Graffiti Hall of Fame: From the Outside Looking In

Unfortunately, I was not able to go inside the Graffiti Hall of Fame but the view from the outside was quite insightful and interesting.  The large murals on the walls embodied a form of beauty, uniqueness, creativity and power.  The pictures revealed intricate, detailed and elaborate artwork that is legal and integrated in mainstream society so people can enjoy. Kramer’s article, “ Painting With Permission: Legal Graffiti in New York City” explores the legal side of graffiti and its many aspects or phases.  Kramer agrees that the ideology of many scholarly articles focus on graffiti as an illegal criminal counter culture and stray away from the aesthetic dimension of it. He provides evidence that graffiti writers do not aim at opposing society but have tried to integrate their work legally with the wider society.  This is evident from viewing the Graffiti Hall of Fame.  The transformation of themes and concepts embedded in these elaborate murals opens up this graffiti subculture to the public sphere. Therefore, I agree that graffiti is multifaceted, visually appealing and have transitioned from illegal to lawful in many cases.

Photos taken from the outside:

Book Review Citation and Annotation on Graffiti

Spitz, Ellen. “Image and Insight: Essays in Psychoanalysis and the Arts.” Journal of Aesthetics & Art Criticism. Ed. David Novitz. New York: Columbia University Press, 1991. 12-273. Web. Editor Novitz reviews the collection of twelve essays in Spitz’s book where she discusses aesthetic pleasure in regards to subway- car graffiti in New York City. According to the review, Spitz associates the act of graffiti not only to resistance of authority but also to beautifying space.  She outlines the intimate relationship adolescence graffiti writers experience to this art making process and the desire of viewers to touch and hold them. Hence creating an aesthetic experience. However, this response she later contradicts by stating that it is not an appropriate response to determining art but instead one should take in account the constraints and conventions behind the art form.

ProQuest Historical Newspaper Citation and Annotation on Graffiti

Rees, Jasper. “Street Art Below the Street and Out of Reach.” New York Times 01 Nov. 2010: C1. ProQuest Historical Newspapers. Web. 15 March 2014. The author, Rees, explores a New York City underground art exhibition of large graffiti murals on walls done by graffiti artists. Such an approach was chosen because the artists were solely interested in people seeing their talent, not to gain revenue from their art. To them graffiti is not street art it is simply art and should not be used for the purpose of capital. Rees believe that the art exhibit didn't get much recognition even though the pieces were inspiring because it was put on illegally and this idea diminishes the concept that street art should be equally admired as graffiti in galleries and museums.

Website citation and annotation on graffiti

“From Graffiti to Galleries: Urban Artist Brings Street Style to Another Level.” Cable News Network. Time Warner Center New York, 04 Nov. 2005. Web. 15 March 2014. The website, Cable News Network a broadcasting channel in New York, focuses on one particular graffiti artist, Doze Green, who transitioned from writing on walls to creating commercial murals.  According to the Cable News Network his artistry in the street was illegal and reputable. Green agrees with this comment and conveys the idea that using urban space as a canvas for graffiti is inferior to graffiti in galleries and museums. In his opinion graffiti in galleries is a new way of envisioning something and it is a means to expand ones artistic talent.

Personal Interview citation and Annotation on graffiti

Sheets, Connor. “See You, Banksy. Hello, Invader.” Newsweek Global 161.39 (2013): 1-3. EBSCO. Web. 06 March 2014. This article focuses on an urban artist by the name of Invader. He commented that Banksy was a good artist and more importantly he made street art noticed by the public. Invader argues that there are flaws associated to street art placed in galleries. Only few people get to see it in museums but many are able to interact with it in the street and so to him graffiti art cannot thrive without being in the streets.

Article with Interview Citation and Annotation on Graffiti

Luz, Jennifer. “Taking Up Space: An Interview with Bio of TATS CRU Inc.” Dance Research Journal 33.2 (2001): 102-111. JSTOR. Web. 06 March 2014. The author, Jennifer Luz recounts her interview with a graffiti writer named Bio that founded Top Artistic Talent’s (TATS) Cru Inc., an advertising agency that creates graffiti for business murals and billboards. Luz discusses the transformation of graffiti; the change from scribbling a name on a wall into a complex art form that integrates more developed styles. According to Bio, it encompasses color that work well together, application techniques and control of materials used in creating such art. He believes graffiti is art because to him art is anything that affects an individual in some way and includes organization, creativity and planning. Luz argues that graffiti has made an impact and there is appreciation of its beauty in society.