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Graffiti - Puerto Rican Graffiti
It doesn't matter where you live in the world, chances are
you've seen graffiti somewhere around your local community.
It seems to spring up in every culture, although it tends to
be more prevalent in big cities.
But is it vandalism? Or is it art? That's a difficult
question to answer, mainly because there are so many
different types and styles of graffiti. The most basic form
of graffiti is "tagging" - which is usually a simple
graphic, usually letters, perhaps a play on the creator's
initials or nicknames. Often small and monochrome, it's
probably one of the most annoying and frustrating types of
graffiti, because it is small enough to deface almost any
surface, and is almost universally condemned as having no
artistic merit.
Graffiti, however, isn't restricted to tagging. On larger
surfaces, many graffiti artists employ multiple colors and
intricate designs to create their pictures. This is the type
of graffiti that starts to cross the line into being
artistic. It's this type of graffiti art that is now being
showcased in a number of art galleries, both in the USA and
around the world.
The other problem with graffiti as art is that the issue is
clouded by the location of the art. If some of these
stunning designs were created on a canvas, or a wall
specially set aside for the purpose, then it would be easier
to recognize them as art. Unfortunately most graffiti is
placed on private property, without the owner's consent, and
so is less likely to be viewed as a welcome addition.
Around the world, communities and governments have become
more vigilant in their attempts to reduce the amount of
graffiti. In many places there are community groups or
government funded teams who guarantee to clean up graffiti
in 24 hours after it's reported. Trains in New York were
given new coatings that allowed paint to just be "dissolved"
off their surfaces.
In my own local area, the sale of spray paint to persons
under 18 is illegal, and all spray paints are kept in locked
display cupboards. Another area has a team of painters who
regularly go around and repaint any fences that have been
covered in graffiti. One homeowner I know has had his fence
repainted 7 times so far! Over time, however, the amount of
graffiti reappearing is reducing, which is a victory for the
opponents of graffiti.
Still, simply removing the problem may in fact be a loss to
the artistic community in general. If graffiti is considered
in its most highly refined form, then are we in fact
stopping artistic development in its tracks by making it
impossible for budding graffiti artists to practice their
craft?
When you illegally deface someone else's property, no matter
how beautiful the art you create, you have still committed a
crime. Maybe what we need to do is find ways that graffiti
artists can learn and practice their craft, without needing
to deface hundreds of properties in the process. Some
communities now provide blank spaces and invite local
graffiti artists to paint them. Others have graffiti walls,
where anyone can paint whatever they want.
Maybe there needs to be a shift in the thinking of graffiti
artists, so they can discover the value of painting on
paper, rather than walls. Would the great painters of the
past still be as famous today if they had painted on walls,
rather than on canvas? The problem is complex, so finding a
solution that makes everyone happy is unlikely to be simple.
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Some Other Useful Web Resources
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1. National Hip Hop Political Convention
... of Afro-centric nationalism, gangsta rap and graffiti art, hip hop had never been used as a means ... ... Clemente, who identifies herself as a black Puerto Rican grassroots organizer, was part of the surge ...
http://www.hiphopconventi .../politics/collide.cfm |
2. Jean-Michel Basquiat - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
... Drug-related deaths | Hispanic Americans | Haitian Americans | Puerto Rican artists | African American artists | American graffiti artists Views Article Discussion Edit this page History Personal ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Michel_Basquiat |
3. North America Reviews
... Down These Mean Streets tells the story of a dark-complected Puerto Rican/Cuban who is viewed by the outside world as Black, rather than Latino. Thomas is the target of racial hostility and bigotry ...
http://www.booksunderrevi ...sities/North_America/ |
4. Films by Tara Milutis
... With the help of a group of friends from her diverse community, including her Filipino best friend, a new-age Puerto Rican girl and a Jewish homeboy graffiti artist, she embarks on an odyssey through ...
http://www.tmilutis.com/dragonpark.htm |
5. SAMAR | Rotten Coconuts and Other Strange Fruits
... Hip hop's content and membership has been, from its inception, a collection of styles and members: from Puerto Rican b-boys to Greek graffiti artists, and from the Jamaican art of toasting to ...
http://www.samarmagazine. ...ive/article.php?id=62 |
6. Haber's Art Reviews: "Exit Biennial: The Reconstruction"
... offers cosmetic "makeovers" according to Puerto Rican stereotypes or fashion, depending on which ... ... a ramshackle Sweatshop with more than enough graffiti outsideand goodness knows what halfway ...
http://www.haberarts.com/reexit.htm |
7. Teens as Community Builders
... graffiti removed, which can be problems in other parts of the neighborhood. Challenges Opposition to the project, due to its supposed "controversial" nature, and the organization of the Puerto Rican ...
http://www.pps.org/tcb/albizu_garden_gallery.htm |
8. BLACK ARTEMIS
... bond agent with a troubling past into the graffiti subculture, where a dangerous and ... ... and comedienne born into a working-class Puerto Rican-Dominican family in the Bronx. A self ...
http://www.blackartemis.com/author.php |
9. Airbrush Name Designs by Clark Studio
... Name Full Flag Name Rebel Flag, Puerto Rican, American Brickwall Couple Airbrushed T Shirt Blue Beach Scene Airbrushed T Shirt Beach Scene 1 Airbrushed T Shirt Graffiti Hearts Airbrushed T Shirt Brick ...
http://www.ameliaclark.com/airbrush-names.html |
10. visualresistance.org » 2005 » September
... by the FBI. At the time of the ambush, Puerto Rican government agencies were forbidden from ... ... in Free Speech, In the News, Street Art / Graffiti | No Comments ª Jen Shaos ghost bike ...
http://www.visualresistance.org/wordpress/2005/09/ |
11. Jean Michel Basquiat - prints, posters and information
... artist born in Brooklyn, New York. His mother was a Puerto Rican and his father of Haitian origin. He had started as a street artist painting graffiti art and then he became a very popular and ...
http://www.artbrain.co.uk/basquiat.htm |
12. Hip hop biography .ms
http://www.biography.ms/Hip_hop.html
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13. HipHopClub.Biz/The Matias Project Vol. 1 - Graffiti
... The first club I hit in downtown was the old ìGraffitiísî, so you know I couldnít get enough. Iíve ... ... Rico. Iím a blkrican, (African American Puerto Rican) but sine my Spanish isnít that good, the ...
http://www.hiphopclub.biz/artist/Benitez1.html |
14. Hip Hop Bibliography--Africana Library, Cornell University
... 2001. Flores, Juan. From Bomba to Hip Hop: Puerto Rican Culture and Latino Identity. New York ... ... History of Break Dancing, Rap Music, and Graffiti. New York: St. Martins Press, 1984. Haskins ...
http://www.library.cornel ...na/guides/hiphop.html |
15. Global Voices Online » Puerto Rico (U.S.)
... had its effect on the Puerto Rican youth of the 80s. With the ... Aruba Girl, on her way to Puerto Rico for a shopping spree ... the Nassau Guardian covers graffiti and Bahamian culture in ...
http://www.globalvoiceson ...ricas/puerto-rico-us/ |
16. The HOT Sheet - News - VerdictSearch
... S.D. Texas, No. H-03-3984 (3/21/06) $601,000 Puerto Rican student who received poor grades after ... ... 10/5/05) $175,000 Company didn't remove racist graffiti or take action against those making racial ...
http://www.verdictsearch. ...ws/feat_ctype/042606/ |
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