Social Critique: Looking at Graffiti Scars

For this project, I concentrated on the graffiti found underneath the bridge next to Jones Park. The style of graffiti art has always fascinated me. Furthermore, thanks to artists such as Banksy, graffiti has begun to be recognized as a legitimate medium. However, a lot of graffiti art never gets seen. It is either hidden away in private locations or covered up, because the act of creating graffiti is considered public defacement. I find this to be tragic, in a way, for graffiti is a medium often employed by artists that don't have professional training, or social outsiders trying to convey a message. Therefore, the suppression of graffiti can be considered the suppression of the voice of the social outcasts, who are concentrated among lower class youth. Through these photos,  I wanted to investigate what messages these artists were trying to express. See my photos here.