Graffiti - sh*te or art?

confuseddotcom · 04-12-2012 01:08PM

Totally depends on the graffiti in question. When I look at "good" i.m.o. graffiti all's I see is loads of fab colours. I love the splashes of colours bandied about the place, rather than trying to make out what the letters/words are.

Jester252 · 04-12-2012 01:30PM

Exit through the Gift Shop is a great documentary on "Street Artists"
I personal think that what they spray is just a copy so it can't be classified as art.
While its nice to look at the original drawing and stencils are the art not the graffiti. Would the Mona Lisa look better if it was plastered onto the side of a building? I feel bad for the guys that have to clean up a Banksy "work" as they more then likely have to deal with a bunch of bleeding hearts trying to stop them from doing their job. Also the fact that you can get a book of Bansky style stencils just makes him look a little be selloutish

Cienciano · 04-12-2012 01:36PM

I do like good graffiti, but I walked from Landsdowne Rd to Grafton street the other day keeping an eye out on the graffiti and it was all tripe like this:
http://farm1.staticflickr.com/102/287204195_f927699951_z.jpg

AnonoBoy · 04-12-2012 01:58PM

Cienciano wrote: »

I do like good graffiti, but I walked from Landsdowne Rd to Grafton street the other day keeping an eye out on the graffiti and it was all tripe like this:
http://farm1.staticflickr.com/102/287204195_f927699951_z.jpg

Apparently you just don't get it because you don't know what you're looking at. :pac:

seven_eleven · 04-12-2012 02:16PM

I liked when they spray-painted that swastika on the hotel in Waterford but whoever did it drew it backwards. The whole city laughed at them.

paddymayoman · 04-12-2012 06:36PM

Hippies and hipsters love their graffiti

bodice ripper · 06-12-2012 11:37PM

AnonoBoy wrote: »

Oh please. :rolleyes: Spare me that pretentious nonsense.

We don't get it, is that what you're saying?

Tags are badly scrawled on places they shouldn't be by people with too much f*cking time on their hands and an overinflated sense of importance. They're not important things at all and we could do without them.

Mein Gott!

I never thought of it like that! never even crossed my mind. Your persuasive argument will no doubt cause a major sea-change in international graffiti culture.

Hurricane Carter · 06-12-2012 11:40PM

Modern art is where it's at!

http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/artpages/tracey_emin_my_bed.htm

Now, it's sad that some see the above rubbish as art while they condemn graffiti, which really is art (done properly of course, initials don't count).

I mean seriously, some silly bints bed!?

bodice ripper · 06-12-2012 11:42PM

kylith wrote: »

Tags are a pissing contest: "I'm better than you because my tag is more places". Tags are what people hate about graffiti because they make places look dirty and neglected, they show zero artistic merit, and they say nothing. What you're basically saying is "You don't like this pile of shít because it's not for you, it's for other shít-pile leavers". Maybe it's not meant for the public in general, but we can still tell a pile of shít when we see it.

If you're going to go to the bother of getting paint and risking getting caught to graffiti something then put some fecking effort into it, say something with your art, do something different. Just stop writing "DEANO" everywhere; it looks stupid.

I put exactly as much effort in as I felt was merited on any given occasion. And, as previously stated, it wasn't my art.

Run_to_da_hills · 07-12-2012 09:50AM

Banksy's Christmas Card.

Pompey Magnus · 07-12-2012 10:11AM

Are you for the Pigbull Tripetreshen?

I don't know what the PigBull Tripetreshen is but someone is very concerned about it in Cork City. Normally I hate to see this kind of sh*te scrawled on walls but for some reason I always have a little smile when I see the work of this particular nutcase.

AwayWithFaries · 07-12-2012 10:18AM

It's art when it's done properly. Best example I've seen in Cork in the car park near Douglas Street. I think graffiti is actually encourage there, whole place is always done.

AnonoBoy · 07-12-2012 12:28PM

bodice ripper wrote: »

Mein Gott!

I never thought of it like that! never even crossed my mind. Your persuasive argument will no doubt cause a major sea-change in international graffiti culture.

I notice you have nothing to come back with except a weak attempt at sarcasm.

Again - some graffiti is fine. Tags are the pissing of amateur idiots. I await your attempt to 'explain' how tags are so important to me.

bodice ripper · 07-12-2012 02:59PM

AnonoBoy wrote: »

I notice you have nothing to come back with except a weak attempt at sarcasm.

Again - some graffiti is fine. Tags are the pissing of amateur idiots. I await your attempt to 'explain' how tags are so important to me.

it is a pissing contest, and I never claimed it had any worth to anyone but other graffiti writers. I only ever stated why they look incoherent to John Q Public.

Far from wanting you to think they are important, as soon as it is acceptable to John Q Public, it is irrelevant and castrated.

dttq · 07-12-2012 03:17PM

Probably no more ****e that what qualifies as a lot of modern art.

"Oh wow, a hat splashed with green paint with a banana stuck through the top....,.....what is the artist trying to tell us I wonder.......he must be a genius......"

AnonoBoy · 07-12-2012 04:43PM

bodice ripper wrote: »

it is a pissing contest, and I never claimed it had any worth to anyone but other graffiti writers. I only ever stated why they look incoherent to John Q Public.

You stated that tags are the most important form of graffiti.

tags are the basic form, and probably most important form.

You then told everyone why they don't like them - because they don't know what they're looking at:

you don't like them because you don't actually know what you are looking at. They are for other writers, you seeing them is incidental.

Pretentious nonsense. I know perfectly well what I'm looking at and I still think they're sh*te.

bodice ripper · 07-12-2012 04:55PM

AnonoBoy wrote: »

You stated that tags are the most important form of graffiti.

You then told everyone why they don't like them - because they don't know what they're looking at:

Pretentious nonsense. I know perfectly well what I'm looking at and I still think they're sh*te.

Graffiti is a pissing contest, so yeah, tags are the basis of the whole affair. And no, you don't know what you are looking at.

You are entitled to your opinion, never said you weren't. I just said you didn't have the experience/info to see all the content, which was part of the whole idea.

Saint_Mel · 07-12-2012 05:00PM

bodhrandude wrote: »

Not art, etching a twenty foot "Brits Out" on Benbulben mountain, I never got that one, we were in the Republic too .

Years ago, "BRITS OUT" used to be scrawled on the wall outside Athlone train station ... it was later amended to read "BRATS OUT", before eventually being scrubbed off

quaalude · 07-12-2012 05:00PM

Stupid Dublin graffiti, mostly of mickeys

AnonoBoy · 07-12-2012 05:32PM

bodice ripper wrote: »

Graffiti is a pissing contest, so yeah, tags are the basis of the whole affair. And no, you don't know what you are looking at.

And what makes you think you have any idea what I do/don't know? You have no idea what I spent my teen years doing or where or with who.

You're assuming that because I think tags are the scrawlings of sh*tbirds that I don't know what I'm looking at? I don't have the relevant qualifications do I not? :rolleyes:

You still have made no attempt to try to explain why tags are the most important part of graffiti. I'm guessing that's because it's hard to justify that turgid sh*te especially in comparison to actual proper graffiti that has some merit (at least aesthetically).

bodice ripper · 07-12-2012 05:35PM

AnonoBoy wrote: »

And what makes you think you have any idea what I do/don't know? You have no idea what I spent my teen years doing or where or with who.

You're assuming that because I think tags are the scrawlings of sh*tbirds that I don't know what I'm looking at? I don't have the relevant qualifications do I not? :rolleyes:

You'd need to be a graffiti writer to understand the amount of time and repetition required for a good handstyle.

You are not a writer, so no you don't have the qualifications.

AnonoBoy · 07-12-2012 05:41PM

bodice ripper wrote: »

You'd need to be a graffiti writer to understand the amount of time and repetition required for a good handstyle.

That's like saying only a cinematographer can appreciate or understand good cinematography and what goes into it.

Which is of course bullsh*t.

You are not a writer, so no you don't have the qualifications.

Oh you know who I am, do you?

And of course you still haven't even answered why tagging is the most important part of graffiti. Why don't you enlighten us mere mortals who don't have all the amazing knowledge that you do. Go on.... give it a go there like a good lad.

I'll say it again. I understand what I'm looking at (despite what you keep insisting despite not knowing me) and I still think it's sh*t.

gobnaitolunacy · 07-12-2012 05:47PM

quaalude wrote: »

Stupid Dublin graffiti, mostly of mickeys

In 2,000 years time if they haven't been scrubbed off... 'ah yes, this seems to depict a male phallic fertility symbol, perhaps this was a site of religious significance.'
Maybe tags reveal the identity of the Illuminati or the Third Secret of Fatima?

bodice ripper · 07-12-2012 05:53PM

AnonoBoy wrote: »

That's like saying only a cinematographer can appreciate or understand good cinematography and what goes into it.

Which is of course bullsh*t.

Oh you know who I am, do you?

And of course you still haven't even answered why tagging is the most important part of graffiti. Why don't you enlighten us mere mortals who don't have all the amazing knowledge that you do. Go on.... give it a go there like a good lad.

I'll say it again. I understand what I'm looking at (despite what you keep insisting despite not knowing me) and I still think it's sh*t.

Tagging is nonsense. It's not real graffiti and certainly doesn't require the skill that real graffiti does.

graffiti is more obscure than cinematography. you'd need to be a calligrapher to spot a really technically strong piece of calligraphy. People are, of course, able to decide what they find personally aesthetically pleasing.

I know you aren't a writer because I would know who you were then. There aren't that many in Dublin. And no writer thinks tags are ****e.

graffiti is an open pissing contest, to be the most well known, in the most places, with the best style. Tags are most direct way to do that, as well as the hardest to add style to. the require more skill than more complex pieces because of their simplicity and single quick movement.

and speaking of not knowing people, I am not a lad.

AnonoBoy · 07-12-2012 05:58PM

And no writer thinks tags are ****e.

I've been friends with lots of graffiti artists over the years. I know several who now when they've got a bit more cop-on think tags are sh*te.

the require more skill than more complex pieces because of their simplicity and single quick movement.

Read that sentence back to yourself there and think about how little sense it makes.

and speaking of not knowing people, I am not a lad.

Who cares?

For all the talk of design and artistry the website for the place you work looks like something that was put together by a transition year student in 1998. No kill there anyways.

bodice ripper · 07-12-2012 06:06PM

AnonoBoy wrote: »

I've been friends with lots of graffiti artists over the years. I know several who now when they've got a bit more cop-on think tags are sh*te.

Read that sentence back to yourself there and think about how little sense it makes.

Who cares?

You know there is a difference between graffiti and "street art" right?

The sentence make complete sense, if you know anything about style and letter structure...

and you care, since you were the one making noise about me not knowing anything about you personally.

Any writer would rip another writer a new arsehole if they stood there saying tags are ****e. It's not every writer's main focus, but to say they are ****e would be indicating that you were moving away from writing. And people do that, but they are not held in high regard.

AnonoBoy · 07-12-2012 06:10PM

bodice ripper wrote: »

You know there is a difference between graffiti and "street art" right?

Of course I do. But please continue in your condescending tone.

The sentence make complete sense, if you know anything about style and letter structure...

You keep telling yourself that.

It's not every writer's main focus, but to say they are ****e would be indicating that you were moving away from writing. And people do that, but they are not held in high regard.

Not held in high regard by the low-level wall-scrawlers is what you mean isn't it?

I am seriously finding it very hard to take anything you say seriously after seeing the website for where you work. Honestly it's a travesty which any artist should be embarrassed to have representing them.

bodice ripper · 07-12-2012 06:16PM

AnonoBoy wrote: »

Of course I do. But please continue in your condescending tone.

You keep telling yourself that.

Not held in high regard by the low-level wall-scrawlers is what you mean isn't it?

I am seriously finding it very hard to take anything you say seriously after seeing the website for where you work. Honestly it's a travesty which any artist should be embarrassed to have representing them.

you mad? the place I work for in the Netherlands? you pissed off enough to stalk a company I work for? my blog is right in my sig....

AnonoBoy · 07-12-2012 06:17PM

bodice ripper wrote: »

you mad? the place I work for in the Netherlands? you pissed off enough to stalk a company I work for? my blog is right in my sig....

The place you're associated with in Dublin love. It's a f*cking travesty.

Stalk a company? Is that what googling is called now? :rolleyes:

Bipolar Joe · 07-12-2012 06:29PM

Bodice Ripper's posts make him seem like a character out of The Warriors, only less awesome.

Graffiti - sh*te or art?

Comments