I enjoyed reading "Graffiti Is Art" by Charles "Chaz" Bojórquez mainly because it offered me insight into the personal ties an artist can have to their work. Growing up I admired the graffiti designs I noticed across town and wondered how artists managed to create elaborate designs in public spaces. I wondered how they managed to get precise lines, if it came out perfect on the first try, and of course how they managed to avoid consequences. However, I never really thought much about what the work meant or could represent to the creator.
To Chaz, his graffiti is deeply connected to Los Angeles, for example using “Old English” font on top of it always being in uppercase. It became a way through which he explored his own identity within the melting pot of LA, and beyond that his Señor Suerte became a “symbol that represented [him] and [his] streets” (Bojórquez 120). It is amazing how one image can provide people community and harbor pride, serving as Chaz’s own placa.
Additionally, I like Chaz’s thoughts on what constitutes art, he defines it as “any drawn line that speaks about identity, dignity, and unity...that line is talking about graffiti and art” (Bojórquez 121). In this definition he is also reinforcing the idea that graffiti is art, but I like the sentiment that art does not have to be perfect or grand. Art is what art is to you, the definition exists in your mind and in what your hands create. I think if more people realized this, including myself, we would have many more artists, as people do not worry about being perfect from the start.
A question I would like to ask to others that I was thinking of as I read throughout the essay is: what is the difference between murals and graffiti? Is it truly down to the approach? There seems to be many similarities, but the connotations of each one are opposites to each other.
Hi Sofía, great blog post. I found it really cool for Bojórquez to use "old English" fonts for his graffiti artwork. I also found it interestingly cool to find out that Bojórquez uses certain styles to represent his streets of East Los Angeles. Finally, as I said in my blog post, I hope that less people abuse Graffiti art, as we see many individuals spray inappropriate content on walls, even beautiful murals being severely damaged.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, thank you for including the image of Chaz's skull because I almost forgot to search it up myself. There's a point you made that I can not agree more with and that was "art is what art is to you." From my understanding moving forward, graffiti art does not need to be understood or appreciated by others. I also agree that the notion that art has to be grand or appear "skilled" deters a lot of artists which is unfortunate. Especially, seeing how artists' like Chaz have been successful simply by doing what was for them and gaining support from their communities who appreciate them so much for doing so.
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