Celebrating a New Discovery

The centerfold of GoTriad this week had a spread on Greensboro's graffiti artists.  As these individuals proceed to deface property that does not belong to them, their work is acknowledged as art.

Growing up in pre-Giuliani, Bonfire-of-the-Vanities New York, especially during the 1970's and early 1980's, it was not uncommon to encounter this type of handiwork.  Taking the old RR subway line to school, and other subway lines on occasion, was the most opportune time to savor this particular genre.  The work was sprayed on the windows of subway trains, with nary a square inch left untouched.  Those within the train often had difficulty looking out to see at what station the train was stopping.

The media then also celebrated graffiti art in New York.  But I remember reading in the papers about how the Transit Authority had little control over its train yards, and the vandals had free reign to express themselves.  It was a time of fiscal peril for city government, so the trains did not get cleaned.  Perhaps it was presumed that they would merely get sprayed again.

At least in Greensboro, there seems to be a concerted effort to remove the graffiti.

In the meantime, remember that the graffiti art being celebrated in GoTriad used to be a part of the sociopolitical mix in New York that reflected its overall precipitous decline. 

Graffiti was but one of many "broken windows" that were left unaddressed at that time.

 

Comments

[Fred Gregory]

The media is still celebrating graffiti in NY city.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/12/nyregion/thecity/12graf.html?ex=1189569600&en=8b7b35af8cfbdc0e&ei=5070

[Billy The Blogging Poet]

On this we agree... I used to travel to NYC 3 or more times per week and was always shocked to see people were willing to live with what I saw there.

And now they want it here.

[Joe Guarino]

I must give John Robinson credit for expressing concern over this piece in GoTriad.

But Billy-- I saw the tendency in New York also-- the temptation to describe it as art, and thereby protect it; and to pretend that it has redeeming value even though the defacement of public property is a part of the mix. It is so easy for certain folks to fall into that frame of mind.