Graffiti as Art Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Graffiti as Art - Research Paper Example Insofar as graffiti in Trinidad is concerned, graffiti is an art. The reasons, aesthetic criteria included, that reiterates that graffiti is an art outweigh the criticism of incoherence, nonstandard, and illegal presentation. This paper seeks to identify graffiti as a form of art, with particular emphasis on graffiti in the walls of the streets in Trinidad. The paper also highlights some peculiar tagging present in the graffiti as well as providing some samples from the region. Background A previous research on graffiti in Trinidad shows that prior to the arrival of Howok, a graffiti artist from Dublin aged 25 years, the graffiti in Trinidad was primarily two dimensions with one or two colors. However, the region is experiencing some changes in the graffiti section. Big, colored, three-dimension graffiti are pooping up literary every night on walls in the streets, from Diego Martin main road, Ariapita Avenue, Western main road to the Foreshore. Interestingly, these graffiti have some resemblance, with the majorly the name of the new graffiti artist, Howok. It seems that the artist brought different texts and colors to the graffiti industry in Trinidad. However, some graffiti in the Trinidad Island also reflect their culture, such as the one that depicts people playing the steel pan (Plate 1), a national instrument for the country. Plate 1:Grafiti in Trinidad showing people playing steel pans. Contrary to graffiti in the West and other parts of the world, the graffiti in Trinidad predominantly incorporates the name of the artist rather than the wide use of numerous graphics and texts eminent in North America (Schlee, 2005). Nonetheless, graphics are becoming a common feature of graffiti in Trinidad, though not with the same magnitude as with other countries. It is from such evidence that this paper seeks to assert that graffiti art in Trinidad is indeed a form of art. The origin of graffiti art in the Caribbean region dates back to the 1990s, as the societies we re experiencing the impact of popular cultural phenomena. The popular Caribbean culture has influence of the developments across the global mass culture. Throughout the 1990s, the Caribbean societies exhibited signs of influence from international fashion, films, music, and other emerging industries, particularly among the youth. The young people tended to seek new avenues to express their feelings. They thus sought to propagate discourses as legitimate responses to the already established discourses. Graffiti art is among the most disruptive, subversive, and creative form of art in the Caribbean societies. It is dominant in Barbados and other regions such as the Trinidad Island. Despite its virtually omnipresent existence, the academic organizations completely ignore this form of art. Formal scrutiny, explication, and analysis of graffiti writing and art are yet to occur. The graffiti arts on public spaces and walls across the Caribbean depict the disaffection of some people. It is imperative to understand the background of graffiti in the Caribbean and the various cultural behaviors and phenomena that surround the graffiti art in order to make a comprehensive conclusion on the nature of graffiti art. Critics of graffiti art as a form of art base their arguments on their location, as well as