boston, Ma: Northeastern Univ. Press, 2000. Print. Firat, Begum O, and Aylin Kuryel. Cultural Activism: Practices, Dilemmas, and Possibilities. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 2011. Internet resource. Rose, Gillian. Visual Methodologies: An Introduction to the Interpretation of Visual Materials. Los Angeles: Sage Publ, 2010. Print. Snyder, Gregory J. Graffiti Lives: Beyond the Tag in New Yorks Urban Underground. New York: New York University Press, 2009. Print. Strinati, Dominic. An Introduction to Theories of Popular Culture. London [u.a.: Routledge, 2004. Print. Professor Toby Miller, Toby Miller Alec McHoul, Dr Alec W McHoul, Trish Miller, Tricia Miller Popular Culture and Everyday Life SAGE, 1998 Read More