Tuesday 27 September 2011

Graffiti Opinions

I sent out a task for some of my friends to respond and answer so that I had some different opinions/views on graffiti in general. The questions are below followed by their answers....


Do you class Graffiti as an art form? (Tags, Pieces, Etching.)


Do you class street art as an art form? (Stencils, Wheat pasting, sticker art, video projection, guerrilla art, flash mobbing and street installations.)


Which appeals to you more?


Do you feel they fall under the same classification or should they be recognized as two completely different things?


Should Graffiti be accepted by society and be controlled and regulated rather than being classed as a criminal offense?


Should Street Art be accepted by society and be controlled and regulated rather than being classed as a criminal offense?




Gina Martin;

Yes I do, I think its more challenging than some forms of art because it's on an organic surface the artists have to work with the surface and on different surfaces all the time instead of carefully selecting a canvas or type of paper as a painter would.

Street Art appeals to me more as it is more varied, and interesting and that to me makes good art work.

Not sure on this, I this graffiti is more of a style that street art, street art can be absolutely anything where as graffiti is primarily spray painting words/pictures.

Yes it should, people should be able to express their creativity in their environment, there is only so much bad graffiti because street artists are practicing, there should be regulated areas where artists can practice and it can be painted over etc until they are good enough to do art in public spaces.

Rob Garner

yes i do theres is art in every form even if it isnt using paint or drawing so graffiti is art

yes i do art can be used from the color of the weat past to the textour of it and the same to stencils as the artistick tallent can be shown from the cutting/ desinging of the stencils and the though prosess of where to put them creating a pice of art

GRAFFITI as i like the effort that goes into desinghing a pice and painting it and the history behind it

to the blind eye they can fall into the same thing but they are differnt stlys of art thats like saying is water coloring the same as oil panting in a way they are the same but to an artist they are compleatly differant. using sport is a good exsamlpe saying are footballers the sames as rugby players the answer is no its a diffeant sport BUT they are still both sports men and doing simlar things in in that way they are the same

graffity should be fine to do but in places that allow it! not on other peoples properlty where it is not nessasarly wanted and this is the same for street art!

Mitch Weaver

- Originally I don't think the main intention of Graffiti was to even become of form or anything at all. It was a way young people could express themselves at desperate times. Putting your name across as much as you can to give yourself a massive sense of accomplishment and respect. What I think Graffiti boils down to is vandalism but in a much more creative outlook as apposed to straight up criminality.

Do you class street art as an art form? (Stencils, Wheat pasting, sticker art, video projection, guerrilla art, flash mobbing and street installations.)

- Of course, it's art on the street.

Which appeals to you more?

- Graffiti for sure. I don't have much against street art, I just think it lacks in a lot of respect and originality that Graffiti entails, there isn't much change of style. Anyone can put a stencil up a celebrity and do it. I think the becoming a street artist, you will need to bring something to the streets nobody has ever seen before in order to be known. I hate the look of constant recycled imagery.

Do you feel they fall under the same classification or should they be recognized as two completely different things?

- Not at all. Fundamentally they are based on complete different rules, forms of style and respect. Street art is for the masses, where as Graffiti will never be acceptable in the commercial world and that's what makes it so valuable to the people who do it. Expression in a non violent effect to illustrate your view.

Should Graffiti be accepted by society and be controlled and regulated rather than being classed as a criminal offense?

- No, it should never be controlled by society. It wouldn't give off the same effect as it should. Nobody should be allowed to control a persons ability to express freely their creative passion. It's just wrong. As far as criminal offense, it can cause problems and ultimately lead to tragedy. This I think makes it what it is. You are breaking the rules and fucking up the system every time. Brilliant.

Alex Dodgson

Do you class Graffiti as an art form? (Tags, Pieces, Etching.)

Yes, Art is explored in very complex manner. Often in very different ways but ultimate share in the fact that they communicate an idea, a theme or a context. Grafitti, in many ways, is seen as an outsider, a form of art that is not often considered to be as meaningful or influential as its more reputable cousins like painting or sculpture for eg. thats because it generally has no context, no theoretical background or underlining meaning, it is what it is. I dont really know tbh.


Do you class street art as an art form? (Stencils, Wheat pasting, sticker art, video projection, guerrilla art, flash mobbing and street installations.)

Art is found through form and content. Street art is a legitimate aspect of the art world and is becoming more and more meaningful as we move into the 21st century.

Essentially, if you have something to say.. why not share it with the world. Art is about communicating ideas, sharing a fascination with colour, shape, texture.. etc. So if its worth showing the world, why not.. That is the essence of street art.


Which appeals to you more?

Street performance art.


Do you feel they fall under the same classification or should they be recognized as two completely different things?

Grafitti can often take the form of art. Is not, however, always so.



Should Graffiti be accepted by society and be controlled and regulated rather than being classed as a criminal offense?

The only way to control it is to legalise it but then the very nature of what grafitti is lost.

Should Street Art be accepted by society and be controlled and regulated rather than being classed as a criminal offense?

It already is, within reason.


Baljeet

In a way yes I think it is art - providing it looks good..
street art is more like art in the sense that it has a purpose and more or less always looks really good
i think street art is much better
hmm 2 different things really.
it shouldn't be considered as a crime as some graffiti is actually decent and makes dull places look good. I think street art should be accepted by society more than graffiti cause lets face it it's better.




Monday 19 September 2011

A Little Close to Home...Burley Graffiti wall

 There's only a couple of legal walls In Leeds left to paint, So i thought as well as researching some of my favourite graffiti artists why not look on my own doorstep. When getting the train to Manchester I constantly notice "oi, oi" and "mesie" tags, also when I'm driving up in the car I always notice "Demo" and "Crem" tags underneath the motorway bridges, So i was in hope to catch a glimpse of some of their pieces. The thing with a legal wall is that because of it being legal, it is constantly getting painted and re-painted by different artists so the graffiti is always constant and changing.

A few of my pictures









Mr Wany

Mr Wany is one of the writers from Heavy Artillery, one of the crew I particularly like because of his amazing characters and unique style of drawing. His work is dark and depicts a variety of different subjects, In a combination of sharp shapes and cartoon style characters. 



Heavy Artillery...Video's of work

Below is a of video of Heavy Artillery doing what they do best. Mindblowing!



Heavy Artillery...Commisioned pieces

Heavy Artillery are a group of Graffiti Writers from Brighton in the U.K who are well known for their extreme use of colours and their general talent behind each piece of work. Their lines are so crisp! The group is made up from writers such as Alert, Ponk, Mr Wany, Rifle Aroe and Jiroe and some of their pieces are below.

OCLOCK

'OCLOCK' A well known french graffiti artist, who's use for graffiti is less about creative expressionism but more about the art of writing his name anywhere he can.

The London Underground TOX

'Tox' is one name that you can't miss when traveling on the underground, his name has been in more places than the workers of the underground system themselves. However his constant vandalism has caught up with him and hes been jailed as reported in the article below.


This video is a filmed entirely about Tox and highlights some of the spots hes hit on the London Underground.



The London Underground...1995 through to today.

 From 1995 through to 2001 the graffiti artist "Yeah' had a very big status on the tube lines, some of his pieces are below.






Zomby 1998




 2000's Onwards ( A range of different artists)







The London Underground...Steel Injection

The film below is quite a long one but definitely worth a watch, it gives you an insight into Graffiti from the 190's In the heart of the U.K. It was filmed between 1990-1994 so the picture quality isn't amazing, it really highlights the fact that security is so much tighter on the London Underground in the present day.



The London Underground.....1980's-1995

 A like to the subway tunnels of New York London's Underground had the same explosion of creativity when Graffiti became popular in the U.K.


Metropolitan Line AKA The Big Met

The Metropolitan Line is part of the London Underground, coloured magenta on the Tube map. It was the first underground railwayy (or subway) in the world, opening on January 10, 1863 (however, parts of that initial section are no longer served by the Metropolitan Line, but by the Hammersmith & City, District and Circle lines). The main line runs from Aldgate in the City of London to Amersham, with branch lines to Uxbridge, Watford and Chesham. For the initial section of the Line the rails are in tunnel for much of the way; beyond Baker Street, at Finchley Road the Line runs in the open.
The four-track layout for part of the distance — between Wembley Park and Moor Park — allows for the running of express or "fast" services to the outer suburbs. Baker Street is the terminus for many trains, but others complete their journeys into the City to either Moorgate (where there are terminal platforms) or Aldgate.

Tube Map from 1986


The current rolling stock in use on the Metropolitan Line is the sub-surface gauge A Stock built by Cravens in Sheffield, which is shared between the Metropolitan and East London lines.  While it ran in service with unpainted aluminium bodywork for many years, since refurbishment the stock has received the now standard white and blue Underground livery, with red ends. Metropolitan Line services are usually formed of two four-car units coupled together for a total of eight cars, although the Chesham shuttle service and the East London Line are both served by four-car trains.
The A Stock trains were built in the early 1960s and are now the oldest trains operating on the London Underground. They replaced a wide variety of older rolling stock, including trains with hinged doors and compartments (T Stock electric multiple units for Watford services and locomotive-hauled carriages for Aylesbury services), as well as F Stock (built in 1920) used on Uxbridge services.

Graffiti on the Big Met

The metropolitan Line was one of the first to attract graffiti, the fact that it largely ran above ground and the ease of the rural depots meant it attacted those who wanted to recreate that New York feel. The big seats with large hidden away panels and plenty of empty carriages attracted taggers. Harrow-On-The-Hill station became the logical place to watch your name go by and it wasn't long before a regular writers bench became established at the end of the north bound platforms. There was a rumour on the line in the  80s that Futura had pieced a Big Met at Rickmansworth yard on his visit to London in the early 80s. There was certainly what looked like a faded Futura tag in Rickmansworth under a bridge on the way into the 5's yard. Whether this was true or just a hoax I don't know. The Chrome Angelz member Zaki D also did a Big Met also at Rickmansworth quite early on.
Names I remember from the early days between 1985 to 1987/1988 include Ink, Cast (also writing as Ran), Sirius, Sir Beau, Fly, Set 3, Elf, Yeseye (who later became Kasa), Kis 42, Huz, Jano, Dizi, Tilt, Ence, Bud, Glory, Mane, Excel, Funbox, Tuff, Rel (Gunja), Key, Hard, Burn, Cade, Coad 5, Amo, Jap, Event 1, Rate, Envy, Dawn 2, Dye, Rize, Elc, Shame 181, Car 1, List, Aim, Myth 2, Taran, Deode, D-sire, Justice, Tame, Mas, Bos, Rite 1, Coma, Foam, Prime, Fuel, Robbo, PIC, Doze, Coap, Crude, Demo (Crame / Cade), Mean, Rich, Cane1, Rage, Chrome, Buf, Sir Sin, Ace 1, Bus, Decay, Drax, Drop 1, Bunk, Junks, Endure, Est 1, Sham 59 (Sham roc), Risk, Hit, Trance, Sir 5, Cuba, Rad, Kan-D, Lou (Kan-D & Lou where a couple of early female writers), Penfold, Choci, Seize, Drape, Hate, Dub, Mine, Fate, Sex 1, Melo, Karm, Chico, Hyde, Mise, Klue, Nice, Lisa, List, Hell, Data 27, Mig, Steam TU, Noire, Fast, Sneaki, Realm, Rade, Fone, Rade, Remix, Mint, Vogue, Sage, Mas, Cres, Ease, Eze 74, Joy, Wae, Depth, Quill, Cop, Colt 45, Cazbee, Rome, Acine, Noise, Tab,  - there are many others

Below are a few pictures of the most memorable Graffiti artists from London in the 1980's;


COMA Early 1980's


 




KAST/SUZAN- 1988





FUME/ACID 1992-mid 90's






Characters within Graffiti...BODE

Back in the 80's it was all about originality and having a character next to your piece was one way to catch the eyes of your viewers that little bit more. Bode (Vaughan Bode's) underground cartoon characters have been imitated throughout the years and still remain as strong and iconic as they used to be on the side of New York City subways. Some of the characters hes most popular for are "Cheech Wizard" "Deadbone Erotica" and the "Bode Broads."

Grog Ink


Grog ink is the brand to have when buying marker pens or making your own inks, Grog was created to meet graffiti handstylist requirements. The main product is an extra-permanent kind of ink, renouned as the best on market.

Its known for being very hard to buff off/remove from surfaces, this is a major attraction for writers who dont want their tags being removed by the council/local authorities.


Belton Molotow


Another well known brand of Spray paint is Belton Molotow.
With the idea to design a perfect tool for artists and professionals the MOLOTOW™ story began in 1996. MOLOTOW™ became the synonym for brilliant ideas. MOLOTOW™ Premium revolutionized the spray technology across the world and it is still considered as the reference. worldwide leading spraypaint. The patented MOLOTOW™ Technology features the unique quality characteristics no dust, anti drip, all season and covers all.