This MinniPurl knitted “arf!” graffiti warmed up an East End dog park earlier this year.

By MinniPurl

Maybe you’ve seen some of my graffiti: the scarf on the man at Boulevard Towers, the knitted cozies on trees around town. Or maybe you’ve seen other artists’ work: the yearbook pictures or the thin-lined sketches of a man attached to poles around town. For me, these are good forms of graffiti. Then maybe you’ve seen the black marks left at the base of the Henry Gassaway Davis statue. This is what gives graffiti a bad name.

What makes graffiti vandalism? What makes graffiti art? The Hentry Gassaway Davis statue is an example of what I call vandalism. With so few statues in the city, one would hope they’d be better cared for. The rider and horse are already weeping green from the lack of care. Mr. Davis and his steed are begging for a spring cleaning, and not just from bad graffiti.

A carwash in North Charleston shows a more positive form of graffiti- a mural by Hand Held Operations. This commissioned piece is “sanctioned” graffiti, and turns a barren wall into art. While graffiti is usually not something “approved of,” if done well and thoughtfully it can add something to its environment. Public art implies something that is either 1) approved of or 2) if not approved doesn’t damage something. Increasingly I like this mix – art that is NOT approved of, but does not deface things permanently.

My introduction to graffiti was the typical one … seeing tagged initials painted irreverently on buildings, defacing private property. Within a short amount of time the “vandalism” would be painted over leaving a different color of gray from the original painted wall. Several years ago, a large colorful mural appeared on an underpass wall on the way to Southridge. Quickly it was sprayed over, leaving a giant splotch of tan. I felt for the artist whose work was so quickly eliminated.

There are sure to be some who’ll always snarl their nose at graffiti. Is it connected to gangs? Is it the mark of troubled youth? Is it evidence of bored artists? Maybe yes, yes and yes. But increasingly, graffiti is seen as public art. In the last few years, there’ve even been exhibitions inside galleries featuring graffiti artists.

There are different types of graffiti. Tags are the writing of an artist’s name and the type of graffiti most people think of when they’re thinking vandalism. Fill-ins usually have more color and are more elaborate examples of artist’s names. They’re often done in block or bubble lettering. Wild-style often has interlocking letters and symbols. Stencils are cut-out images that are sprayed over, leaving an image behind. Some artists use stickers, easier to leave quickly. Some risk fines or more by doing large murals.

Something about graffiti has always intrigued me. Having been brought up a good girl, I couldn’t imagine defacing someone’s property. I still feel that way. But there is a thrill from leaving your mark (a little piece or art) where others will find it unexpectedly.

Occasionally I see stencils around town. Quickly they are gone. I hear through the grapevine that the city has a graffiti removal team. If this is true, I wish they’d find official sanctioned places to let some of our local artistic street talent show what they’ve got. Let’s go beyond the one or two murals “official” artists do. Will graffiti take over the city like kudzu? I hope so.

In a region that often seems depressed, there’s great potential for more street art, urban art, public art, graffiti art guerrilla art. It’s true a lot of people here and elsewhere still loathe graffiti. Places like Seattle give me hope that there are vibrant, progressive places where large graffiti murals, sticker art, stencils, and even a wall of bubble gum are welcomed.

In a state where we battle economic woes and health problems, I hold out hope that art (in all it’s forms) can help save us. I also hold out hope that artists will come out of the studio and make a statement about our world - after all graffiti has a centuries old history of one way to rebel authority. That’s not always a bad thing. Let’s open our mind to all kinds of art and expression…and paint the town red, green, purple and blue.

MinniPurl is an anonymous Charleston knitter. She loves bargains, the Grand Ole Opry and guerrilla art with manners. She can be reached at minnipurl@yahoo.com.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 13th, 2008 at 4:12 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.