Week 7

 Charles Bojoroquez

 

Graffiti. Los Angeles is such an important place in the history of graffiti. It has been one of the main art mediums for the Chicanx community. This is a reason why it has been criminalized for decades. If it had become a formal form of art in western culture it would be viewed with different eyes. Also, thinking abut the fact that majority of graffiti involves someone's name, to me is a way to say I'm here or I exist. Centered in the idea that graffiti is more commonly used within maginilized communities. East L.A. is known for its murals and it has recently become a tourist place for those outside of the community. 

This made me think about the story of a teen that was killed in recent years by a police officer after he had been caught tagging in an alley in Boyle Heights. From what I remember the kid had made an attempt to run away from the officer and was shot. I'm also thinking about the way children descendant of Central and South America, are raised in comparison to white kinds. We are usually raised to to obey and keep our head down in order to avid trouble. while white kids are encouraged to be creative, spontaneous, and experimental. A brown kid tagging is a criminal while a white kid tagging is using art to express him/herself. To me graffiti is a form of revolutionary art.