“Bomb It” is an awesome documentary by director Jon Reiss, first shown in 2007 at the Tribeca Film Festival. I loved it because it gave a ‘graffiti 101’ run down that included everything all the way from prehistoric cave paintings, to graffiti’s growth on a global spectrum. The film takes you into the world of graffiti as the amazing art form it is, covering a variety of styles and stories over 5 continents. What resonated with me most from the documentary was the issue of graffiti being ‘forced’ to be taken onto canvas, in a gallery type of setting. One of the artists argued that the art loses some of its power or potency by being taken out of the streets and into a gallery. The legal issues that surround graffiti as an art form have been happening for years, but is this struggle what fuels the art and artists? Is the essence of what graffiti is altered in a negative way by taking it to the canvas? I think it has a significant impact on the experience an audience has in relation to the work, but it does give people a chance to have their own piece of work from their favourite artists. The Pasadena Museum of California Art is actually having an exhibition right now called “Street Cred: Graffiti Art from Concrete to Canvas running from May 15 to September 4th, featuring some of LA’s finest graffiti artists. I think graffiti needs to reach an audience one way or another, but what do you guys think?
Everyone knows Banksy right? Well the guy that did ‘Banksy’ before Banksy did ‘Banksy’ - Blek Le Rat, one of the founders of stencil graffiti art in Paris is one of many graffiti street artists that have taken their work to the canvas. Imagine passing by a piece like that on the street....now imagine going to see it hanging on the wall, on a canvas, in an art gallery...What do you think?
(Photos from external source)
