L I F E S T Y L E
everywhere. Some artists become so artists. It requires stealth, speed the urban setting to illustrate its well-known that their graffiti names and a daring disposition. message: waste, street signs, urban are recognized everywhere. In some and natural decay. The arbitrary, This special form of graffiti places, the police have even started spontaneity, and impromptu feel takes upon the artist signature in keeping a record of these names are part of the rush and madness of different fitted designs sketched on to track movement of the artists in city life, which street art emulates. whatever empty surface appears. order to find and apprehend these This subset of graffiti is characterized Sometimes, the object used “dangerous delinquents.” The aim by the artists spontaneity, and itself is the central theme of the is to spread their logo as far as what outsiders would see as message. Garbage thrown on the possible, and the more illegal or the ego on public property. street can speak about pollution or dangerous the positioning, the better. environmental conscientiousness. It It doesn’t need a particular This has caught fire and spread is precisely the re-enactment of our message or political undertone throughout the world, from the surroundings that is the message, to have its work mean anything, Parisian Metro to the U-Bahn even when no explicit essentially all it needs is idea is conveyed. a blank wall and empty “MY WORK IS MEANT FOR ME, AND I Through mimicking, we surface. As Lisbon-based create a metaphor for graffiti artist Outrunning DON’T CARE HOW YOU WANT what we see around us. Cops noted, “My work is meant for me, and I don’t Graffiti and street TO INT ERPRET OR REPRESENT IT, care how you want to art are notable for their BUT T HAT ’S WHAT IT ’S FOR.” interpret or represent it, provocative nature but that’s what it’s for.” and infusing street -OUT RUNNING COPS culture with what is The monopolization perceived as aesthetically pleasing. in Berlin, and created a cultural of art as only for those who Still, these are often seen as one epidemic. Subway graffiti has possess the talent or legitimate of the same, posing challenges taken on a life of its own. The surroundings, allowing for the for those who want to bring a illegal element is multiplied as the misunderstandings to escalate and meaning to their work, and those canvas is no longer common space, divide amongst the community. who don’t. Where street art seeks but rather private property. Even As Raymond Harmon points to assign a message to the object, though this is public transportation, out, “Art is an evolutionary act. The graffiti sees itself more as a personal in most countries the facilities shape of art and its role in society act of rebellion without cause. themselves are outsourced to is constantly changing. At no point private companies. There is an Graffiti artists draw parallels is art static. There are no rules.” additional thrill in subway tagging. between their work and the world And there are no rules to the way of advertisement. Simply put, they It is physically more difficult to you illustrate the community you are “sticking it to the man.” These pull off since the trains stationed inhabit, the problems you face, and artists create their own “brand,” at the terminus points are the society you envision. The city is their graffiti name, which they use to generally guarded by company your medium, and the spray paint is mark their territory anywhere and security, waiting for the graffiti your message. There are no rules.
ART OF DAVID WALKER // London, England
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