Graffiti artists liked to work in areas where the trains were parked for a long time so that they were able to truly invest time in their work. "When you first against a train, it's like everything seems so big, like, wow! It's like you're in a yard of like metal giant, like I mean everything is like so hard and so steel like you're just there. You're like a little dude like in the midst of these metals and like you're here to produce something, well, like you're here to try to produce something." (Dondi, Style Wars). The tunnels that run under the city include some areas where the trains are parked for an hour or more. This gives the artists a great opportunity to spend some time working on the trains, however, if there is no train there or there is a guard the artists also work on the bare walls. It seemed like they used the walls as a bulletin board, exclaiming their presence to the other artists that work in the tunnels. Although the tunnels are underground, dark, damp and depressing they are bringing vibrant colourful life via their graffiti to the walls. Sometimes they come across abandoned tunnels or stations, which are like tombs or time-capsules. These kids are changing the face of those walls, giving them life again.
The urban poor in America are among the most oppressed groups in the country and most likely the hardest working. The myth of 'pulling yourself up by the bootstraps' is nearly always virulent but the audacity of youth sees it for the delusion it truly is. These hip-hop kids are breaking out against the system of repression as they see it. They do not want to fit in to the norms society has created for them and by creating wildly colourful displays in public places they hope to draw peoples eyes to the injustices that occur every day in the city. The kids talk about 'going all city' because that way other writers will see their name and then they will have power in their own group. The breakdancers are pushing against the boundaries set for 'dancing', gaining control over a medium that they invent. They are making their mark within society or making the dominant culture aware of their presence through their subversion.
The artists 'own' nothing in the subway in the true sense but they do own the subway through their creations, in a more metaphysical sense. They talk of knowing each other through their work, learning about one another by what they observe and even making enemies of other artists. Tagging on public spaces does extend ownership to the artist. Banksy is a great example of this because the majority of his work does not get painted over and is in fact cared for by the people who own the walls it is painted on (http://sfist.com/2010/05/02/chinatown_building_owners_lovingly.php). While Bansky is considered a professional artist I don't really see him any differently from the taggers in the documentary. They both have the same aims which is to undermine the establishment through their artwork. This is why Banksy continues to choose corporate/public spaces.
Graffiti and hip-hop culture are classless, which is why white kids or affluent kids are attracted to it. I feel like all teenagers want to subvert what is expected of them by the dominant culture or their own class. So the white kids want to play against the stereotype that they're 'good/obedient' kids and the poor kids want to show that they're not 'bad/disobedient' kids.
"People look at a person and like, 'What? You write on trains,' and, 'You vandalism,' and all that. Yeah, I vandalism alright, but still in general, I know what I'm doin'. I did somethin' to make your eyes open up, so why is you talkin'?" (Kase, Style Wars)
Kase makes the point that although he is technically breaking the law, as he sees it he is making people pay attention to the larger injustice that is taking place. I really agree with this and in my mind this is the best kind of art, that which seeks to illuminate the viewer to something which is happening all around them but that they are unaware of. This is why Banksy is so successful for me, especially his work on the wall in Palestine.
The work of Cap really annoyed me a lot, it seems so pointless to anyone but him and to have no real meaning to anyone but him. I felt like Cap was this bully like figure in the graffiti world, someone did something to annoy him at some point so he's ruining all their artwork for the rest of their lives. It seems so senseless whereas the work of someone like Kase has a point to it, it has a higher meaning. I feel like I shouldn't be so subjective about this, after all it makes me like the city official who says 'graffiti is the application of paint to a surface, is that art? I don't know' (paraphrasing). Why is it that the artwork of the burners is so much 'more' than the artwork of the bombers? It's a hard question to answer, like why are professional photographs any better than snapshots, apart from obvious technical superiority. Caps whole attitude about it annoyed me the most of all, he really sounded like a little kid whereas the actual little kids showed a lot more maturity than he did.
I feel like the gallery scene demonstrated that a lot of people don't understand the purpose (as I see it) behind graffiti. They see the pieces on canvas and think it's the same but it isn't. It's true that the colours are just as intense when painted onto canvas but what is missing is the message behind it. Graffiti is an attack on the establishment, art galleries are part of that establishment and when you put subversive art on canvas it loses part of its meaning (at least for me). I think it would be better to have the graffiti actually on the walls of the gallery but of course, you can't make money that way.
I find it interesting that you don't find Banksy different than the taggers. It is refreshing ... good work!
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