I found myself suddenly struck by this way of art. In Brampton there was graffiti, but nothing compared to the beauty Toronto had on these subway walls. At that point, I new I was truly in love with this art form.
Even though that day was almost two years ago, I still have the same passion for graffiti that I have always had. Over the past two years though, I have learned a lot more about graffiti and it's culture. One of the most important things I learned is graffiti's impact on society. I found this topic to be a very important topic in the graffiti culture today. The problem is, society looks down on graffiti as an act of vandalism rather then an art form. Even though I am not much of an artist with a spray paint can, (I"d rather sketch) I still feel the frustration these amazing artists are going through. For some of these artists, it is their life to paint graffiti. For some, it is what puts food on the table and a roof over their head. Don"t forget some graffiti is just like a day job to some. There are people out there who pay these artists to do some of their work on city walls. Some companies hire them to do paintings on the front of there store, other people use them for fundraising, murals, art contests, you name it, It is a industry just like every other trade in this world. The sad part about it is, is that there are organizations to ban graffiti in the world such as SVIM, a vandalism and street crime prevention in the city of Malmo, and the NAA (National Anti-Graffiti Association). SVIM is a foreign organization and the NAA is all over the United States. The way SVIM was started was by a man named Martin Giles from Malmo that was getting fed up with the increase in vandalism in a number of schools in Malmo. Even a number of private companies have sponsored SVIM with clothing, advertising, and many other different services.
I think these anti graffiti groups are absolutely ridiculous.
