Graffiti

[monkey_goose]

Recently where I live (Lismore, Australia) there has been a fair bit of vegan graffiti. To be clear, I personally don't have anything to do with it, though I wish I knew who did. Vegans are here and I want to know them. lol.

This one is one Keen St (opposite Goanna Bakery and Cafe)

Comments

[jacques_strappe]

I like the idea behind this but to me graffiti is a very complex issue. I am certainly not a fan of it on lovely buildings (which happens all too often where I'm from), as I hate to see beautiful architecture defaced, even if the message is valid. But on crappy buildings, alleys, and the like, it's okay by me.

That said, I also feel graffiti, no matter the message, should have serious work and planning put into it; it should be artistic, not just words written on a wall. It should invite people to look longer, perhaps appreciate the art and the message it carries. It also shouldn't sound dickish, rude, or condescending if it wants to encourage people to join a cause (not saying that this graffiti is such... it's almost borderline for me though).

My girlfriend and I have been meaning to do some graffiti; she designed a paste-up that was a diagram of a cow, sectioned off in the traditional meat-marking pattern, except each section carried a statistic of how eating meat destroys the environment. I wish it was still on the internet, but she got a ton of crap for it on deviantART and I think eventually took it down.

[monkey_goose]

That piece sounds interesting. I'm not vegan for environmental reasons, but I certainly don't think it can hurt to have that extra reasoning for the cause.

I agree that graffiti is best when there is planning and artistic merit involved. But I also think language is extremely powerful. For me, and possibly for other vegans in the area, this graffiti gave me a sense of community.

[jacques_strappe]

>gave me a sense of community

Oh man, I know exactly what you mean, and I agree. It's funny and peculiar how something left by a complete stranger can make you feel accepted and wanted, or can make you smile. It's the power of art, and graffiti... it's nice.

[bitspike]

". . . graffiti gave me a sense of community."

I wrote an essay on exactly this last year. I focused on the Newtown area in Sydney. Have you ever been there?

[monkey_goose]

No I haven't. Well, maybe I have, but I would have been about ten years old. lol. I take it there is a lot of graffiti there?

[kcanadensis]

Yeah, it makes you feel more like you own a piece of your town, don't you think? It's a whole interesting discussion in and of itself, how we can reclaim seemingly "off limits" public areas with art.

[exairetemechane]

I agree. I've seen some beautiful graffiti, and the memorable ones were the beautiful art pieces. Unfortunately, the graffiti posted is pretty forgettable.

[kirbyish]

Agreed. There's nothing quite like graffiti that's beautiful AND meaningful

[rocknrollfire]

+1
i have a lot of friends who are/were into graffiti as a legit art form. i'm not 100% sure exactly how i feel about the graffiti posted here--on the one hand, seeing things like that makes me happy just to know that there's someone out there who wants to spread the word, but on the other hand i feel like it alienates people and makes them think that vegans are all crazy guerrilla motherfuckers.

i think a lot more good could be done by doing actual pieces that make people think rather than spraypainting words on a wall, but it's also more difficult since it takes significantly more time to work on a piece than to tag and go.

[soozthecat]

In Brighton (UK), where I'm from, the council commissioned some graffiti art, its on the back of a row of shops and it's stunning, think you'd love it!

[soozthecat]

..found a couple of pics to give you an idea: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_dZ9b-xXuhYo/SYbmoFj4IQI/AAAAAAAAAbk/K1fxU-8BJIs/s400/UK_Brighton_graffiti_1.jpg

http://www.canned-goods.co.uk/graffiti-pictures/images/brighton-12-08-042.jpg

And some non commissioned stuff:
http://www.brightonbiz.co.uk/Brighton%20Graffiti%20Art.jpg

http://www.canned-goods.co.uk/graffiti-pictures/images/brighton-12-06-001.jpg

[kirbyish]

Philly's got a lot of stuff like that, too. Here's an article. Number 15 is my favorite, although I've never seen it in person. There's also an abandoned subway station at Spring Garden that's got loads of really bright, fun art, but it's cool 'cause you can only see it when you're shooting through the station on your way to Chinatown.

[starile]

=O I think I've seen that image before! Wasn't it posted up here on veganpeople a while ago?

[jacques_strappe]

It probably was, but that was before I joined the community! Sadly I don't think the picture is available online anymore. Maybe I can try to convince her to put it up again~ (She got so many rude comments on deviantART when she posted it there, mostly from people who were in denial of how much damage and cruelty their meat costs)

[vialofzydrate]

Off topic, but your Totoro icons are fantastic.