Over the past couple of years I've become a really interested and intrigued by street art and the world that goes along with it. And no I don't have a Banksy print on a tshirt or up on my wall.
There are so many aspects of graffiti and street art that it's hard to restrict the reasons as to why I like it so. It is so diverse. The pure aesthetic, technical skill, the social commentary or just the ingenuity of it all fascinate me. It really is hard to deny graffiti's place in society nowadays. Whether it be Shepard Fairey's appearance in The Simpsons, or him designing Obama's election poster, or Banksy's Exit Through The Giftshop film and the millions he has earned, or David Choe who's mural at Facebook is set to become the most expensive piece of art ever at £126m. It's everywhere. It's so influential. It's so important. Yet it's still so frowned upon. The trivial 'vandalism' argument is becoming less valid, yet it is still an argument that is sending some of the most lauded, famous and richest street artists to jail. But this is part of it for them. It shows the dedication, commitment and inhibited passion they have for their art. And yes, Mr Judge, it is art. I defy anyone to call it anything else.
Below is a brilliant documentary from behind the scene's of LA's MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art) exhibition - Art In The Streets, America's first professional and organised graffiti exhibition in a museum. Learn from the curators, documenters such as Martha Cooper and the artists themselves as to why graffiti is so important to our society and needs to be encouraged and nurtured, not victimised and judged.
