Graffiti

So...

I spent the longest time trying to come up with something to say about graffiti, but the point is, I really don't understand the reasoning for it. Maybe I'm inept at realizing art? I doubt it, though.

Kriegel talks about the political significance and how it represents the decline of a city. I really can't agree with this. Graffiti to me is, in the mind of those who do it, the biggest way to show what they can do. Excessively large and readily visible. What artist wouldn't love that? Arguments can be made about taste and legality, but all it boils down to is a pathetic attempt at reaching out for attention.

Personally? I wouldn't care about graffiti is half of it was even decent to look at. In Jenkins article, I suppose he had a point when he was talking about all of the newer graffiti artists giving them veterans a bad name. There's not much you can do about being misrepresented.

The graffiti I see around Detroit is exactly what I just said: unoriginal and unusually irritating. Most of the one's seen on the freeways are just a tag of their name or something similar. Who cares? No one wants to see your alias written in an array of colors in a highly viewed spot. Maybe there's some secret sense of accomplishment to being completely anonymous and recognized at the same time.