Kimo Koshi
Graffiti is in the eye of the beholder
ast Tuesday, Jan.
21, the Venice Graffiti Pit, a haven for taggers since the 1970s, was
mistakenly painted "institutional beige" by a prison work crew. Ironically,
this incident was initially investigated by police as vandalism.
The Pit, a public area by
the Venice Pavilion, had nearly every square inch covered in graffiti. The
tagging covered the walls, tables, benches and even the trees in the
Pit.It was this rampant tagging
that was painted over and investigated as vandalism. So when and where can
graffiti be considered art? Evidently it's a crime when graffiti is
considered to be art--which, come to think of it, is probably why painting
over graffiti usually isn't considered a crime. So when and where is
graffiti art? We all know that Venice Beach is basically the psychotic
version of Third Street Promenade, but even there, is graffiti art? Maybe;
maybe not. After all, Leonardo da Vinci painted on walls, Michelangelo on
ceilings; nobody called them vandals or delinquents.Yes, they had permission to
paint where they did, so that makes it OK, right? If your answer was yes,
then the decorators of the Pit are in the clear as well. Evidently there
was a tacit agreement between them and the city that the Pit would be their
Sistine Chapel, so to speak.Indeed, the area was
considered by most people to be artistic. The graffiti supposedly had
contributions from respectable, presumably non-tagger artists and was an
unofficial tourist attraction. It was also evidently something of a popular
filming location, where television shows and part of "White Men Can't
Jump" (the part where Woody Harrelson was supposedly killed, if I
remember correctly) were filmed. As artistic as it may seem to the
residents of the area, the dramatic and somewhat violent look of the Pit
makes it a great place to stage a death scene.Well, as they say, beauty
is in the eye of the beholder. After all, beige is an outstandingly ugly
color for a park--a color on which every drop of ketchup stands out. All things considered,
graffiti can, however loosely, be considered an art form. After all, what
is art other than an expression of one's inner feelings? True, it is
probably lacking in the theological concerns of the Sistine Chapel, but
that doesn't necessarily mean that it isn't as expressive, or even more so.
Take for instance da Vinci's work--some of his works push the
interpretations of "art" just a bit. Taking that into consideration, maybe
some graffiti is art after all.Although police were
officially investigating the case because the painting was done without
permission from the city, it seems as if the atmosphere was one of general
disapproval of the act itself, permission or not. Upon closer examination,
this makes sense. A friend once described Venice Beach as a place where
"people who can't make it on Third Street Promenade go." Maybe they just
like preserving the weirdness of the place. After all, what fun would
California be if it was normal? In defense of the confused
cleanup crew, keep in mind that what was painted over was still graffiti,
psychotic version of Third Street or not. Who knows--perhaps some of those
inmates were put in jail for vandalism and in some obsessive-compulsive way
were trying to atone for their sins. After all, we see those who paint over
graffiti being lauded as heroes all the time, with cleanliness being next
to holiness and all that.Then again, anybody who
painted over the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel could be instantly
excommunicated, crucified and sent straight to hell; don't pass `go,' don't
collect $200. Is this the fate of the vigilante painters--to be caught and
executed as part of yet another bizarre Venice Beach street performance? Or
are they heroes? Obviously, the issue doesn't have a real definitive
answer. At least the Venice Beach residents can rest safe in the knowledge
that the perpetrators are going back to prison.All things considered,
maybe graffiti is art. After all, it is a form of expression, a
commentary as powerfully motivated, and in some cases just as articulate,
as speech. This is not to say that we should go out and draw on walls.
After all, that'd be vandalism.
Kimo Koshi is a freshman majoring in creative writing.