In one of his essays John Updike poses the question: what is American about American art? Is there some essential element that marks itself as an obvious boundary between a work of art that is American and a work that is, say, Australian. He argues that the demarcation point could be more profitably thought of as that line that divides the endeavors of the Puritan White European male from other groups within a society, suggesting that the gap is one of social and economic power rather than nationality.
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| Fuck Your Blog |
The pattern is probably just as true for graffiti and street art. If you saw a bit of graffiti in London, New York or Shanghai, would you be able to tell, in the absence of any other information, the nationality of the individual who completed the work. I would argue that you couldn't. But you would probably know something about them.
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| Mr Miyagi |
Along the railway tracks that connect Brunswick Station to Anstey Station is the Upfield bike path. These images are taken from that stretch of track and they include the above jewel. Mr Miyagi catching a fly with his chopsticks.
For the most part you would not expect these artists to be in their mid forties; practicing law by day while breaking it by night. In the
City of Moreland most graffitists are men under the age of 18 years and have a diverse socio-cultural background. Still, graffiti as we know it today grew out of the impoverished inner urban precincts of New York City as an act of violence against society. It grew from within the culmination of of voices whose lives had been relegated to silence in the wake of their communities abandonment for the for the more desirable suburbs. The once lively inner urban environment then became an alienating and impersonal landscape where people could loose their capacity to etch out an identity, whose meaning had once been firmly embedded within the rich diversity of difference that was represented by the various ethnic groups that had settled in and opened up shop (
Graffito,
Dondi White Style Master General).
"According to Victoria Police statistics, graffiti is the highest recorded crime in Moreland. There are 24 graffiti gangs operating in the municipality. Six of these have become territorial, tagging everything in their paths" (Moreland City Graffiti).
In my own part of Moreland I am currently witnessing the gentrification of what was once an ethnically diverse and affordable part of Melbourne. Still, while 62% of us were born in Australia; and many of these 1st generation no doubt, there remains a very visible contingent of Italian, English, Greece, Lebanese, Chinese, Indian, Malaysian and so on. With some variation this seems to be typical of Moreland all the way way from North Fitzroy to Pascoe Vale and Oak Park (
City of Moreland Profile).
I have noticed a distinct tension between street art and graffiti, in a previous blog I showed where "Dolphins" had covered over a street mural with his or her signature piece stating "
Graffiti Lives".
While not a paid piece the above image shows what had once been a photorealistic image that has since been covered over with a variety of forms of graffiti. This is I suppose, as it should be, given the ephemeral nature of the art form but I can't help wish I had captured her face before she was obliterated by the walls subsequent history.
Behind this final image is the
Lux Foundry, it is a magnificent building and a good example of how Brunswick and environs are Metamorphosed in a reversal of
Franz Kafka's novella: from a large monstrous creature barely understood by those around him, back into a salesman whose primary function is to ensure you feel safe enough to spend a few extra dollars on a Cafe Latte with your breakfast eggs.
