MINI-BLOCK 1 ESSAY SELECTION
Question 1: Analysis of Graffiti or Street Art Images in London
Question One:
Find and select three distinctive and closely related (in style, theme, form or location) graffiti or ‘street art’ images (stencilling, fly-posting, subvertisements) in London. Photograph them yourself, and be sure to record their immediate urban context. Conduct a close analysis of these images.
Street art of graffiti can be described as an amorphous style of art that is either found or inspired by the urban environment. It entails setting up creative pieces of art at strategic locations in public places such as building, walls, parks, and other similar places. The graffiti may either be stencil graffiti, street installation, pop up art, or wheat pasted posters aimed at communicating certain information to the public or sections of the population (Droney, 2010, P. 102). In most instances, graffiti maintains a rebellious and anti-capitalist or anti-establishment tone (Dickens, 2010, P. 77). Those who support it consider it to be a democratic form of popular art. In most cases, street artists are not commissioned or requested to post their images and calligraphic writings. Therefore, it is considered as an illegal or criminal activity. Most of the street artists are generally unpredictable in terms of identifying their next location to showcase their art (Hoak-Doering, 2010, P. 103). However, there are certain streets in urban centres that are often looked upon as hubs or hives of street art.
This paper discusses street art in London in terms of their meanings, contexts, and the analysis of the broader subculture of graffiti from a theoretical perspective. As such, the paper identifies three distinctive pieces of street art in London streets for the analysis. The three selected images for this analysis are the Sweep it under carpet image by Banksy, the snooting copper image drawn by Banksy, and the bomb hugger image also drawn by Banksy. The three pieces of art have two main issues in common. Firstly, despite being in different locations around London, the three images were drawn by one artist, Banksy. Banksy is one of the most reputable and famous street artists in London, having been in the scene since the early 1990s. His numerous pieces of street art have earned him global recognition as he has also drawn powerful images in other cities across Europe and the US. The other common thing in all the three images is the theme they all share, that of good vs. evil within the society. Banksy uses the images to describe various social ills happening in the society through simple images.
Street art of graffiti has graced the streets of London and other major urban centres around the country for over twenty five years. It began in the early 1980s as a subculture among urban youths, who found it necessary to express themselves through art. It was also a major component of the Hip- hop movement that emerged from the United States in the late 70s (Scheible, & Ojala, 2009, 337). Essentially, street art entails inscribing artistic impressions in public places such as buildings, public parks, and at strategic places along city streets. Initially, this kind of beautiful onslaught of creativity was considered a criminal activity and likened to vandalism. However, in as much as it was reprehensible to some people, it was very well embraced by many others who related to the emerging form of art in London (Fotios, Unwin, & Farrall, 2015, P. 459). Also, some people consider it to be a colourful, witty, and artistic way of expressing one’s ideas and thoughts; others view street art as a provocative method of self-expression.
Nonetheless, street artists were able to perfect their art in the 1980s, making graffiti a major urban phenomenon in London throughout the 90s to date. Most of the artists were forced to operate using pseudonyms in order to hide their identities. Furthermore, they also did their work at odd hours and in hiding in order to avoid clashing with legal forces.
Today, street art is a very unique aspect of London streets and in some instances, graffiti is ubiquitous. However, there are still masses of peoples opposed to graffiti hitherto. The appeal of street art is based on its unpredictability, creativity, illegality, challenging authority, and the altruism of the artist. For those familiar with the ravages of the urban life, street art is regarded as a delicate, transient, fragile and beautiful piece of art (Dovey, Wollan, & Woodcock, 2012, P. 32). As a matter of fact, is done well, street art can be an important tool of communication and understanding the youths in terms of appealing to their souls and emotions.
Image 1: Bomb Hunger by Banksy
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