21 Things You Didn’t Know About Street Art

By Section 2

Edited by Maria Aristy and Evanilde Semedo

1-Age does not kill passion. Huffington Post published an article entitled, “Charles Wesley Arrested: 71-Year-Old Graffiti Gran

dpa Identified As Florida Street Vandal”, explaining how a grandpa got arrested for doing graffiti. However, he could have gotten away, but because of a witness who saw him writing on a pole, he got in trouble and was charged $5000 bond for his action. Isn’t that crazy? (Section 2)

2-Tony Silver, the director of the 1983 documentary Style Wars, argues whether graffiti is art or vandalism by discussing people’s points of view of how graffiti writers used graffiti to express themselves in New York. (Section 2)

3-According to the author Robin Newton of  “Graffiti and Street Art-level” written in the British Council, during the 1970s in New York, Demetrius, a boy, wrote his tag in the train, which motivated many teenager to start expressing their own tags in the subways. (Aissatou Barry)

4-Nothing activates adrenaline production like fear. According to the article “Graffiti- Art or Vandalism” by Bernd Riebe, he admits that some graffiti writers are motivated by an adrenaline rush, a sensation produced by fear. (Maria Aristy)

5-According to the article “Got The Graffiti Bug? Artists Have Long Used New York City as Their Canvas,” by Miriam B. Wiener, where she discusses about how people in New York are making graffiti on the street. Moreover, she explains how teenagers became crazy about graffiti in New York. (Marilia Spinola)

6-Based on New York Graffiti laws, Published by the Mayor’s Task Force, the sale of aerosol– a type of spray mostly used as a painting tool– has been prohibited to minors under the age of 18. Would graffiti makers protest about this law that is basically taking away their rights to show their talent by making graffiti in streets? (Skarlen Sabaris)

7-According to the article “Globalization of Street Art” by Emily Colucci, graffiti started decorating small towns then it ended up covering street art in New York City then globally. In addition, the author also said that graffiti artists from different race, culture and countries are having the same type of motivation to show their art in the street, and everywhere possible. (Mariza Spinola)

8-According to the article “Arab Graffiti: Vandalism or Art”, by Mohamed El Hebeishy, published on September 9, 2012, many people from the Middle East and North Africa believe that graffiti is art because it helped them protest for their freedom during the Arab Spring, while others believed it was vandalism. (Section 2)

9-According to “Graffiti: Art or Vandalism?” published by the British Council, it is illegal to paint on somebody else’s property. It describes how Banksy, a British man, started painting in the summer of 2009. Being a mystery man hiding in the dark, nobody is able to see him. (Daritza Suero)

10-According to the article, “An App to Search for Street Art” by Jonah Bromwich, the author informs street artists and people interested in graffiti about a new app, where people can search for famous, inspired and motivated graffiti and other street art from their cellphone, include places such as the Bronx in New York and many other places around the world. These possibility of having an app where to found street arts all around the World, it will give people and graffiti fans quick and efficient opportunities to expose their messages and feelings to other people. (Airton Depina)

11-According to Yankee Magazine’s article “Graffiti, Street Art or Vandalism?” by Edgar Allen Beem, Portland, Maine is in the middle of a public debate about the pros and cons tagging or street art. In April the Portland Arts and Cultural Alliance started a discussion that put taggers against the property owners. This shows that the property owner and street artist are debating about the negatives and positives actions that are going on in their situation with graffiti. Who you think is right? (Agnelo Pires)

12-According to Yankee Magazine, “Graffiti, Street Art or Vandalism?” by Edgar Allen Beem, the author concedes that people who recently dislike graffiti after seeing an exhibition of graffiti in Portsmouth Museum of Art, started to like graffiti and classify it as an art. (Lina Guzman)

13-On March 25, 2011 the article entitled “Street Art: Second Thoughts,” published by Hector Tobar in the Los Angeles Times, explained how police only fined artists in Los Angeles, depending on how offensive is the art. Do you think it should happen in Boston too? (Maria Rivera)  

14-Sometimes in life, things can be harder than what you expect it to be. According to the article “Street Art Stages a Comeback in L.A as Public Mural Ban Lifted”, by Los Angeles Times, many people believe in graffiti as an art, and by having so many supporters, those that do street art started feeling important. While, some others in the LA disliked the painting and they had no way that they could resist it, because nobody agreed with those that think graffiti is vandalism. (Cesar Depina)

15-According to the article “Mural Capital of the World” published by Los Angeles Times, citizens argues about The Mural Ban Lifted a decade-long, whether painting outdoor walls will be permitted or not. Are the artists satisfied? They believed they still don’t have enough freedom since new rules about murals came out. (Johenny del Jesus)

16-In 2008, Arifa Akbar, the author of the article “Graffiti: Street Art- or Crime?” argues her point of view about graffiti, which explains an argument whether graffiti is art or vandalism. Depending on a group of South London graffiti artists that were jailed said, graffiti for some people is walking on the “sky-blue,” so they questioned “why should they be punished, if they just want their art to be on NYC gallery?” If a dream is included, do you believe it should be diluted? (Evanilde Semedo)

17-“Bomb It: The Trailer” by Jon Reiss affirm that street art is taking place everywhere. All graffiti writers have similarities and differences, which are basically focused on the culture and the graphic design. (Marcos Soto)

BANKSY IN NYC

18-The article “An Artwork a Day Keeps The Big Apple at Bay” published by the Associated Press, explains how a street artist named Banksy became famous by doing surprise exhibits, sculptures and stencils spray-painting graffiti in public spaces, such as buildings and street walls. Somehow many people in NY believe Banksy is a street punk and not an artist, because of a quote he wrote in a building about 9/11, “It so clearly proclaims the terrorists won.”  (Fedia Lafortune)

19-According to the article “He Came, He Spray-Painted, He Got New Yorkers Talking”, published by Associated Press, Banksy, one of the most famous street artist that didn’t make everyone happy because it is illegal to practice graffiti. Banksy put picture of his work on a website and gave New Yorkers clues where it was in the city. The problem is people is not happy to what Banksy’s was putting in the streets. (Rossiany Barbosa)

20-“Street Artist Banksy Plays in, and with, New York City” published by Associated Press explains how people see Banksy in New York City as an artist, and some see him as a punk. Moreover, the New York citizens been posting on social websites like Twitter, telling him to go back to England where he came from. (Claudio Depina)

21-According to the article “He came, He Spray-Painted, He Got New Yorkers Talking” by published Associated Press, explains how talented Banksy became after doing graffitis, even though that nobody recognized him as an artist. (Rafael Soto)