Tagging as an Artform
Here is another review of a book from Chronicle Books that has to do with the "art" of tagging - or graffiti. For all of us who live in an urban area, or have ever visited one, we see this art all over the place. Sometimes crude, many times beautiful, this art on public walls and edifices is a way of life. Now there's a book that chronicles this on the subways of New York City.
Subway Art - 25th Anniversary Edition is a large-format book that shows, in vivid detail, the graffiti movement in NYC in the '70s and '80s. Photographers Martha Cooper and Henry Chalfont captured the early days of street art done by kids who invented it. There are over 150 full-color photographs in this book. Although focued on subway art, the graffiti movement on the streets of urban American has been adapted and refined since those early days. There's even a YouTube author interview that you can see here.
As a book about the art only, it's a good coffee table book. As a glorification of what basically amounts to the vandalism of public works, it causes me some concern. Don't get me wrong, I think there are some beautiful pieces on alleyway walls, but, can't this sort of thing be part of commissioned pieces and not simply vandalism? I feel it would give these talented artists some sort of direction and future in this realm.
Other than my rant on this sort of thing, Subway Art has some really beautiful images contained in it. If, like me, you can let go of the notion of urban blight, you'll really like this book.
Some may say that graffiti is an urban language that should be respected and is just as worthy an artistic pursuit as other forms of art. Some may say that it adds necessary and welcome color and personality to an otherwise bleak urban wasteland. I say that's a load of crap. First of all, if graffiti artists were true artists, they would recognize the art of architecture, construction and masonry, realizing that the canvas they are tagging is itself a display of someone else's skills, talents and training, and therefore should be respected as much as their own form of art. Secondly, by defacing such surfaces, they are in fact literally stealing that surface from those who actually own it, who have paid for it, who maintain it, and who built it in the first place, damaging its historicity; not only is it disrespectful, but it is also robbery, taking something that does not belong to you. If you really want to prove your ability at creating individual, personalized and stylized art that is worth respecting, build your own wall, or at least purchase one like a painter would purchase a canvas, and then truly own it and what you do with it. Lazy, thieving graffiti artists of the world, you can't demand respect; you must earn it. And the best we to earn respect is to show some first.
Graffiti can be well made and art, but often times its just scrawled slogans, names, or gang signs. Just because part of it might be beautiful doesn't absolve all of what it still is.
Even then, a well made graffiti piece might still be a problem. If it wasn't commissioned, and just put on something, then who knows what damage the act might of caused. Maybe the paint hardens and locks a piece that is meant to move freely, or reacts badly with a material critical to what just got sprayed. Not only is it now going to cost something to fix, it could cause a safety problem if no one notices that a valve in the break system of a subway train doesn't open now because dried spray paint has stopped the mechanism.
Is that likely? No, but then again think about how many trains there are that get spray painted. Repeatedly. Over years.
Not to mention that randomly plastering graffiti on something might be ruining another designers/architects/artists dream work. Maybe the graffiti artists thinks the Frank Lloyd Wright house could use a big bright new tag all over the front steps.
Random graffiti will always be a blight, even if its not always an eyesore.
Graffiti Art!
The original oxymoron.
Almost all of it is cultural anomaly; having nothing to do with art other than the ego trip of the "tagger", or in the minds of visitors looking for "meaning" and "art" in everything.
If it ain't your canvas, it's vandalism.
One of my favorite things to do when I get stuck at a railroad crossing is checking out some of the artwork that has been painted on the rail cars. A lot of it is just trashy gang signs but every once and a while something spectacular goes by and I can't help but wonder what that artist was thinking when he crouched down and created his masterpiece. Was it excitement or were they scared they were going to get busted?! Either way, when it's good - it's appreciated. At least on this end.
Great post. I have to say that I think *quality* graffiti is severely underrated. I do graphic design and web design in Philadelphia right now, and it's always a special treat to see a nice tag when traveling.
The problem with graffiti artists is that for every good one there are half a dozen who are just not very good and make there community's look run down.
The trick is to legitimize the good artists and stop the bad onces.
On a more light hearted note the UK's leading graffiti artist ( Banksy ) just had one of his murals painted over buy a well meaning community group. The owner of the building had paid £5000 ( $10,000 ) for Banksy to paint the mural!
I agree that graffiti artists should be getting commissions to paint. That'll cut down on graffiti as vandalism. Hope that books like this one help.
Personal commentary have no place in a review. If you are reviewing the book for the photography or the layout, type of paper it's printed on etc. But to invoke your own commentary about the subject whether good or bad is unacceptable as a reviewer. I don't think Roger Ebert would give a bad review of Schindler's List because "it was a bad thing that Hitler did to those poor people".
Bad things happen, when you live in a city graffiti is one of those bad things, that is not the issue of the book, nor should it be of your commentary.
Almost all of it is cultural anomaly; having nothing to do with art other than the ego trip of the "tagger", or in the minds of visitors looking for "meaning" and "art" in everything.
Quality post guys!
Hey check out my website. I've got some seriously cool animated videos by the guys at Blackthinking.
If you're into painting and Graffiti you'll dig it.
Cheers.
MB
www.artistconnected.com