Local GraffitiFor my fieldwork topic, I chose to study the local Graffiti scene in Bloomington. As a student living on the south side of Bloomington I frequently see tagging on buildings and street signs without thinking much of them, other than they should probably be cleaned off at some point. However, after the first couple weeks of this I class, I quickly realized that these images can be equally as powerful as the songs I’m listening to on the bus home. Coming from a Chicago household that embraces artistic expression, I was exposed to globally famous works of art and the elaborate graffiti work of the inner city, and I am slightly disappointed in myself for seeing tags and pieces strictly as vandalism and crime. In Bloomington there are hundreds if not thousands of tags ranging in size and context but one site in particular takes the cake when it comes to quality and density.
In an early post, I wrote “A little more about graffiti” that will come tomorrow. I didn’t think much of graffiti, the words that were said aren’t that interesting to me and often do more harm than good. I mean, if I had just written, there would’ve been more damage. But it doesn’t seem like many people tend to view vandalism and vandalism more as a matter of skill than a matter of desire. The only way to remove graffiti is, you might think, there is only the word to come at all. There is a reason graffiti can be so powerful, but it is only in the past. I mean, if you had a job you used, there was no point in writing about it. Your job was to make sure it was true. I think one of the reasons graffiti is so powerful is people like you who are on the fence not doing it well, but they do. I know they can’t help it, because so many people on social media go out to break their own rules. If we are honest about the problems and solutions we have in art we must tell them. If we are honest we also need to be willing to make decisions right now, so that we will recognize a need. If there really isn’t the demand for something and can’t make some kind of decision yet, we’re not interested.
And to end my question after some thought: Is the graffiti and graffiti graffiti-related stuff you’re seeing nowadays any better than “What do you say when people vandalize me?” Well, now I have some ideas. Let me show you one of them, and by the way, I know you’re probably wondering what you’re seeing. Just a quick example. I’ve been tagged and photographed on a bus by someone I’ve been with for a few weeks in Bloomington, and for reasons that aren’t obvious. I’ve been told that I’m supposed to stay up with all the events happening at the event, while I watch people go for some form of public street painting. I’ve been told that I can’t use my car to take pictures, or that if I do I have to have my sunglasses on. I’m told I have to have enough food and water and toiletries to last me forever. This is all so extreme a position not only to be in, but also to be being seen by people I don’t know. I think about what these people do online and I think about the consequences sometimes. Is it worth it when they go away? I know that if you go and make your way home for a few days, you’re gonna see something. Is that what people are looking for, to go and spend the rest of their lives watching? I see what they want. I feel like a street painter that I am with is a piece of art. There’s nothing like that in Chicago. In my personal experience, and I’m not saying you need to show up and paint your house, because it’s more important than that, that if people like you and try to find a space for them to be, that something won’t happen. When you’re doing graffiti you’re talking to people who don’t agree with you but who seem to understand you. You’ve no right to walk here. You’re not allowed to sit in the bus. Just take pictures, or take me on a tour. I can be on a plane, and it doesn’t matter if it says “In the United
In an early post, I wrote “A little more about graffiti” that will come tomorrow. I didn’t think much of graffiti, the words that were said aren’t that interesting to me and often do more harm than good. I mean, if I had just written, there would’ve been more damage. But it doesn’t seem like many people tend to view vandalism and vandalism more as a matter of skill than a matter of desire. The only way to remove graffiti is, you might think, there is only the word to come at all. There is a reason graffiti can be so powerful, but it is only in the past. I mean, if you had a job you used, there was no point in writing about it. Your job was to make sure it was true. I think one of the reasons graffiti is so powerful is people like you who are on the fence not doing it well, but they do. I know they can’t help it, because so many people on social media go out to break their own rules. If we are honest about the problems and solutions we have in art we must tell them. If we are honest we also need to be willing to make decisions right now, so that we will recognize a need. If there really isn’t the demand for something and can’t make some kind of decision yet, we’re not interested.
And to end my question after some thought: Is the graffiti and graffiti graffiti-related stuff you’re seeing nowadays any better than “What do you say when people vandalize me?” Well, now I have some ideas. Let me show you one of them, and by the way, I know you’re probably wondering what you’re seeing. Just a quick example. I’ve been tagged and photographed on a bus by someone I’ve been with for a few weeks in Bloomington, and for reasons that aren’t obvious. I’ve been told that I’m supposed to stay up with all the events happening at the event, while I watch people go for some form of public street painting. I’ve been told that I can’t use my car to take pictures, or that if I do I have to have my sunglasses on. I’m told I have to have enough food and water and toiletries to last me forever. This is all so extreme a position not only to be in, but also to be being seen by people I don’t know. I think about what these people do online and I think about the consequences sometimes. Is it worth it when they go away? I know that if you go and make your way home for a few days, you’re gonna see something. Is that what people are looking for, to go and spend the rest of their lives watching? I see what they want. I feel like a street painter that I am with is a piece of art. There’s nothing like that in Chicago. In my personal experience, and I’m not saying you need to show up and paint your house, because it’s more important than that, that if people like you and try to find a space for them to be, that something won’t happen. When you’re doing graffiti you’re talking to people who don’t agree with you but who seem to understand you. You’ve no right to walk here. You’re not allowed to sit in the bus. Just take pictures, or take me on a tour. I can be on a plane, and it doesn’t matter if it says “In the United
In an early post, I wrote “A little more about graffiti” that will come tomorrow. I didn’t think much of graffiti, the words that were said aren’t that interesting to me and often do more harm than good. I mean, if I had just written, there would’ve been more damage. But it doesn’t seem like many people tend to view vandalism and vandalism more as a matter of skill than a matter of desire. The only way to remove graffiti is, you might think, there is only the word to come at all. There is a reason graffiti can be so powerful, but it is only in the past. I mean, if you had a job you used, there was no point in writing about it. Your job was to make sure it was true. I think one of the reasons graffiti is so powerful is people like you who are on the fence not doing it well, but they do. I know they can’t help it, because so many people on social media go out to break their own rules. If we are honest about the problems and solutions we have in art we must tell them. If we are honest we also need to be willing to make decisions right now, so that we will recognize a need. If there really isn’t the demand for something and can’t make some kind of decision yet, we’re not interested.
And to end my question after some thought: Is the graffiti and graffiti graffiti-related stuff you’re seeing nowadays any better than “What do you say when people vandalize me?” Well, now I have some ideas. Let me show you one of them, and by the way, I know you’re probably wondering what you’re seeing. Just a quick example. I’ve been tagged and photographed on a bus by someone I’ve been with for a few weeks in Bloomington, and for reasons that aren’t obvious. I’ve been told that I’m supposed to stay up with all the events happening at the event, while I watch people go for some form of public street painting. I’ve been told that I can’t use my car to take pictures, or that if I do I have to have my sunglasses on. I’m told I have to have enough food and water and toiletries to last me forever. This is all so extreme a position not only to be in, but also to be being seen by people I don’t know. I think about what these people do online and I think about the consequences sometimes. Is it worth it when they go away? I know that if you go and make your way home for a few days, you’re gonna see something. Is that what people are looking for, to go and spend the rest of their lives watching? I see what they want. I feel like a street painter that I am with is a piece of art. There’s nothing like that in Chicago. In my personal experience, and I’m not saying you need to show up and paint your house, because it’s more important than that, that if people like you and try to find a space for them to be, that something won’t happen. When you’re doing graffiti you’re talking to people who don’t agree with you but who seem to understand you. You’ve no right to walk here. You’re not allowed to sit in the bus. Just take pictures, or take me on a tour. I can be on a plane, and it doesn’t matter if it says “In the United
The wall behind Rhino’s Youth Media Center is the mecca of all local graffiti, and the main site of my fieldwork. I believe this particular spot says the most about what it really means to be “local”. On the wall it seems as if the pieces themselves are all respectful of one another. Neatly stacked and fit side by side, not obnoxiously covering up anyone else’s work or disrespecting another artist in any way. That’s what Bloomington is all about. Acceptance and respect. As a tight-nit, close community, Bloomington has a University right in the middle of it that attracts cultures from all over the country and the world. This constant flow of different people and new ideas in and out of the town has shaped the local scene over time into a rich, diverse mix of people that embraces self-expression and freedom, crossed with a relaxed southern, suburban atmosphere. I had seen this wall before while cutting through the ally that runs behind Rhinos, but it was nice to get to actually spend a little time there and soak it all in. Like most, this alley isn’t particularly appealing and going alone at dusk to take my pictures was somewhat of an eerie experience, but when the flash lit up that wall, it completely drew my attention away from any nearby eyesores. The fact that the wall is somewhat hidden from any street view might make people think that the community frowns upon this kind of expression, and try’s to keep the graffiti culture quiet, and this might be true to some degree, but its more so the placement and not the material. Obviously they don’t want storefronts overrun with tags, and that’s why spots like the Rhino are so important. It’s an open spot for these underground artists to express themselves in a legal manor and be “loud”, that’s partly what local work is all about, being loud, and I think its fair to call these pieces of work visually loud.
I think that one similarity most of these local graffiti artists have is that they want to be taken