On Taking Graffiti Artwork Indoors
Ask anyone their view on graffiti, and you’ll get opinions of love and hatred : some people see it as vandalism, others a subtle artform. On the “good press” side, creatives like Banksy have made walls a place to put a political point across, utilising stencils to produce difficult graphics with political messages attached. This type of graffiti was certain to become popular with the public and the likes of The Guardian pressroom : visually pleasing and intellectually satisfying. This form of graffiti is even acquired as graffiti canvas art, and hung on the walls of middle class homes and corporate reception areas.
However, what about the opposite end of the spectrum? - the scally, the tagger, the gangbanger sort - this kind of graffiti is frequently seen as antisocial, a crime perpetrated by the untalented. But is graffiti only an artform? To numerous individuals, it’s not only art, but a means to mark a district, or perhaps a rejection of society altogether : anti-art, anti-social, anti-establishment.
Spraying has invariably been a covert pursuit, although the effects are very much public facing. The intended market is frequently unknown. Is it for a competing gang? A message to an individual? To the public? Perhaps it’s simply gratuitous and out of nothing else to do.
Whatever the reasons, there appears to be some kind of permanent need to spray graffiti on walls. Some town councils have admitted that graffiti isn’t a short-term craze, so they’ve marked off areas where graffiti is permitted - usually unoccupied areas, but occasionally more civic areas like temporary boarding that surrounds inner city buildings under construction.
