Graffiti: How Shepard Fairey changed the world of Street Art
It's 11 o'clock on Gratz Street, North Philadelphia. A hooded figure darts across the street, and runs up to an abandoned row-home, pulling out a can of spray paint. He nervously looks both ways, eyes scanning the street corners, before spraying the paint across the barren concrete wall. His message: one of defiance, against the status quo, against everything he believes has held him back in life. Standing back, he enjoys a brief moment of satisfaction. He checks the streets around him one last time, before hurriedly leaving the scene, satisfied with the night's work. Is this vandalism or an art form?
Graffiti is an artform. Its artists perform on the cultural margins of society. It’s very clear that drawing on property is a crime, but what if the drawing can change the world? Shepard Fairey, a well known artist, has made a career based off his start in street art. His specific designs have reached global recognition due to his very successful clothing line, and his influence on the 2008 presidential election in the United States. Graffiti can influence change in a positive way if the …show more content…
He had a warrant for his arrest in Detroit, Michigan for putting up a poster. This is proof that the laws concerning anti-grafitti are extremely outdated and unfair for street artists. In the article Art and Crime (and Other Things Besides … ): Conceptualising Graffiti in the City, it says, “graffiti is a spatial practice that draws attention to the complex processes at work in the social, cultural, and political construction urban space.” (McAuliffe & Iveson 2). This means that graffiti is an expression of art that questions everyday norms. There should not be a law that enforces the stifling of creative
It's 11 o'clock on Gratz Street, North Philadelphia. A hooded figure darts across the street, and runs up to an abandoned row-home, pulling out a can of spray paint. He nervously looks both ways, eyes scanning the street corners, before spraying the paint across the barren concrete wall. His message: one of defiance, against the status quo, against everything he believes has held him back in life. Standing back, he enjoys a brief moment of satisfaction. He checks the streets around him one last time, before hurriedly leaving the scene, satisfied with the night's work. Is this vandalism or an art form?
Graffiti is an artform. Its artists perform on the cultural margins of society. It’s very clear that drawing on property is a crime, but what if the drawing can change the world? Shepard Fairey, a well known artist, has made a career based off his start in street art. His specific designs have reached global recognition due to his very successful clothing line, and his influence on the 2008 presidential election in the United States. Graffiti can influence change in a positive way if the …show more content…
He had a warrant for his arrest in Detroit, Michigan for putting up a poster. This is proof that the laws concerning anti-grafitti are extremely outdated and unfair for street artists. In the article Art and Crime (and Other Things Besides … ): Conceptualising Graffiti in the City, it says, “graffiti is a spatial practice that draws attention to the complex processes at work in the social, cultural, and political construction urban space.” (McAuliffe & Iveson 2). This means that graffiti is an expression of art that questions everyday norms. There should not be a law that enforces the stifling of creative