Michael DeNottos Street Art and Graffiti - Essay Example

A Critique on Michael DeNotto’s “Street Art and Graffiti” Introduction Waking up to a previously clean public wall now filled with various scribbles expressing a whole gamut of themes is usually considered vandalism. Michael DeNotto (2014) explained how this activity has come to be known as graffiti or street art, viewed in different perspectives, depending on the style and content of the writings and graphics inscribed on the wall. His essay recognized such street activity as a phenomenon now worthy of study because of the valuable messages expressed by the authors of the graffiti/ street art.

More than just explaining, he has enumerated other sources of information on this topic for further and deeper study for those interested. Summary From a very negative outlook about graffiti being a pest in society due to the perpetrator’s malicious intent to destroy property, it has now become recognized as a legitimate source of study. DeNotto (2014) claims that it has become a “reaction to injustice and disenfranchisement, a cry for revolution, a way to create awareness of socio-political issues, an expression of hope for the future, an effort to reclaim public spaces, or an attempt to beautify the urban environment, among others” (p. 208). Graffiti has also been associated with hip hop beat musicians as well as prominent pop artists such as Andy Warhol and Roy Lichenstein.

This gives it a renewed meaning because it implies its rejection of standards and adherence to experimentation and ties to popular culture and advertising. Differences between graffiti and street art comes from the intention of the authors of the work, their intended audience and its form. Graffiti’s messages are known to quite a few who are in the know about the issues it supports while street art is a sub-genre of graffiti which is more open to everyone to understand and appreciate so they can interact, consider and discuss it.

It is more pictorial than textual than graffiti, and it has a more positively directed message, aimed at beautifying rather than destroying the urban environment. DeNotto then goes on to identify sources, where articles, essays, photos and interviews of artists can be found so that those interested can look into it for further study. He believes that the value of street art has become greater nowadays due to its emphasis on scholarship and vulnerability to eradication or vandalism, thereby erasing the potentially significant message it wants to impart.

Hence, it is important to document it as they still exist. Evaluation De Sotto provides a clear explanation of the evolution of graffiti and street art as part of popular culture. He has opened the minds of people to alternative perspectives, and explained that it is a viable outlet of self-expression and dissemination of a message intended for society. The initiative to provide additional sources of information is also commendable so people gain a broader understanding of graffiti and street art and why artists resort to creating it so that people get to understand their messages better.

Response Graffiti used to be viewed as something unpleasant especially if the owners of the walls intended for it to remain spotless. Vandals have exploited such immaculate walls to maliciously destroy its façade as a canvas for their rebellious messages. Now, as prominent artists have recognized the power of graffiti to elicit such strong responses from the public, they have utilized this medium to spread more positive content and instead of destroying the urban environment with ugly public textual and graphic messages, they created street art, which is a more acceptable and aesthetically more pleasing medium to express their ideas and messages to society.

Conclusion Graffiti and street art has evolved it its form and meaning as well as how society now perceives it. Authors of such work should know how to use this medium in order for them to more effectively convey their message to the public while not being offensive. It has been shown that the public is more receptive to street art especially if it is imbued with beautiful artistic pictures and more positive content in its text. Reference DeNotto, M. (2014) Street art and graffiti: Resources for online study.

C&RL News, April issue; pp. 208-211.