"This world is but a canvas to our imagination." ~~ Henry David Thoreau
Graffiti and street murals can be a very divisive subject. As usual, I can see both sides of the argument.
Personally, graffiti and street art (not tagging) beautifies otherwise dreary buildings. The reason I say "not tagging" is because that, to me, is not art. There is nothing creative or expressive about it. I get the fact that both are damaging to other people's property.
The following capture from my instagram page shows both side of the issue:
I find the artfully drawn woman a beautiful piece of art. I actually walked across a field to get this photo of the back of a business because I was moved by it. The tagging on the left side (which I don't believe is by the same artist) is a nuisance and serves no purpose (other than possibly gang activity and someone's ego).
Another similar example from my Pinterest account:
I chose this one because the art is perhaps not as aesthetically pleasing to the eye (depending on your taste). But it is intriguing. And it definitely makes this dismal alley entryway more interesting and, I daresay, improved. However, the random tagging doesn't in my opinion.
Street murals kind of solve all the problems of tagging and graffiti. Usually, street murals are the result of a business owner, who is a little more progressive perhaps, either contacting or being contacted by a street artist in the hopes of brightening up an otherwise boring wall. Ideally, this is not a "corporate" artist, but rather someone with talent in the community.
This does four things:
1) Saves the business owner some money.
2) Gives some funds back to the "community".
3) Gives a talented artist a platform to be seen and hopefully hired in the future.
4) Increases the business's street cred.
Some examples:
Broken heart or exploding heart?
I like the bee...
These are all from the same large wall that faces onto a parking lot/alley. Again, having a blank wall mixed in with the oldish buildings and concrete and asphalt parking spaces wouldn't have looked very good. But this catches your eyes and draws you towards the businesses. And that's a good thing.
Here are some more interesting artistic expressions from Sacramento:
This is one of my favorites. It's just a little canvas at the base of a building.
I wish I could have got a better shot of this parking lot...but if I zoomed out, you couldn't really read the words. Most of the spaces had your normal numbering system (some with "compact" per usual as you can see at the top of the photo).
But random spaces had words for humanity: Respect, Love, Dignity, etc.
I love this... A random tree had grown through the fence and been chopped. But someone with very creative vision saw an opportunity to create some "Treefiti". lol
Da da. Da da. Da da da da Da daaaaaaaa. Dadadaaaaaladalala.
And last for today, but certainly not least I love this creative and cool mural of a man looking out a door. Especially because it's painted on a door. To me, this is sooo cool.
Hopefully you've enjoyed another of my art walks and maybe been given some food for thought as well.
As Robert Schumann said, "To send light into the darkness of men's hearts - such is the duty of an artist."
But NO tagging! And ask permission; you just might get paid. lol
xoxo
