Graffiti as Social Commentary: Location, Community Impact, and Urban Street Art
Overview
This paper examines graffiti as both a legal and artistic phenomenon, exploring how location affects perception and legal implications. It analyzes socially active graffiti, particularly Black Lives Matter murals, as positive community forces, and discusses street art examples from StreetARTToronto to demonstrate how murals resonate with urban audiences and contribute to community identity.
What this essay covers
- Location of graffiti and its legal/social conundrums
- Socially active graffiti as positive community force using George Floyd uprising example
- Analysis of StreetARTToronto murals with focus on Andrea Manica's day/night themed artwork
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Graffiti
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Graffiti
- Comment on why the location of graffiti poses a conundrum
Since time immemorial, graffiti has been considered a crime and not a form of art (Landry 2019). The location of these graffiti poses even more issues. Most people behind these graffiti work like ghosts because they are not caught in the act, yet paint the most appealing places with a specific message targeting someone or something (Charles, 1971). The locations of the graffiti are crucial because they change the general appearance beside the message it carries. Landry (2019) says that the message in these graffiti differs depending on locations, a factor which is likely to raise issues. Some people might feel that they are being targeted because of the location of the graffiti. For example, McAuliffe and Iveson (2011) quoted Austin (2010), who said that most graffiti artists doing their work in the streets and trains are linked to breaking laws about property ownership.
- Identify and explain how one example of 'socially active' graffiti has served (is serving) as a positive force in a community.
Some graffiti positively serve the community. For example, when four Minneapolis police officers allegedly killed George Floyd, an uprising emerged all over America and other parts of the universe. Various paint artists put up graffiti to sensitize the world that black lives matter. The incident was suspected to be linked to racisms towards people of African origin. Graffiti that promoted the significance of black people's lives are serving a positive function in the community.