Blog Post 7 - Graffiti Is Art

 Prior to this week’s reading, Graffiti is Art, by Charles Bojoroquez, who goes by Chaz, the word, Graffiti, was a term that I had a difficult time trying to understand; moreover, it was hard to differentiate whether Graffiti was depicted as vandalism or art. However, reading about Bojorquez’ journey, the term allowed myself to really grip onto the true meaning of Graffiti. First and foremost, even before reading this essay, my friends, who have a passion for Graffiti, express that spraying a clear, white wall is a way to express themselves, their identity and values. Coincidently, Bojorquez’ expresses that too. For him at least, Bojorquez’ uses the technique of Graffiti as a way to indicate to society his roots as a Chicano artist, born and raised in East Los Angeles. I never knew that there were different genres of Graffiti; with that being said, I learned that Bojoroquez is a “Cholo” graffist, emphazing on caligraphy. A term and method I found quite fascinating was the idea of “placas”. Placas is a “graffiti, as of initials or slogans, spray-painted on an outdoor wall, especially in the lettering style and colors identified with an individual or a street gang”. Moreover, Bojoroquez uses this impeccable technique to emphasize and represent his hometown heritage. Stepping away from placas, another term that was lingering through my head was “cholo-style”. To be quite honest, I never knew what “cholo-style” really meant; but reading more about Bojorquez’, alongside with the power of the internet, I learned that cholo is a “person who dresses in the manner of a certain subculture”, also rooting to gangsters. There’s ideas and history in this class that I quite honestly wish I knew about sooner than later. For instance, going to school for Graffiti? Really?? I never knew that Boroquez went to school, specifically at the University of Guadalajara,  to learn more about Graffiti. While many learn from others for Graffiti, it's amazing to see that public schools offer this kind of major to those who have a strong passion for this form of artwork. After reading Bojoroquez’ essay, while I do think that Graffiti is more of an art than it is vandalism, I believe there are certain exceptions. For example, spraying inappropriate gentile body parts on highway exits is most certainly not Graffiti, it’s straight up vandalism. It’s saddening to me that Graffists’ get a bad rep because their artwork truly is art rather than vandalism. I surely do hope down the line, less people stop the inappropriate ways of Graffiti and acknowledge that actual Graffists’ do this not only as a passion, but as their living.