Graffiti has existed since ancient times and continues as an important form of creative expression today. Watch the following videos on contemporary artists Barry McGee (b. 1966) and Margaret Kilgallen (d. 2001) and the beginning of a clip on Roman Emperor Hadrian’s legacy for examples of early graffiti. Discuss how graffiti can convey a sense of history, and whether you think graffiti can be art.
Groups 1, 2, and 3: Please submit posts by Saturday, 3/9
Groups 4, 5, and 6: Please comment on a classmate’s post by Saturday, 3/9
Please note: due to the upcoming exam on 3/6, you have TWO weeks to post/comment on this discussion topic. Therefore, start creating your own unique posts rather than adding them as comments to this thread.
Don’t forget to log in to your OpenLab account and join the class (request membership!) in order to add a blog post.
See instructions on how to “post” and “comment” under “Blogging Guidelines” above
i personally love graffiti, especially the murals of them, its an art that is for the public, that are purposly put in places for it to be seen, its been around apparently since the egyption times, to show that “someone” was there, or to mark a territory, graffiti is a type of urban art even in todays society, i’ve seen some in mexico, colombia, california, ny, and im sure many places around the world, is an art that is almost tabboo, because more times than others it defaces the properties of an object owned by others, and put on without a request.
i agree with you on that graffiti is almost Taboo not to many people are fine with the idea that they express there art on property that isn’t theirs but what i think it gives it more color and life to the building. I respect all people who does graffiti because i believe that’s a art u have to be born with. And im always suprised on the places and heights these people do their art. I be wondering how they got up there or how they got there with out getting caught
I definitely agree with what giovanni said and i can relate to that cuz i love graffiti myself. Graffiti plays a big role in our society. they should absolutely legalize it, because art is way of expressing life. what would this world be like without graffiti?
i do strongly agree that graffiti is an amazing piece of art. although us being new yorkers we see graffiti mostly on old broken down buildings and billboards , graffiti really shows true talent because it makes us see broken down buildings and old billboards for more then what they are it makes us try to tell what the artist is trying to say. and yes i also agree with the heights and places that graffiti is found raises sucha questions of how it was actually possible to do art in such high places.
Graffiti is just another way of expressing yourself and you’re using the world as a canvas. I see graffiti as an art because of that. Graffiti has been even a bad reputation by society and for some people it is just “vandalism” or “destruction of property”. I think if your a New Yorker you have to love graffiti because New York City is one of the most popular cities where there was a Graffiti movement. The trains were cover in Graffiti and from there gave birth to “5 Pointz” that can be clearly seen from the 7 lines. Graffiti does convey a sense of history because with each artwork there is a story. Graffiti always represents something. From a tags to wars.
People have always found ways of expressing themselves while cementing their place in history, from as early as cave paintings to spray painting concrete. I feel all forms of self expression is in itself art and the idea of vandalism comes from our obsession with property and ownership. Before civilizations began forming everything was communal, everything was shared. No one person had more than another. Yet with the emergence of ownership social classes were created and now labels could be placed by those that had more than others. Whats interesting about the first video clip with the street artists are the differences between the art they create for the public on streets and the art created for galleries. There is a refinement that feels over the top and constrictive at the same time, while the street art feels so much more natural and free.
It is true that graffiti is a way of expressing yourself but separating it from the urban art that you would normally have a picture of a revolutionary figure or just a motivating picture, the art itself supposed to mean something important. Right now is just a grey area because if a person would have written “Joey waz here” I would just say this isn’t significant but if a creative person would make the words as if it were alive or a poetic person says the words like it have a deeper meaning then the word art will be included.
dont get me wrong graffiti is art and it can be beautiful but no matter how awesome it may look or what point it is trying to make it still shouldnt be drawn on property of any kind. its like someone coming in to your houses and peeing on your walls or like buying a book with the words “mike was here” on the middle of every page written in magic marker.im sure your mom and dad didnt like it when you took a crayon to the wall so why should it be any different for grown adults drawing on different propertys.
i agree with you it shouldn’t be drawn at any private property. even if it is a kind of art, nobody has a right to paint other people’s property. I see sometime they draw subways, apartmant walls, and moreover thay draw on the bus windows.
I think grafitti can be art but there are certain gray areas because most of the time grafitti artists use buildings as their canvas. It is true for centuries people have used some form of wall writing as art or to keep records. In our our present day some people do not use grafitti for srtistic purposes they just use it as a way for them to mark their territory, such as tags. Depending on the context and content I do believe that grafitti canbe considered art and as history.
I think grafitti is accepted very easy job by many people but when we start to see the art in it, we can understand it is not an easy job. Therefore, the grafitti is an art for me because you have to use your unique talent to draw and symbolize your thoughts to the other people. However, there are some differences between two videos. First video, the Egyptians have drawn on the walls to show their culture and history for the new generations , but second video, the grafitti artists draw to show their talents.
i feel that graffiti is a form of art and unlike some other people im not such a huge fan. its nice to have in frames and maybe paint your room with some form of graffiti but i dont think it shoould be displayed in public property
There is definitely artistic value to some grafitti. For instance, at the beginning of the video with Barry McGee and Margaret Kilgallen, McGee is working on the end of a piece that is pretty impressive. It’s hard to believe that the face he has just painted is done with spray paint…Awesome! I’m old enough to remember when all of the subway cars in NYC were covered with grafitti (some of it was actually inside the cars). I can asure you that some of it was truly amazing. But, unfortunately some of the images were just plain garbage. The idiots that go out and paint their gang tags all over are the ones who give grafitti a bad rap.
I think that when graffiti is done correctly with a piece of art/drawing/etc this can portray art. I also feel that people writing names or symbols just to vandalize is not art. I f done so in the propper manner with the two drawings it may possibly be viewed as a work of art. I have seen many works of art throught NYC where the owners of these walls who pay money to cover up vandalizing graffiti have allowed these works of art to stay up. These types of pieces exemplify and covey the current times and the persona of the artist.
Graffiti in my opinion is definitely art. My problem with graffiti is anyone can do it. Alot of people from my high school were into graffiti but they weren’t any good. whats worse is that they “vandalized” peoples property and it wasn’t like the graffiti looked nice. So i believe some people give graffiti a bad name and ruin it for others. they make people believe it’s just for delinquents putting nonsense when it’s a very bold and creative form of art.