Writing on the Wall

Writing on the Wall

The phenomenon which we can observe all over the world is called graffiti. Graffiti has been around for centuries and has been the voice for many different groups. Graffiti has been used by political activists to advertise their political agendas, by street gangs to mark territories and by urban artists trying to voice their opinion in form of this “street art”. While graffiti has been around for 30 000 years, the hip hop culture and urban youth picked up on this new art style in the1960‘s. By this point, graffiti let people of all ages convey free speech. However graffiti was soon banned. Laws vary, but it is generally illegal everywhere.  Because of these laws and because of the association between graffiti and delinquents just acting out, graffiti has gained a negative stigmatism.

If you ask me, most of it is rather beautiful. I decided to take photos of this art because I wanted graffiti to be portrayed as something other than vandalism.  People generally think that all graffiti is vandalism.  However, it can be an artistic way to express an individual’s thoughts and feelings.  Some people express how they feel in song lyrics, others in poems or paintings; and some use walls or sidewalks as their canvas.  What’s so wrong with that?

OK, I am not completely naive and I see the possible issues here. Not all graffiti is aesthetically pleasing and some youth do mark walls to rebel and destroy property. If we let anyone write anything they felt like on the sides of buildings, or vehicles or sidewalks all of Vancouver could be plagued with paint of all sorts. It could be utter chaos. However, I do think the government should work with these artists and allow designated areas for these artists to and convey their work. There is something so free about picking up a spray can of paint and painting what you feel like. Their work involves less planning and the process seems less organized, yet the finished product still ends up like this:

Please see Figures 2, 3 and 4 for future reference. These are photos of graffiti from a series of shots I took in the heart of Downtown Vancouver.

Many of the photos I took of graffiti could have different meanings.  Much of the graffiti we see in Vancouver can be open to interpretation.  My interpretation of these photos could differ from someone else’s opinion. For example, in photo number one, they are two phrases we can identify. First, the words we see tagged are “take five”. Further up we see the word “flash”. The message I get from this inscription is that taking a break is a good thing.  Take five minutes for yourself and take things easy.  For the word “flash” this means to me that life passes you by, in a flash, in a moment.  So if you put the two phrases together, I think take a break and enjoy life because life will pass you by so fast and before you know, it is gone.

The tag on the dumpster saying “alive” makes me think what this could mean. What was going through the artists mind when he or she wrote this in an alley on a dumpster? Could it be that whoever wrote this could mean that this is their life, wandering alleys and they are wide awake of this realization? Could it be that they are happy that they are alive, despite what brought them to this dumpster? The possibilities are endless.

This is what fascinates me the most about graffiti. There is no manual with each tag you find on the street.  Instead, if you choose to, you can decipher a meaning on your own. It is like wandering through an art gallery without anyone to describe the paintings to you, so you interpret it in your own way. Graffiti for me is an art form. Graffiti is a way to speak openly about your thoughts and feelings. Graffiti is a way to mediate your message to the world. So when do we decide when, where and how this should be done? Who decides these outcomes? Is it right to take away freedom of speech, or put restrictions on it? These are questions I am left with; questions I will give much thought to every time I walk by a bridge tagged with writing or an old building marked by the artist who once was there.