This or that....

[Avathar]

Graffiti. Vandalism, or art? I'm actually really curious what you think of that form of painting, 'cause the last two years i've been really active doing that, so.....
What do you think? :D

[Arkacia]

It depends on what sort of grafiti it is and if the person has permission to put it up.

Kids who just run around putting "tags" up on any surface they can reach aren't artists in any sense of the word. They are just vandals, and their tags are ugly vandalism.

Those who are capable of doing really nice murals are artists, but its a shame to see their work painted over when they put it up ilegally. We had an advert on TV here a few years ago, and its main message was "don't waste your talent on other people's property".

We have quite a few legal walls in Brisbane that grafiti artists have decorated. They look really good, except for a few the tag vandals have ruined.

[Lyde Lyde]

I agree with Arkacia, it depends if they have permission, if so then it's art.

[Avathar]

It's true what Arkacia says: simple tags or words, those i don't consider as art. Those are rather vandalism-like, since they have no artistic value. But then again i don't agree with Lyde Lyde, that only the legal graffiti may be considered as art.

Do you think mine is legal? Well, no, but most co-writers keep saying i'm doing a great job; such as these:

http://photobucket.com/albums/c100/buccobucco/?action=view&current=apen04.jpg
http://photobucket.com/albums/c100/buccobucco/?action=view&current=apen09.jpg
http://photobucket.com/albums/c100/buccobucco/?action=view&current=apen12.jpg
http://photobucket.com/albums/c100/buccobucco/?action=view&current=apen14.jpg
http://photobucket.com/albums/c100/buccobucco/?action=view&current=apen18.jpg
http://photobucket.com/albums/c100/buccobucco/?action=view&current=apen22.jpg
http://photobucket.com/albums/c100/buccobucco/?action=view&current=apen24.jpg

[Arkacia]

It looks good. You do have talent.

Would just be a shame if they are removed or painted over. Maybe you should ask around and see if you can find a legal wall to decorate, then your work will be up without danger.

[Avathar]

Well, i mostly only paint in black and white, or make stickers. Plus, i'm not doing it only illegaly: me and my cousin started some workshops in a couple of cities in Belgium; and there is in Antwerp the Meeting of Styles. A contest that yearly takes places on a courtyard (which was originally covered with illegal graffit, but now it has become famous, so when you paint there during the day, it doesn't matter anymore :D )
, and it's literally a meeting of styles: not one graffiti-artist shares the same methods like another one, and they come from very different places, from Finland, Brazil, Canada, you name it :)

[Zeromus_X]

those are cool! i like the one on the bottom the best. :)

[Avathar]

thanks :) yep, pure black and white. it's actually simple to make something like in the last picture: you draw figures on.. (well, i use bristol-) paper, you cut out what you want to be painted, and voila :D

the "getting famous" :D part only has one better benefit: people start to ask if i could spraypaint their walls, and most of the time they want to pay the materials for me :eek: , which is absolutely great :)

And Antwerp... well, it's a city of art, and a city of graffiti. The better graffiti. Do any of you live in a town where there's a graffiti "scene"?

[Zerlina]

I like your art and think it's nice but at the same time, if you owned a store (or sometimes around here I even see houses which have graffiti on them), there is a certain image you want to keep up. Even if the art shows talent, sometimes it takes away from the presentation which your store gives. Graffiti makes places look run down, and I know I don't like going to places that look run down. It suggests bad quality and cheap products.

[Avathar]

Well, that's again the difference between good and bad graffiti: i'll take a photo of a wall i painted in a very small street. At first sight it may give a "bad" attitude, but most people just like the decoration.
Here in Antwerp we have only a couple of exclusive graffit stores, so it's as good as normal that you see graffiti on the walls nearby.

[Avathar]

These are pictures of my first spraypainted wall (must have been 14 or something:D) (http://photobucket.com/albums/c100/buccobucco/?action=view&current=IMGP0171.jpg)
http://photobucket.com/albums/c100/buccobucco/?action=view&current=IMGP0169.jpg
http://photobucket.com/albums/c100/buccobucco/?action=view&current=IMGP0168.jpg
(Well, i didn't do these on my own, did it with two others:)) (http://photobucket.com/albums/c100/buccobucco/?action=view&current=IMGP0167.jpg)
http://photobucket.com/albums/c100/buccobucco/?action=view&current=IMGP0165.jpg
http://photobucket.com/albums/c100/buccobucco/?action=view&current=IMGP0166.jpg

Recent black/white sketches (http://photobucket.com/albums/c100/buccobucco/?action=view&current=IMGP0038.jpg)
http://photobucket.com/albums/c100/buccobucco/?action=view&current=IMGP0037.jpg
http://photobucket.com/albums/c100/buccobucco/?action=view&current=IMGP0036.jpg
http://photobucket.com/albums/c100/buccobucco/?action=view&current=IMGP0035.jpg
And these are some more black/white stickers&stencils:) (http://photobucket.com/albums/c100/buccobucco/?action=view&current=apen16.jpg)
I design them, and me and my brother make them and go paste them^^ (http://photobucket.com/albums/c100/buccobucco/?action=view&current=apen20.jpg)
http://photobucket.com/albums/c100/buccobucco/?action=view&current=apen21.jpg
http://photobucket.com/albums/c100/buccobucco/?action=view&current=apen17.jpg
http://photobucket.com/albums/c100/buccobucco/?action=view&current=apen11.jpg
http://photobucket.com/albums/c100/buccobucco/?action=view&current=apen05.jpg http://photobucket.com/albums/c100/buccobucco/?action=view&current=apen02.jpg

[Zeromus_X]

Those are quite impressive. (Even more impressive that you posted links to each one...:p )

Keep up the good work! :)

[Avathar]

Those are quite impressive. (Even more impressive that you posted links to each one... )

:D Yeah, was trying to do that, one picture in one link :D trying to look impressive, indeed :p :) oh, and thanx that you like them.

[richboywonder]

a screen poped up and said it no longer exists.what's up with that.

[Avathar]

By now I moved the pictures. It's not that I keep all the pictures I once put in Photobucket. When time progresses, I move or delete them. And this was quite an old thread, I forgot about this thread, and the pictures I linked to in this thread, so, meh. :p

[Zeromus_X]

Do you want me to close the thread, Avathar?

[Avathar]

Yes, that would be good. ^^;