Urban embroidery

[Unknown Entity]

What is it about graffiti that at once annoys and offends us, but also captivates and astounds us?

I guess it depends on the artist for me. There's a difference between a vandal marking a gang tag everywhere they see fit or daring than an (usually) anonymous street artist. I have felt offended and/or threatened by gang tagging because I'm the innocent bystander who'll be penalized because of where I live. Nobody with a right mind knows or cares about who "Lady Entity" is, or when she "waz ere". Chances are it's in a place which will just get painted over anyway.

However, some tags are pretty astounding - location wise. I've walked/drove under countless bridges in my time, and someone has had the guts to leave a tag on the side of the bridge. You can see where a couple of people have left theirs right up near the edges, but others are right down into the middle. What's also astounding is that someone is willing to risk their life to leave their "mark" somewhere.

You won't catch me up there...

As for what I consider the real art, I could walk around London all day taking pictures of it. More planning was done and considered with such types of art, and portrays a better message or joke to the people who come across it, despite it all being illegal. How can you be threatened by a piece of Banksy or similar artists? People have gone to prison for defacing his work, despite his work being illegal in the first place. He remains as an anonymous urban legend, and when people mention his name, you know immediately who they're talking about.

A couple of my favourite pieces:

Longish:

I used to see this one quite often when I was younger. Always made me giggle... It's no longer there. =(

[Sinister]

Thanks for posting that, UE. I was too tired and couldn't be bothered to look up some Banksy classics. Those are some of my favorites of his, particularly the Pulp Fiction reference. His work is borderline graffiti and more appropriately, renegade art.

As for the difference between tagging and graffiti and all the other distinctions...etc... The only distinctions I really tend to make are whether it is "done with skill or thought and is it pleasing to look at" or simply another mark made by someone with no proper outlet for their time.

What is it about graffiti that at once annoys and offends us, but also captivates and astounds us?

I can't say I've ever caught myself being offended by graffiti. As a matter of fact, I'd like to take this opportunity to admit that I rarely allow myself to be offended. As far as graffiti captivating and astounding... I look at it kind of like a census. It shows me, if not the number of daring, artistic and rebellious people, at least the variety. There's also something...primal...like naive art...like cave paintings, about it.

There once was a famous calligrapher in ancient China. His works were known throughout the land as the finest and most exquisite. Even his most superficial scribblings sold for fortunes. But because he was crafty, he seldom practiced his calligraphy so as to control the market of his works. People who asked for his autograph or even those who offered to pay for a work, were denied.

One day a rich and wise sage asked the calligrapher to dinner. The man was recieved into the rich man's study, where he was told that the master was out but would return shortly. Left to himself in the study, the calligrapher noticed that great rolls of the freshest and most expensive paper were laid out on the table next to wells of fresh ink and pens.

The man waited nearly twenty minutes before he could no longer resist temptation and began writing upon the scrolls. The rich man returned to find that the calligrapher had filled the paper with beautiful works. The calligrapher was terribly embarrassed and appologized again and again to which the rich man smiled and told him "not to worry about it"

The truth is...It's just human nature to doodle.

-Sin

[Rocky]

I typed in my towns name and added urban art on the google images searchbar, and on the first page there was a picture of Red XIII. wat.

Since my town is lame and doesn't have any cool art besides the sticker names of people on trains and stuff, I can't really post any pics, sorry.

I am a big fan of Banksy though, his art is insane and the fact that he is kind of a mystical figure in society only adds to the badassery of his renegade art. People have gotten jail time for ruining his illegal art, which is backwards thinking in a way but still funny nonetheless.