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i started building this site because graffiti gets painted over so quickly. there's a house down the block from where i live that's been condemned, and the kids that used to live there covered the outside with beautiful pieces, one of which says: can't stop art. this house is set to be torn down this month. while i was photographing it, someone came up to me and asked why people went through such trouble when they knew that in a matter of time their art would be torn down. but this is the frame of mind most graffiti artists work with: ephemerality. nothing last forever. i admire writers who put so much energy into constructing a piece, even if it can only stun the world for a few days. the problem with photographs is that they help preserve the original image but not always the context. graffiti has such potential because it can go anywhere; placement of a piece often has more to do with it's impact than how well it's written or what it says. a good piece works with the angles, colors, themes in the area around it, so that it almost seems like a spontaneous mutation of the neighborhood. permission walls can provide some beautiful art work because the writers have the time to dwell legally on their work, but a well placed non-permissioned piece catches the viewer's eye and breath, makes him or her think for a second. *disclaimer: i'm not telling anyone to go do illegal stuff. this is just what i've noticed over the years.* within more philosophical writing debates the point about public property is made: that only by piecing, tagging, writing on a public wall, is that wall truly made public. it almost reminds me a little of karl marx. same with graffiti on garages, storefronts, garbage cans, fences; it's all can be seen as reclaiming private property for the masses. another historical tradition i see strongly in some pieces is cubism. i was studying picasso and braque around the time i got really into stalking graffiti, and the connections were glaring, especially concerning wild style. both take the original image and twist it, attempt to show all sides, display three or more dimensions in two. both suggest that there is always another way of looking at things. a lot of people complain that they can't read what a piece is saying and it's true that some writers are too complex, or hide their lack of style by making a mess of the letters. but keep in mind that graffiti is one of the five elements of hip-hop. m.c.'s and writers do the same thing: take words and turn them into art through collage and manipulation of sound and space. the word becomes art. that's powerful stuff. my favorite thing about graffiti is how it sneaks up on you. driving through a warehouse district, biking through a run-down neighborhood, walking the train yards seeing the colors of the city, mostly gray and beige, monotone. then turn a corner or look up and there's a splash of brightness for my day, and i smile. 1999.december |