Saturday, July 6, 2013

Give a summary of the beauty that is Graffiti?


Answer:
Graffiti is the singular form of the word Grafficar, which can be connected to the Greek words Graphein or Grapheion. These two Greek words derive to the word Graphein that means “to write”. Graffiti refers to markings, drawings, scribbles or paintings on a surface. Graffiti can therefore be described as form of art; art generally refers to forms of expressions. Consequently we can correctly deduce that graffiti is form of art. What is sad, however, is that in our current age and time, when a person mentions graffiti or any association to do with graffiti, it is viewed in the wrong perspective. This should not be the case. Other forms of art have been accepted in a positive way, associating graffiti with vandalism & unpleasant images destroys this beautiful art.CLICK HERE TO ORDER THIS ESSAY!!!!
The earliest form of graffiti can be dated back to around 30,000 BC in the form of prehistoric cave paintings. It was witnessed in Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire. This helps to put across the fact that graffiti is not a modern form of art, but it is as ancient as history. To be fair I can classify it among the great works of famous painters, such as Leonardo, Monet, and Picasso. Let us just be realistic for a moment and try asking ourselves, if any of the recognized artists were to paint on the walls of our houses, would we consider the drawing as graffiti? According to me I would not, in fact I would consider it to be a masterpiece. Why then should we not respect graffiti as we know it today?
If we look at the picture that I have chosen to illustrate my point with, I think the beauty and passion of graffiti comes out very clearly.
The picture on the wall shows two children who have painted a beautiful beach picture on the walls in a war torn Palestine. The smiles on the children faces can be deceiving; they have to run for dear life almost daily. Just in front of the wall, we have a fence and that primarily is to restrict movement of the Palestine people within their land. Graffiti is hard to understand, and it requires a critical mind. What comes from the picture is a wish of two boys who picture happiness. They do not want to be tied up in the prison that is war.  Peace and peace of life is their main concern. They just want to let everyone know that they belong to that land, and that happiness can be shared.CLICK HERE TO ORDER THIS ESSAY!!!!
Furthermore, there need not be a barrier to how much happiness there is beyond the slavery of the fence. A person may also argue that, the children are seeing beyond the fence. They are saying that, maybe you have succeeded in enclosing us within this fence. However, you have not enclosed our minds. We can live beyond our physical barriers. Moreover, if you take a closer look, you may associate the drawing as a peek into what is on the other side of the wall. They may think that they have taken everything from them, but there is still more that the land has to offer- joy and happiness and luxury beyond imagination-. Isn’t that a beautiful way of expressing how committed the Palestine nation is to saying that they belong to the land?
They say for every action there is an equal reaction. Every idea has got its own elastic limit. For example, when the gun was first invented, was it meant for killing? The famous AK-47 was intended for hunting purposes! But look at what people have over the years turned it to: a killing machine! However, that is not reason enough to say that the AK-47 is the worst gun and that it should be avoided. On the other hand, if it is placed in good hands, it will help in maintaining world peace. Also, the same can be said about graffiti. I do not dispute the fact that graffiti has been a target to monsters along the way. In fact it has earned the “devil art” tag from the same monsters who have decided to transform the beautiful art into what I may call a “Beautiful Monster”.CLICK HERE TO ORDER THIS ESSAY!!!!
The term Beautiful Monster may seem a little bit weird I know, but look at it this way; graffiti has been linked to other types of crime and the increasing level of criminal behaviour as well as facilitating the spread of gangs. In addition, property that contains the graffiti always decreases in value. These markings on the walls are done without the owner’s approval. The amount of time spent cleaning these markings require time and additional income to clean. Furthermore, it is a well-known fact that such an interruption has negative impacts on businesses, and it has contributed in reduced investments in areas where such is practiced. With the beginning of the 21st Century, it is very rude to have racist ideas, but it is not the same case with some graffiti artists. They have seen to shout their racist ideas in such a beautiful way. Very sad isn’t it? The effects of such graffiti in a mixed racial community is profound, it may make others feel unwanted in a particular community. This should not be the case. Nonetheless, that does not mean that graffiti has no beautiful side. It is an art just like any other art. Therefore, it is a form of expression. No one can deny that a painting is very relaxing to look at. For instance, a nicely drawn picture of a beautiful lady is inspiring.
Graffiti can be used to express a political agenda especially in a region where freedom of speech is not guaranteed. During the 1970’s the Anarcho-punk band Crass conducted an anti-war, feminist and anti-consumerist Campaign around the London Underground. Political groups have used graffiti to spread their point of view. Graffiti has also been used as an advertising tool. The hip-hop culture has involved graffiti a lot in its music. Actually, it has helped spread the graffiti culture to other parts of the world and has encouraged cohesion of some different class.            The business aspect of graffiti is immense, and it has helped artist who had no other means of earning a decent living. The hip-hop culture has brought with it customization of cars, and it is the beautiful value of the car. This is achieved by beautiful drawings on the body of the cars. Graffiti art is not easy as the artist has to use lots of imagination to bring about something that is both beautiful and very unique.CLICK HERE TO ORDER THIS ESSAY!!!!
Graffiti has also been associated –albeit mistakenly- with the male gender. I fail to see why this should be the case. Since time immemorial women also participated in writing. However, they have always been the minority. The requirement that successful graffiti artist is gender based have been dis-proven from time to time. For instances several women have earned respect in the New York City’s Aerosol history. What discourage women are the late hours and sometimes unsafe locations that need graffiti writing. It is a harsh male dominated field, and the social atmosphere surrounding it is also equally harsh. Women have had and will continue to struggle to earn respect for their accomplishment. In the early 1970’s, female graffiti writers like: STONEY, GRAPE, CHARMINE and COWBOY existed. LADY PINK in the late 1970’s cannot also go unmentioned. In the 1980’s LADY HEART, ABBY, CHIC, BAMBI, DAWN, ANNA and SS dominated the scene too. To date, female graffiti artists like, MS.MAGGS, DIVA, HOPE, DONA, MUCK, FNS, CLAW, MISS 17, ICON, EROTICA 67 and NAISHA are all female graffiti writers struggling to curve a niche for themselves in the male dominated field. Graffiti should not be left to the confines of the male gender alone. After all it is women who posses the beauty and who have the beauty the world needs to see to remain vibrant and alive. Women should therefore pick the brush, or the paint can and paint all they can.

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