Word: exhibition
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...Some would argue that it's vandalism, pure and simple. In the most literal sense, graffiti is a set of markings that, if nothing else, informs the world of the writer's presence. As demonstrated by the Trustman Gallery's exhibit, today's urban (and suburban) graffiti is a mixture of tags (a writer's intricate and distinctive signature), throw-ups (a large design, usually of letters, done quickly to attract attention) and pieces (short for masterpieces, they resemble murals; an assorted collection of images and words). What these categories don't express is the potential difference between...
...exhibit doesn't automatically assume all graffiti is art. Part of the complexity of the question "is graffiti art" stems from the illegal nature of its creation. The oldest artwork in the world, cave paintings such as those found in Lascaux, France, could be considered a form of graffiti. But more importantly, Lascaux, like grafitti, was someone's attempt to leave their mark, and in the debate over the merits of grafitti, such a point seems more important than legalities. Additionally grafitti is also a sign of anger, resentment, and a sort of liberation in defying society's laws...
...best and most accessible aspects of Graffiti is the web site, designed by Evelyn Kofler. Some of the photographs included in the exhibit can be found online, along with the full text of the interviews conducted with Boston area graffiti writers. The interviews are wonderful to read and very enlightening, as they go into great detail about the stylistic movements, terms, tools and behavioral codes of graffiti writers in Boston and in general...
...video and web site are integral parts of the exhibit. The difficulty of recreating a scene on the street in the gallery, or even just photographically representing one, is overcome with the help of these two innovative media. Both give the exhibit the "street cred" to ask our question: Is graffiti really...
...Oppenheim sees it, one of the best parts of the Trustman exhibit is that it raises these questions; "You're not asking, is graffiti art. You're asking, what is art?" It's true that this most unconventional (and original) of art forms forces us to reconsider what it is we value in visual art. If we need to argue over whether spray paint on a wall has the same merits as watercolor on a canvas, then we need to argue about art's very definition. And what is the definition? Is everything that is a visual form of expression...