Introduction
Many of the great works of art were underestimated by the contemporaries of the artists. Though the artistic value of the graffiti remains questionable for most cultural experts, certain samples of spray-painting may be regarded the works of art in the context of the hip-hop culture.
Causing troubles
Causing a lot of troubles and material damage to the authorities, graffiti is considered to be a property crime punishable by up to one year in jail in Seattle and up to three years in Singapore, for instance. For replacing the spray-paintings a lot of funds as well as human resources are used. Notwithstanding the ethical code of the artists, the windows and walls in the public spaces are often used as canvases for graffiti. Considering only the material damage issue of the graffiti phenomenon, it may be treated as an act of vandalism.
By the way, spray-painting in the public areas, in my opinion, is mostly meant to contradict the generally accepted norms and expresses the protest of the young generation, looking for ways of self-realization and socialization. Assessing the artistic value of these masterpieces is problematic. But some artists consciously choose the unused dessert areas for their self-expression and it causes less damage than painting in public places, changing the city landscapes and amusing the occasional observers. Taking into consideration the individual style of every artist and interesting motifs used in the graffiti, this phenomenon is to be treated as one of the trends of contemporary hip-hop culture.
Becoming a worldwide trend, paint-spraying increased its significance in the cultural context. Numerous websites unite artists all over the world, sharing their experiences, demonstrating samples of the wall masterpieces. Being prohibited by law and painted mostly during the hours of darkness, this kind of self-expression creates the atmosphere of romanticism and gives inspiration to the artists. I consider graffiti to be a cultural phenomenon due to its artistic value and on the condition that that opposition to the generally accepted norms is not an end in itself while creating separate paintings, they may be regarded the works of art.
Gives voices to the youth
Graffiti gives voices to the youth and often represents the young people’s attitude to the moral norms and the picture of the life of this community. Taking into consideration the widespread trend and wide range of artists, it is important to differentiate between the gang artists and the tagging, between acts of vandalism while painting in public places and painting in the desert or unused areas and especially on the canvas. Occurred as the way of self-expression for the loafing about teenagers, the frames of the trend were changed and now it is problematic to give the well-defined estimation of the phenomenon.
Mohammad Qarni, a young artist, explains his liking for graffiti: “It was a way of showing off and of proving ourselves” (Ambah 2). Ed Hardy, another young man illuminates the sociological issue of the creation: “Graffiti gave cachet and made it easier to meet girls” (Ambah 2). I think, that the main reason for graffiti to be so widespread is the excitement arousing from the circumstances of its creation. Realizing that it is prohibited by law but will be inevitably observed by numerous occasional passersby inspire the artists. In other words, graffiti became the forbidden fruit that is sweetest.
Aesthetic appeal of graffiti
Not every inscription on the wall may be regarded a graffiti, a good graffiti can be estimated according to its aesthetic appeal to the viewers. There are hardly any strict norms of aesthetics that can be observed in graffiti; most of the samples have an individual style of the creator, though certain features, such as bubble letters, for example, are met in numerous paintings. Different tests may be used as the basis for the painting, such as political statements, different slogans, the name, or the nickname of the artist.
The latter case is named tagging, writing one’s name on the walls of the city has psychological roots, tagging is aimed at creating as many similar paintings as it is possible to become recognized by the viewers. Successful paint-spraying requires thorough preparation. Not to mention the necessity of hiding while painting, it needs to be well-organized and take not too much time, though some of the elements of the inscription are not easy at all. That is why the young artists start withdrawing their names on a sheet of paper, choosing the style for a would-be graffiti. A work of art differs from the act of vandalism in its aesthetic value and requires the skills and perspiration of the artists.
The way to recognition graffiti as a cultural phenomenon was not an easy one. One of the first significant events may be regarded the documentary film Style Wars by Tony Silver and Henry Chalfant, which was made in New York in 1983. The producers were the entrepreneurs, raising the question of the aesthetic value of the paintings, which were regarded acts of vandalism, for the first time.
It was the first time that the names of the graffiti artists, were mentioned. Not so long ago one of the mentioned film artists, Daze became a pioneer in exhibiting his canvases in Singapore and other cities. The paintings replaced from the city walls to the canvases remain the same style and spirit but lack the romanticism of the wall creativity. It is said that being legalized graffiti may be deprived of its original charm. But I consider the paintings on the canvases to be the next stage in the development of graffiti, a more civilized one, while the question of vandalism is not to be raised anymore.
Conclusion
Graffiti is a significant phenomenon of hip-hop culture. Originated as the way for the self-expression of the teenagers, it became widespread and more civilized, while its aesthetic value, changing the landscapes of the cities, was appreciated by the public opinion.
Bibliography
Ambah, Faiza. Graffiti Give Voice to Saudi Youth. The Seattle Times. 2007: 1 – 3.