On Canvas Prints and Graffiti Artwork
The public has had a love/hate relationship with graffiti. On the “good press” side, creatives like Banksy have turned graffiti into an aesthetic pleasure, applying stencils to produce technically tricky artworks loaded with a subtle meaning attached. This type of graffiti was certain to get trendy with both the masses and the art critics : visually pleasing and intellectually satisfying. This form of graffiti is even bought as canvas prints, and hung on the walls of suburban households and corporate reception areas.
Yet, what about the other end of the spectrum? – the tagger, the gangbanger variety – this sort of graffiti is frequently seen as antisocial, a crime committed by the untalented. But is graffiti merely an artform? To many people, it’s not only art, but a method to put your stamp on a district, or even two fingers up at society : anti-art, anti-social, anti-establishment.
Spraying has invariably been an undercover pursuit, although the results are public. The targeted audience is often unknown. Is it for a rival gang? A message to a single person? To the public? Or….possibly it’s just uncalled-for and out of boredom.
Whatever the causes may be, there seems to be a enduring need to spray on walls. Some town councils have conceded that graffiti isn’t a short-term craze, so they’ve designated zones where graffiti is allowed – usually uninhabited areas, but occasionally busier zones like boarding that surrounds inner city buildings under construction.
