Art Piece & Artist Statement
My piece is representative of the perception versus the reality of graffiti artists. The right side is meant to symbolize the general societal expectation of a graffiti artist. They are individuals who move in the shadows of the night and who disregard laws in their artistic pursuits. This is illustrated in the fact that the brick wall is fenced off, and it’s nighttime. I chose to have the anarchy symbol painted on the brick wall because typically people think of graffiti artists as lawless criminals. This idea is also represented in the way that the man has his hands up, as if submitting to an authority figure, and the handcuff chained around his wrist. In the public interest article “On subway graffiti in New York,” Nathan Glazer compares the “predatory” manner of graffiti artists to the criminalistic movements of rapists and robbers. The man has red stains on his hands, but is it blood or paint? The red hand is meant to represent the idea that the term “graffiti artist” is synonymous with violence.
On the left side, the picture is much brighter. The sunset/sunrise coloring of the background is indicative of my hope that we can get rid of the preconceived notions surrounding the act of street art, and move toward a more accepting tomorrow. In his hand, the man holds a butterfly, a paintbrush, and a flower. In several of my sources that included firsthand interviews with artists, I noticed themes that were prevalent in each. Several artists explained that their art was a push towards growth. In Wall and Piece, Banksy makes several comments about how society cannot grow until capitalism ceases to exist. The butterfly is a symbol of change, which is something that several “writers” seek with their work. In Bomb It, a group of graffiti writers said that they placed their pieces strategically in order to encourage the clean up of New York. The paintbrush symbolizes beauty, and the skill that is required to be an artist. Some artists can create a piece that spans an entire billboard in under twenty minutes. In an excerpt of Wall and Piece, Banksy says, “Some people become cops because they want to make the world a better place. Some people become vandals because they want to make the world a better looking place.” A lot of street artists are just looking to add their own bit of beauty to the world. The art piece inside the picture frame is an interpretation of a Banksy piece. It is framed because, not only is the graffiti beautiful, but the ideas deserve to be respected and appreciated. It appears to be coming out of the picture frame, or coming to life, because the ideas that Banksy portrays within his works are transcendent of their two-dimensional appearance.
The appearance of the man himself is a representation of the classic perception of a graffiti artist. He is covered in baggy clothes and wearing a hood, and much of his body is in shadow. I chose to portray him in such a graphic way because I wanted him to be the physical representation of a classic stencil piece. His features are somewhat ambiguous because many artists are very careful to keep their identities a secret. There is the appearance of some sort of mask around his eyes. This is meant to represent the idea that the artists can be considered heroes or villains, depending on the perception of the beholder.
On the left side, the picture is much brighter. The sunset/sunrise coloring of the background is indicative of my hope that we can get rid of the preconceived notions surrounding the act of street art, and move toward a more accepting tomorrow. In his hand, the man holds a butterfly, a paintbrush, and a flower. In several of my sources that included firsthand interviews with artists, I noticed themes that were prevalent in each. Several artists explained that their art was a push towards growth. In Wall and Piece, Banksy makes several comments about how society cannot grow until capitalism ceases to exist. The butterfly is a symbol of change, which is something that several “writers” seek with their work. In Bomb It, a group of graffiti writers said that they placed their pieces strategically in order to encourage the clean up of New York. The paintbrush symbolizes beauty, and the skill that is required to be an artist. Some artists can create a piece that spans an entire billboard in under twenty minutes. In an excerpt of Wall and Piece, Banksy says, “Some people become cops because they want to make the world a better place. Some people become vandals because they want to make the world a better looking place.” A lot of street artists are just looking to add their own bit of beauty to the world. The art piece inside the picture frame is an interpretation of a Banksy piece. It is framed because, not only is the graffiti beautiful, but the ideas deserve to be respected and appreciated. It appears to be coming out of the picture frame, or coming to life, because the ideas that Banksy portrays within his works are transcendent of their two-dimensional appearance.
The appearance of the man himself is a representation of the classic perception of a graffiti artist. He is covered in baggy clothes and wearing a hood, and much of his body is in shadow. I chose to portray him in such a graphic way because I wanted him to be the physical representation of a classic stencil piece. His features are somewhat ambiguous because many artists are very careful to keep their identities a secret. There is the appearance of some sort of mask around his eyes. This is meant to represent the idea that the artists can be considered heroes or villains, depending on the perception of the beholder.