Table of Contents
Prologue Research Paper Annotated bibliography 5 Genres Epilogue
April 7, 2009 Dear Reader, To find something to investigate and then write about isn’t interesting. I spend a lot of hours thinking and rethinking what could be my theme for my multi-genre project. First I started with the idea of writing about music or pop art but suddenly I understood that I wasn’t truly interested in them. In the path I realized that I should write about something that mixes the culture, thoughts, ways of expression and arts. This is when came out the idea of doing it about graffiti and how culture is reflected in it. Everyone should know all the ways that they have to express what they feel. This is the main reason that makes my work an important one. I will take you to a journal in where you are going to experience the feelings behind the graffiti wall. Just as an introduction I will inform you about the first graffiti writer, nicknamed Taki 183- and named Demetrious- and his reasons to tag himself in a wall. Also, you will find information about the development of this kind of art expression and some relevant countries or cities with some of the best graffiti painters but most important you will find information about the graffiti as a mechanism to express yourself and being heard. I hope you enjoy and learn something in my multi genre project.
Vibeke L. Betances Lacourt
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Vibeke L. Betances Lacourt Proffesor Ellen Pratt INGL3231-096 16 april 2008 The Modern Poets Who said that we can only write or draw on a paper? Expressing ourselves is a fundamental part of our lives. For a long time, graffiti art has been criticized and underestimated because of the place that artists develop their talent. Writing or drawing graffiti is a way to express something that you feel deep in your heart. This kind of art has been associated with gangs and suburban cultures. Almost all countries in the world have their graffiti artist and they are all focused in different problems or events. Graffiti responds to a society, it is not society who responds to graffiti. Graffiti is the way that marginalized classes use to express what they feel, to make their voices heard. We all have the need of being heard. For centuries, there have always been sectors with marginalized people. Not everyone can talk and make decisions by themselves. The fact that people are not being heard is not breaking news to anyone."People with money can put up signs ... if you don't have money you're marginalized...you're not allowed to express yourself or to put up words or messages that you think other people should see. “ (Eskae) People that have money can pay for big bulletins, their space in newspaper pages or to express themselves in books and big canvas. Nevertheless, people without a good economic condition can’t use any of these ways. Some –limited sectors- can pay for a space in television, radio or newspaper but this does not
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apply to everybody. There are a lot of people waiting to be listened to, trying to make an impact in society with their voices but they can’t do it, they don’t have the money to do it. This is why marginalized classes use graffiti art as a way to express themselves. They don’t need to pay for a bulletin, an editorial, television, newspaper or radio; they just unburden their feelings in the wall. Can the wall be the receptor of my feelings? Yes it can, but more than that, the wall can be the emissary of your feelings; it can persuade a lot of people. All this is thanks to graffiti art, but what exactly is graffiti art? Graffiti is the term designed to an illegal coherent composition made by an individual or a group – not necessarily experts or professional artists- in a space considered public. Graffiti goes from simple doodles or marks to complex and well developed works. The motives for production of this works may include the desire to be heard, public recognition of their way of thinking and/or the need to appropriate public or private spaces for group or individual purposes. Graffiti is the illegitimate counterparts to the paid, legal advertisements on billboards or signs and this is why this illegal expression constitutes vandalism to the larger society. “Individualized or popular graffiti include bathroom wall marking «latrinalia», signatures, proclamations of love, witty comments in response to advertisements, and any number of individual, political, or social commentary «folk epigraphy».” (Art Crime) All this started – and was popularized- with a teen called Demetrius or “Taki183” as he was better known. As he said in an interview maid by The New York Times in the 1971, he wrote his “tag” all around the city, focusing in the subway, because that pleased him. He also questioned the reason that the officers had to persecute him when he was making exactly the same thing that the political party made with their adhesive political tags. (Oliver) As a result of the development and popularization of Taki183 tags, graffiti art has three important sub
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categories; political, “hip-hop” /“New York Style”, and gangs style. The three of them are involved with society and how graffiti is the result of society and in some way they are all enchained with the human necessity of being heard. “The question of vandalism and graffiti as an art form has provoked endless controversy, raising such questions as whether vandalism can be considered art or whether graffiti can be considered graffiti if they are made legally.” (Art Crime) For some people graffiti is the most rude and vulgar way of vandalism but for others graffiti is just another form of expression. Sadly the way that this is measured isn’t so just. “The influx of graffiti-inspired catwalk collections […] was more than acceptable to mainstream values. We can rest assured that Louis Vuitton was not accused of delinquency. The coffee table books, favoured by high society, featuring hundreds of throw-up's, tags, pieces and murals, may make a quirky conversation point, but let’s not forget that the artists would have potentially gone to prison for 'vandalism' or 'criminal damage'. Surely you cannot sell criminal damage?” (D’cruze) Graffiti art has always been marginalized and criticized because it is considered illegal. If someone is caught making graffiti without permission (people that do not pay for making them) can be placed under arrest. On the other hand, if a brand or a distinguish artist made a graffiti it is considered art. “Many multinational corporations have selected graffiti writers to spray their logos and ad campaigns onto city streets in return for a paycheck. Companies that have practiced this include Coca-Cola, Nike, McDonalds, AM General Corp. (maker of the Hummer), IBM, and TIME magazine.” (Werwath) Unfortunately this leads to the commercialization of graffiti and
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puts an end to the original reason; this has neutralized the voice of the people that wanted to be heard through this art…again. Graffiti is the perfect way to let our voices be heard. We, as a part of a society have to support this art because it represents the real society, the one that has feelings and isn’t afraid of showing it. None of the other ways that we can use to express ourselves can be as real as this one. All the people of the world, without excluding any economic sector, have the right to be heard and the only way that they can do it is by this medium. Every country in the world must have selected murals that can be used to make graffiti. A society that is not heard, isn’t a society.
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Annotated Bibliography Art Crimes. April 2009. April 2009 <http://graffiti.org/> Art crimes is a website about graffiti information. In this website you can find useful and objective information about graffiti laws, artist and history. The best thing about this page is their vast archive of articles about different ways of view about graffiti. D'Cruze, Rachel. "Underground Inequalities: Graffiti Culture." December 2003. HackWriters. April 2009 <http://www.hackwriters.com/graffiticulture.htm>. It is grafitti art or crime? In this web page article you will find how the vision of graffiti art is changed depending in who employed the method. When unknown groups or people use the graffiti as a way to express themselves it's viewed like a criminal act but as a counterpart when well known brands use it as a way to advertise their products it is view as art. Oliver, Daniel. "Academic Talent Development Program." October 2002. Graffiti: Art And Crime. April 2009 <http://atdp.berkeley.edu/Studentpages/cflores/historygraffiti.html>. The Berkeley University has this article in their website. Here we can find the history and the development of this art form. Also a comparison about art works with paint cans and brushes. Finally we can see how mixed society and art are involved. "'Taki 183' Spawns Pen Pals." The New York Times 21 July 1971: 37. Pro Quest. Universidad de Puerto Rico, MayagĂźez, PR. April 2009 <http://www.proquest.com> This is a New York Times article about the first teen that made a graffiti or "tag" in a public space. Historicly he is the one that popularized this kind of art. It is interesting because
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they also interview the teen called Demetrius and ir give us a background about what was the reason that make this young teen made the first modern graffiti. Werwath, Timothy. "The Culture and Politics of Graffiti Art." March 2006. Art Crimes: The Writing on the Wall. April 2009 <http://graffiti.org/faq/werwath/werwath.html>. This article is about how society, politics and graffiti art are involved. It explains its legality, culture and commercialization and how it affects the art and the society.
Epilogue I need to express myself. Doing this multi genre project I have realized that everyone needs to express themselves. When I started writing about this I considered graffiti as the best way to let other people hear what you want to say. I still thinking like that, the only thing that I would change is the paint. People should invent another kind of paint that doesn’t contaminate the world. I have learned that you don’t need to have money to say to the world what you think. About graffiti, I learned the meaning of “tags” and why they make them. Also I found a really interesting fact; Reverse Graffiti Project. It was also impressive the 3D graffiti and how it looks. Not everything was so good; I also learned depressing things. I learned that graffiti is being marketed and that the term “graffiti” is considered degrading and racist, for some ‘writers’ as they call themselves. I really have a lot of fun making my genres. When I made them, I was transported into another space. I used the programs Photoshop CS3 and Microsoft Publisher to make my genres. I pick five genres to work with and they are: post card, travel brochure, wanted poster, grocery list and encyclopedia entry. I really have a lot of fun- and I also learn a lot- making my genres.