Not Vandalism, but Capitalism: Graffiti as Canvas Prints
Ask anybody their opinion on graffiti, and you’ll receive opinions right across the board : some individuals find it vandalism, others a nuanced artform. On the plus side, talented graffiti artists such as Banksy have turned graffiti into an aesthetic pleasure, utilizing stencils to produce technically difficult artworks loaded with a subtle meaning attached. This type of graffiti was likely to become trendy with the masses and the likes of The Independent pressroom : pleasing to the eye, and the intellect. This form of graffiti is now even acquired as graffiti prints, and placed in middle class households and office meeting rooms.
Yet, when it comes to your down and dirty graffiti - the tagger, the gangbanger kind - this is just seen as antisocial, an offence perpetrated by the untalented. But misinterprets graffiti as purely an art form. To numerous individuals, it’s not only an artform, but a method to put your stamp on territory, or perhaps a two finger salute : anti-establishment, anti-social, even anti-art.
Graffiti has forever been an underground activity, although the effects are public. The targeted audience is oftentimes unbeknown. Is it for a rival gang? A communication to a single person? To the public? Or….possibly it’s just uncalled-for and out of nothing to do.
Whatever the reasons, there appears to be a continuous demand to spray on walls. Some cities have acknowledged that graffiti isn’t going to go away, so they’ve designated areas where graffiti is permitted - usually derelict areas, but occasionally busier zones like boarding surrounding inner city buildings under construction.
