Sarah Pusey argues FOR graffiti to be accepted as art
When I first moved to this city five years ago, I was a little blinkered when exploring the area. I stuck close to the city centre, was shepherded to the local student-friendly clubs and occasionally ventured up Park Street or to Clifton.
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In my first two years here I don’t think I ventured into Stokes Croft or up Gloucester Road once, or if I did, I probably spent my time clutching my bag, looking suspiciously over my shoulder and generally feeling a little out of my depth. I had heard bad things about the area, that it was rundown and a hotbed for street crime and vandalism.
I had admired Banksy before I moved here but to see his work in the flesh, was something else. Every other day I discovered a piece and when his work started cropping up on Park Street I noticed a change in peoples reactions; locals wanted to save his work. The Council presented the public with a choice and they chose Banksy.
Graffiti, or urban art as it is sometimes known, seemed to be riding on a wave of media interest in the wake of the Banksy and artists have been increasingly exhibiting and selling their work as a result. I say artists because that is exactly what they are: creative people who put time, effort and thought into the work they do and certainly painting is a craft, taking years to master successfully.
While there may be the odd tagger here and there that disrespects public property, for the most part graff artists provide exciting, stimulating and colourful pieces that enhance and rejuvenate the environment around them. Graffiti is a form of expression and can be as politically charged as anything hanging in the Tate Modern.
Areas such as Stokes Croft benefit from colourful, eye catching art in an otherwise rundown area. There is a sense that environments such as this have been left to their own devices and for more than twenty five years graffiti artists have been reclaiming these neglected areas.
I think we are lucky to live in such a vibrant city with an ever changing urban landscape. The urban art scene in Bristol is huge, so much so that artists actually come here just for the graffiti. Nights like Weapon of Choice and local exhibitions such as that of SPQR in Broadmead prove that Bristolians are whole heartedly embracing this culture.
I am helping to organise UWE’s own celebration of Bristol culture in the form of Not Just Banksy, happening this month. This event was created to showcase the best of Bristol street art, as well as some of the artists who helped the scene grow, such as Inkie and FLX. As well as a few local legends there are lots of UWE students lining up to be involved who have been inspired by the art in Bristol since moving here.
Sammy Maine argues AGAINST graffiti as an art form
On a grey, blustery day I’m sitting on the 18:06 central line service to London St Pancras; bored and cranky I peer out of the foggy glass and what am I greeted with? Endless, ugly tags sprawled across each and every brick wall lining the train station. Not exactly the first thing you want to see when entering the country’s capital.
This isn’t the first time I’ve ever encountered hoody ‘art’ either. Every time I walk down the street in any city or town, I’m faced with the painted egos of local ‘artists’, ruining streets, shops and schools just to feel important. Why splash paint across someone else’s property? They clearly don’t want it there; otherwise they would’ve done it themselves. These people have no right or purpose to fulfil these odd urges – if you want to paint, pop down to your local art shop and buy a canvas. If you can’t afford that, grab a bit of cardboard and paint on that! Can’t afford that? Grab some old clothes and paint on them. Can’t afford that? Paint on yourself. Seems odd, but why do these people insist on painting on other people’s possessions when they would never paint on themselves or their own things. It just proves that graffiti is out for one thing – to scrutinise and intimidate the public.
You may argue that some graffiti artists are out to rebel against the government, their town’s council and so on. But there are other way’s to accomplish this rather than spraying a name across a street sign. Join a protest group and design the signs. Simple.
You may argue that some graffiti artists are simply expressing themselves because they can’t anywhere else. I guarantee if you’re any good, take it down to your local art gallery/ theatre and they’ll snap you up. Whether it be to put on an exhibition or design a set for a local play there are other ways to ‘express’ your art.
Not only is graffiti ugly, it can also be dangerous. When driving down most roads, you’ll often find a lot of signs have been tagged over. How are drivers supposed to know where they’re going? And at its worst, it could cause road accidents as a result of a driver’s confusion. What exactly is the point? I can’t find one myself.
Back in my home town of Northampton, an elderly lady lived in a house by herself on the entrance to the local park. Her front door was embedded in a brick wall placed in the alley leading onto the park. Every week, her door and the walls surrounding her would be covered in disgusting, meaningless graffiti the local yobs called ‘art.’ Not only did it upset her but she felt it was an attack on her personally – scaring her so much that she came to live with my parents for a couple of weeks. Furthermore, I can’t remember the amount of time and money was spent by my dad and other inhabitants of my street trying to cover up that same graffiti, only for it to be tagged all over again that same evening. Why is it the job of hardworking people to cover up other people’s mess?
We don’t want to see grotesque tagging sprayed across every shop, wall and street sign as soon as we step out of our front door. It’s ugly, pointless and can ruin the credibility of any street, school or business. If we wanted to see art we’d go to an art gallery. Simple as that.
Eventually the desire to move with the rest of the crowd faded and I begun to notice the wealth of art Bristol has to offer; The RWA, the City Museum & Gallery, Here, Soma and Centre Space galleries. And of course, it would have been hard not to notice the graffiti that I began to spot every single day.
