![]() An example is the Remembrance Day muralin 2018 by Jerome Davenport. “Through many years working in the arts industry, we have learnt that by maximising the use of intricate designs and incorporating themes of broad community inclusivity and respect, the resulting artwork inherently minimises the likelihood of vandalism in that area. Harvey once again emphasises an important distinction: “Street art is an extension of graffiti and we believe that it can be a tool to revitalise public spaces,” he points out. They take huge organisation skills, involve local councils. These huge murals are extremely complicated pieces and require planning, imagination and contain artistic elements like colour and composition, and often tackle social equality issues. “Artist like Shep Fairey and Retna are totally pushing boundaries and not just painting walls but entire building blocks over several floors. Graffiti artists have now been rephrased as mural artists as they specialise in huge projects. Attitudes to graffiti have changed considerably over the last two decades and cities like Bristol have capitalised on the fame and notoriety of Banksy, and of course his work commands respect from art critics.”Ĭan officially sanctioned street art and graffiti ever be considered culturally credible? Or does it need to have an edge attached to it by being illicit? Dan Pearce has no doubt: “You just have to take a walk around the streets of East London to see the scale of graffiti projects which have transformed the area into one huge art canvas and really helped graffiti become accepted. The latter is often commissioned by councils or communities. I think there needs to be a clear distinction between what we see as tagging, graffiti and street art. “Interestingly, cities like Amsterdam or Berlin embrace graffiti as a cultural asset and tourists are given tours of the highlights. “Many artists who create graffiti believe public property is the best platform for displaying their artwork, particularly if they’re making social or political comments. Kulman echoes Pearce’s view that there are moral boundaries, but insists that it’s ultimately down to the artist to decide: “The answer to this question is whether graffiti desecrates or destroys public property,” he says. ![]() “There are key differences between the two and a paradox between the way each is treated in the modern era, while both fluidly relate to ‘art on the street’,” says Harvey, pointing out that “It’s only since the birth of advertising that it has become illegal to graffiti in public.” “Graffiti can fall into the category of vandalism or ‘defacing’ when it is a random tag on any old wall that has no meaning,” he accepts.Īn important distinction needs to be made between graffiti and street art. I believe that truly anything is art if it has a meaning to you.” But there is a moral line that shouldn’t be crossed. “It’s a symbol of rebellion, and it presents a fantastic new form of creativity, but what makes it art is an individual’s opinion. The idea that a form of artistic expression could be considered vandalism is, unsurprisingly, not widespread among graffiti artists. And Professor Andrew Kulman is from the School of Visual Communication at Birmingham City University. Dan Pearce is a mixed media artist who’s recently created work for Anthony Joshua, Rag’n’Bone Man and 50 Cent, among others. Alex Harvey is co-founder and project manager at Blank Walls, a group that commissions and manages street art projects in Australia and the UK. So we thought we’d ask some artists and academics in the field where they thought graffiti stood in the art–vandalism spectrum. ![]() And the grammar of graffiti – its media and techniques – is now the basis of some of the most imaginative, beautiful and poignant street art out there, all with the blessing of property owners and communities. ![]() People who create graffiti see themselves as artists, expressing themselves on the public canvas. Surely the reality is somewhere in between. It’s considered an element of “Broken Windows Theory” – the idea that even small signs of disorder in a community lead to more disorder, which eventually escalates into gang warfare and breakdown of law and order (repeat: it’s a theory). Graffiti can be seen as a blight on communities, an eyesore or evidence of social breakdown. Many skate parks now double as shrines to the self-expression of graffiti, and nobody’s ever going to complain that it’s vandalism.īut in the wider world, it might not be so clear cut. Skateboarding, hip hop and graffiti have coexisted since the 1970/80s, to the point where it’s hard to think of one without the other.
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