Graffiti (singular: graffito; the plural is used as a mass noun) is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property. Graffiti is often regarded by others as unsightly damage or unwanted vandalism.
Examples of modern graffiti styles
Ancient graffiti carved by pilgrims at Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Old City of Jerusalem
Graffiti has existed since ancient times, with examples going back to Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire.[1] Graffiti can be anything from simple scratch marks to elaborate wall paintings. In modern times, spray paint and markers have become the most commonly used materials. In most countries, defacing property with graffiti without the property owner's consent is considered vandalism, which is punishable by law. Sometimes graffiti is employed to communicate social and political messages. To some, it is an art form worthy of display in galleries and exhibitions. The public generally frowns upon "tags" that deface bus stops, trains, buildings, playgrounds and other public property.
Minggu, 09 Maret 2008
graffiti
Kamis, 06 Maret 2008
Sabtu, 01 Maret 2008
Graffiti] Seni Jalanan Pendobrak Kekuasaan
Bayangkan ketika graffiti tidak ilegal, sebuah kota dimana setiap orang dapat menggambar apa yang mereka suka. Dimana setiap jalan berisi jutaan warna dan frasa-frasa yang bermakna. Mengantri bus menjadi tidak membosankan lagi. Sebuah kota yang terasa memberi nafas bagi semua orang, tidak hanya pada agen real estat dan iklan-iklan perusahaan raksasa. Bayangkan sebuah kota seperti itu, dan berhentilah bersandar di dinding-dinding yang basah
Graffiti menjadi kontroversial dikalangan masyarakat termasuk masyarakat di Indonesia. Ada sebagian yang menganggap graffiti merupakan karya seni yang mengandung nilai estetika yang tinggi. Bahkan ada yang menganggap pelukis graffiti adalah seorang seniman yang genius dan pemberani.
Sebagian yang lain menyebut graffiti adalah visual sampah yang mengganggu keindahan dan mengotori kota. Karenaya melukis graffiti termasuk perbuatan kriminal. Banyak sudah kelompok-kelompok pelukis graffiti yang digrebek polisi saat menjalankan aksinya.
Graffiti sendiri termasuk dalam seni publik (public art). Dalam dunia seni rupa dalam lingkup yang lebih khusus, seni publik diartikan sebagai seni yang dibuat secara individu maupun kelompok yang menggunakan prinsip tertentu dalam menggulirkan wacana untuk disampaikan kepada publik atau masyarakat luas.
Selain graffiti contoh lain yang juga termasuk lingkup seni publik antara lain performance art, seni instalasi, happening art, stencil, mural dan poster. Dibandingkan dengan yang lain, graffiti kurang mendapat tempat atau sedikit mendapat apresiasi karena sifatnya yang vandalisme, merusak milik orang lain atau milik umum.
Sebagai gambaran aksi vandalisme kita simak karya Banksy yang dipasang di Galeri 49 British Museum. "Early Man Goes to Market", sebuah batu bergambar manusia purba yang sedang berburu membawa keranjang belanja. Tentu pemasangan itu tanpa sepengetahuan pengelola museum. Pengelola museum baru mengetahui ada tambahan koleksi setelah Banksy mengumumkan di situs pribadinya.
Yang menarik, setelah pengelola museum mengetahui ada karya Banksy terpampang di salah satu galerinya, pengelola bukan mehilangkannya malah mempertahankan menjadi salah satu koleksi tetapnya.
Mungkin pihak museum menilai karya Banksy termasuk dalam karya yang mempunyai nilai seni yang tinggi. Mungkin juga karya itu mempunyai nilai komersial yang dapat menarik orang berkunjung ke museum. Bandingkan dengan poster-poster iklan produk atau foto-foto calon peserta pilkada yang banyak dipasang di tembok-tembok kota, halte dan tempat-tempat umum lainnya yang semakin semarak apalagi saat kampanye tiba.
Inilah yang coba dilakukan oleh Banksy dan bomber-bomber yang lain, termasuk di Indonesia, membebaskan masyarakat dari serangan iklan komersial dan intrik-interik politik yang tidak mendidik dan kurang atau tidak ada sama sekali unsur seninya.
Menarik sekali jika kita simak gugatan mereka, para bomber, "Sama-sama mengotori tempat umum, mengapa mereka tidak ditangkap ? Justru kami yang membuat tembok tak terawat menjadi indah, harus digrebek ?"
Minggu, 24 Februari 2008
Lets Get Alphabet in Graffiti Letters
How To Tag Your Art or Graffito
Do you know the Alphabet in Graffiti Letters. Remember when we were in school this was the beginning of learning how to write words or sketch letters on paper to communicate. Artcrimes is no different ladies and gentlmen.
The only slight difference is that we don't place the work on paper for the teachers to grade, we place the tags on subway trains or walls for entire cities or countries to see. Yes! I said countries, especially places like Quebec Canada. You see bombing is not just centralized in the Bronx, New York anymore it's world wide thanks to digital cameras and the Internet.
I love the many different styles of of Grafiti. It all fits in the entire HipHop culture which I also love.
So who really knows how to tag your art, what I mean is is there a mentor or someone who is taking on students? Tagging is not just something you can go to the local library and read about and then hit up your local city walls tagging and bombing everything in site. I think there is some kind of street rule that goes along with this. think of this kind of street art as an underground gallery of extremely talented artist and undercover drawers.
Now with that being said the question is how can one become part of this elite movement moving all over the world with nap sacks and book bags filled with spray paint and many customized aerosol spraycans? Even though crews are well organized and make historical truths like the history of gangs they all seem to be non-violent. They only thing that can be considered bad is the artcrime itself. But is that really bad. I don't think so. To me I actually would like to see some type of world contest or reality show on this type of art. Hell they have all kind of shows now on MTV, VH1 and BET, why not put together a show about some underground bombing and taging. YEAH!
Wild style seems to be a favorite amongst most crews and to my understanding it is also the hardest to produce. Looking at this picture I agree.
Now I also want to say this. I have been to California plenty of times and this time while I was there I took a nice trip to Sonoma County to go and check out Petaluma. This is a crazy hot Graffiti restaurant. Yup! There are people out here who are doing big things regarding a tagger. Peep it out if you ever get a chance to hang out in Cali.
To sum this article up I will say that I totally respect the individuals who create murals on rough and rugged terrains like trains or walls. It doesn't matter if it's cold or hot they are dedicated to thier craft and are out to handle that business. Go get ladies and gents.