When did mankind first record his feelings? I’d say the artifacts from pre-historic humans tells that story. When mankind first began to think and feel and communicate. Whatever was happening at the time and what was important to them was carved on the cave wall—most likely symbolic of their beliefs. The artist who carved this illustration had something to say. Was the artist a man or a woman? Was the depiction of the animal in repose or was it dead? How was it interpreted by the artist’s fellow cave dwellers? Was there a controversy as to its meaning? Did they debate the illustration or just stand there and appreciate it for what it was? Did someone there have a distaste of it enough to want it removed. Was that individual the head of the family who held power over the others? We cannot know exactly what went on. We can only assume. How they expressed their appreciation or distaste will never be truly known. I leave that up to the archeologists and the anthropologists to make out.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saharan_rock_art
But I haven’t gone all the way back to pre-historic times out of some archeological curiosity. I haven’t the brains. I’ve gone in search of a point to make. I’ve traveled back in time to seek out the very first graffiti artists and to dwell for a time in a cave—in my mind.
Instead of cave walls we now have the outside walls of buildings as a venue of expression—either that or a canvas situated on an easel that will, if good enough, be displayed in an upscale art gallery with the hope of it being purchased by a wealthy client. Raise your hand if you’ve ever been inside an art gallery. How many of us really venture into an art gallery? Some of us maybe. I for one have walked along many a city street and past an art gallery. I have looked in the window to perhaps appreciate a canvas on display, but I have never gone inside.
Graffiti, which has evolved most gloriously from its feral state of sprayed letters to stunning imagery and expressionism, is known better these days as Street Art. It’s outside for all the world to see.
sarasotaday.com/files/fast-life-mural-mto.jpeg
In a documentary released on line in 2013 by famous French street artist, MTO (Mateo), you will be catapulted into the world of street art with all its vision, beauty, opinions and controversy. It is called FL-Unpremeditated Movie and it takes place in Sarasota, Florida, where a whole bunch of bureaucratic nonsense emerges in response to one of MTO’s murals, Fast Life. Some residents interpreted the image as symbolizing gang activity. What I saw in the film was a community at odds with itself; there were many who wanted to suppress what they did not understand, interpreting the mural as malignant and dangerous. Their intentions were by no means malicious. Their concern was for the community and especially how young children might misinterpret the mural. The ayes had it and there soon followed a meeting of the City commissioners and a vote to paint over MTO’s mural. I recommend watching the documentary to see for yourself how it unfolds.
There are a lot of murals to see in this film. The one that struck me the most was of the boxer taking a punch.
jessismith.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/011.jpg
To me it symbolized the conflict within each of us that is not always visible to the naked eye; a subliminal boxing ring and an ongoing battle of forces confronting one another, and each of us is the protagonist in our own story. It is a stunning image.
What an individual has to say through his or her art or sculpture or writings is essential to the development of culture within each society. It is how we evolve as human beings. Individual expressionism is as important to present day humans as it was to pre-historic man, and what I see in MTO’s murals is his passion and the beauty of the art itself.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saharan_rock_art
But I haven’t gone all the way back to pre-historic times out of some archeological curiosity. I haven’t the brains. I’ve gone in search of a point to make. I’ve traveled back in time to seek out the very first graffiti artists and to dwell for a time in a cave—in my mind.
Instead of cave walls we now have the outside walls of buildings as a venue of expression—either that or a canvas situated on an easel that will, if good enough, be displayed in an upscale art gallery with the hope of it being purchased by a wealthy client. Raise your hand if you’ve ever been inside an art gallery. How many of us really venture into an art gallery? Some of us maybe. I for one have walked along many a city street and past an art gallery. I have looked in the window to perhaps appreciate a canvas on display, but I have never gone inside.
Graffiti, which has evolved most gloriously from its feral state of sprayed letters to stunning imagery and expressionism, is known better these days as Street Art. It’s outside for all the world to see.
sarasotaday.com/files/fast-life-mural-mto.jpeg
In a documentary released on line in 2013 by famous French street artist, MTO (Mateo), you will be catapulted into the world of street art with all its vision, beauty, opinions and controversy. It is called FL-Unpremeditated Movie and it takes place in Sarasota, Florida, where a whole bunch of bureaucratic nonsense emerges in response to one of MTO’s murals, Fast Life. Some residents interpreted the image as symbolizing gang activity. What I saw in the film was a community at odds with itself; there were many who wanted to suppress what they did not understand, interpreting the mural as malignant and dangerous. Their intentions were by no means malicious. Their concern was for the community and especially how young children might misinterpret the mural. The ayes had it and there soon followed a meeting of the City commissioners and a vote to paint over MTO’s mural. I recommend watching the documentary to see for yourself how it unfolds.
There are a lot of murals to see in this film. The one that struck me the most was of the boxer taking a punch.
jessismith.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/011.jpg
To me it symbolized the conflict within each of us that is not always visible to the naked eye; a subliminal boxing ring and an ongoing battle of forces confronting one another, and each of us is the protagonist in our own story. It is a stunning image.
What an individual has to say through his or her art or sculpture or writings is essential to the development of culture within each society. It is how we evolve as human beings. Individual expressionism is as important to present day humans as it was to pre-historic man, and what I see in MTO’s murals is his passion and the beauty of the art itself.
