The Identity And Street Art

An example of an artist who’s work is only present in the urban environment is a Melbourne graffiti artist under the alias of Aeon. Examples of his artworks are “Black” (undated) and “Foes” (undated), both of which are considered “Pieces” produced with spray paint on a bricked surface. Such pieces are only available for viewing on the streets of Melbourne on back lanes and ally ways. The location of his works add to the effect and subjective nature of his works with the emphasis of art flourishing in all areas of the world and by

“In contrast to government-commissioned public art, street art is illicit and subversive in nature. Therefore, most street artists, including Banksy, use pseudonyms to avoid legal prosecution for vandalism.”(Chung 27) Banksy’s street art does not focus on competing with rival artists, but focuses on engaging with a broader audience in a deeper level. He provokes his audience by deeply expressing out various social practices that helps viewers to reflect and confront certain aspects together as a community. (27) The underlying message of Banksy’s art can lead towards an active involvement of street art within the community.

The roots of graffiti started about 1971 by a Greek American who tagged “TAKI-183” in all New York subway system, he declared that he “used graffiti to create an identity in which he is certain about” (Fortuna 3), then it emerged all around America and the world. (David 72)

There are many different types of street art and murals that are part of any community. Street art and murals can give a voice or a cultural background to the community. Many types of cities have beautiful street art like Hollywood, within Hollywood there is a little community called Little Armenia. In this community there is a mural located on the side of Winona and Hollywood Boulevard. This mural is a symbol of what the Armenian Genocide was and because the mural is an area where Armenians and others walk from to go to the Turkish Embassy to fight for remembrance for the 1.5 million Armenians that have died on April 24. This mural shows us what the community is about and it brings the community higher and not lower.

Street art is progressively increasing as a forbidding magnet to charm tourists to the Bronx. People are taking benefit of the worldwide interest in street art and its strong origins as a Bronx art form, and expecting that this overpowers what Maruri named the “world-wide problem” of a bad image that the area still fights with.

Street art is a visual art created all over the streets, it can be present in a form of posters, graffiti, window paints, and murals, among others. All of those artists that chose to exhibit their art on the streets, rather than in a museum or gallery is because they are situated it in a non-art context. The products they use to produce their art works most of the time are: free hand aerosol paints, krink markers, plutonium paints and graffiti remover used to create perfect images all over the cities. Street art adorn the urban landscape, explode the skills of the artists, and finally but no less important, is constructive providing a specific social message for all the audience.

In the 1980’s the art world was gifted with the artist Jean michel basquiat. Basquiat, a man who lived two contrasting lives as street artist and “fine artist” in the art punk movement of the 1980’s. His work as a street artist was full of poetic and provocative messages painted in the streets of Manhattan New York, and his work as a “fine artist” did the same on gigantic canvases with looming figures in bold colours. Regardless of this dichotomy, his work in both of these practices has the ability to bring light to issues he and many others were facing and are still facing now. In particular, Basquiat’s work brought light to his personal experience with racism and struggle with otherness in and outside of the brutal art world. The next paragraphs will discuss how Jean Michel Basquiat delt and fought the oppressive systems of his time through his art.

Artist Drew Hamilton’s, Street Corner Project exhibits the transformation of the view of American art and aesthetics. What was once viewed as beautiful art has changed with out modern art. The artist chose to exhibit his very own Bushwick apartment over the neighborhood bodega in Brooklyn. The artist Drew Hamilton’s artistic choice to change the standard view on aesthetic artwork depicting a true view of the neighborhood through his mini model. Drew Hamilton’s creation of the mini model that mimics the scene of everyday life of Brooklyn residents. Hamilton refashions the basic norms of aesthetics by inventing a new form of imperfect perfection and reaming true to the actual view of his apartment.

Issues of identity are always a popular topic in art. Every culture always wants to express their own identity. They don't want to be absorbed by the other's culture, especially after world wars, the period of cross cultures.

By the author comparing graffiti to a common trend appeals to the generation of the present. That causes the reader to think more personal about the situation.

My paintings give material form to the human tendencies to compartimentalize, and desegregate, both nature and our built environments. In each two-dimensional work, I start with an impression ---a feeling, a memory, a childhood friend, a family member, or a location---and build the forms using patches of color, showing my own habit of separating parts of the world around me into smaller, consumable parts. For example, in L.A. Bus Routes, I utilized my frustration with the pervading image of Los Angeles’s car-riding culture by making a largely unspoken bus-riding culture take center stage. I drew lines with colored pencil representing the L.A.’s city blocks defined by bus routes surrounding my East Hollywood home. Fluidly, colors bled into others where watercolored shapes met, representing the permeable borders of neighborhoods in L.A. My work questions the fabric of social dissonances using a patchwork of watercolor, gouache and pencil marks that suggest a human need to compartmentalize aspects of our surroundings, our selves, and

The film follows the idea that street art’s authenticity, or inauthenticity, has much to do with the artists’ motivations. At the beginning of the documentary, when Guetta documents the the different street artist’s works, it is revealed that Banky appreciates other street artist who have spent years perfecting their craft, developing their own styles, and devoting their time to expressing themselves. Although Banksy argues in favor of the authenticity of art made by street artist like him, he calls into question Guetta’s art. “Each time Guetta pushes his camera into the face of a celebrity or artist at work, we cringe...We’re similarly overcome with discomfort as Guetta begins to plaster all over town drawings of himself holding a camera, copying the styles of Banksy and the street artist he has followed for so long” (BU PAPER). Most street artists are drawn to their art by their passion and their need to express themselves. It becomes unclear if Guetta does his street art for fame or for

The documentary Exit through the Gift Shop was very interesting to me because it talks about the birth of street art and how it ended. It speaks about street art and a potential documentary that was supposed to made about street art. I have seen street art and graffiti and since then I can remember I never really understood why people did it or even considered it as a piece of art. After seeing the documentary I have a new perspective for it and a better understanding why it is art and why street artists do it. In this essay I will be talking about different scenes in the film and my reaction towards them.

Common Street Arts is an art gallery in downtown Waterville that is hosting their fifth Holiday Pop-up Shop (Common Street Arts, n.d.). Common Street Arts’ mission statement is “To enhance the creative, artistic and economic vitality of the Waterville community through outstanding arts education and exhibitions” (Mission & Vision, n.d.). The pop-up shop follows the mission by providing products for people to purchase that have been crafted by local artists, helping drive the creative spirit of Waterville and allowing for artists to sell their works. The pop-up shop offers items with different styles and price points, aligning with Common Street Arts goal of presenting exhibits that get all members of the community involved. This shop also offers a place for artist to sell their work, fulfilling the goal of supporting local artists. Common Street arts also has a goal of offering “at least one exhibition of non-traditional media each year” (Mission & Vision, n.d.). The pop-up shop is an accumulation of many types of art, providing a piece of artwork for nearly anyone’s taste and showcasing many forms of artistic media. Common Street Arts and worked with many artists to create this pop-up shop and serve the needs of people in search of gifts for the holiday season.

Is art a form of self-expression from the artist to their audience? Self-expression is defined as, “the expression of one's feelings, thoughts, or ideas, especially in writing, art, music, or dance.” (English Oxford Dictionary). The source of inspiration for art is unknown for certain, but it is commonly believed that it comes from inside the artist, based on their life lessons and experiences. If the inspiration comes from within, then artists are expressing themselves through their art, thus art is self-expression. There are innumerous forms of art, from writing to dancing; singing to creating a drawing, public speaking and everything in-between. A person who is whistling is expressing how they are feeling through the notes that they hit. Someone who is drawing can use darker colors, such as browns and blacks to give off an eerie tone. Does that mean that all art is self-expression? No, not all art is self-expression, maybe it isn’t self-expression at all. This leads to the debate over whether art is self-expression if the inspiration comes from an outside source, rather than from within.