Saturday, August 30, 2008

Graffiti and Urban Art New Way of Expression

Graffiti and urban are fast becoming one of the most talked about and controversial pieces of art since the picture of Mona Lisa.

The reason being is because of the new way to interpret images and successfully transfer them to canvas or paper. Urban artists in there own right are very talented and no longer is graffiti considered 100% as part of the underground.


The real greatness in urban art lies in peoples passion to design or draw not for a living but as a hobby. Now is the chance for urban artists all over the world to actually make a career out of there modern art form pushing the boundaries of the way that the current world perceives art.
What is art and urban art?Some people would consider a lot of things art in this day and age, even the simplest stacking of cups has now taken an art form.

Urban art is where the truth really lies through fresh art born out of an artists mind and with no way to express themselves and there talent they turn to the streets.

Does urban art belong on the streets?The simple answer is no and yes, urban and street art is just like any other form of art the only difference is that the people involved do not have the chance to show people there work so a place we are always likely to see graffiti is on the streets and walls. But not to say that it only belongs on the street graffiti is now a form of modern art and they have been used for social events to create a buzz and you can also find different forms of graffiti in galleries around the world.

Another major factor in why so many artists are turning to urban and graffiti is the simple fact that they will be able to identify themselves with a style and niche, they always bring something new to the table that people have not seen or experienced before unlike traditional art which is somewhat now classed as normal.

There is alot of courses and schools you can now also go, to study urban art and graffiti that's how well it is doing. A lot of graffiti artists are now international stars such as banksy who not only uses the traditional aerosol paint but also performs graffiti art with stickers, stencils and tiling, his graffiti and many other world renowned artists have made it clear that for a fact, urban art is the new way of expression.

Graffiti An Urban Art Form

You can travel almost anywhere in the world, and you will probably see graffiti. Although graffiti art is usually more common in big cities, the reality is that it can occur in almost any community, big or small.


The problem with graffiti art is the question of whether it's really art, or just plain vandalism. This isn't always an easy question to answer, simply because there are so many different types of graffiti. Some is simply a monochrome collection of letters, known as a tag, with little artistic merit. Because it's quick to produce and small, it is one of the most widespread and prevalent forms of graffiti.Although tagging is the most common type of graffiti, there are bigger, more accomplished examples that appear on larger spaces, such as walls.

These are often multicolored and complex in design, and so start to push the boundary of whether they should really be defined as graffiti art.If it wasn't for the fact that most graffiti is placed on private property without the owner's permission, then it might be more recognized as a legitimate form of art.

Most graffiti art, however, is only an annoyance to the property owner, who is more likely to paint over it or remove it than applaud its artistic merit.Many solutions have been put into practice around the world, with varying degrees of success. Paints have been developed that basically cause graffiti paint to dissolve when applied, or else make it quick and easy to remove. Community groups and government departments coordinate graffiti removal teams.

In some places you can't buy spray paint unless you're over 18. Cans of spray paint are locked away in display cases. In a nearby area the local council employs someone to go around and repaint any fences defaced by graffiti.

A friend of mine has had his fence repainted 7 times at least, and it took him a while to find out why it was happening! Certainly the amount of graffiti in my local area has dropped substantially in the last year or two, so it appears these methods are working to a great extent.But is removing the graffiti doing a disservice to the artistic community? Maybe if some of the people behind the graffiti art were taken in hand and trained, they could use their artistic skills in more productive ways.

It hardly makes sense to encourage these artists to deface public property, and so commit a crime. But perhaps there are other ways to cooperate with the graffiti artists rather than just opposing them. Graffiti artists can create sanctioned murals for private property owners and get paid for it.Maybe we need to start at a very basic level, and find a way to encourage the creation of graffiti art on paper or canvas, rather than walls.

After all, who would remember Monet or Picasso if they'd created their masterpieces on walls, only to have them painted over the next day? Finding a solution to such a complex situation is never going to be easy, but as more graffiti art is being recognized in galleries around the world, we do need to try.