Graffiti art. From New York’s train yards and L.A.’s freeway underpasses, to the Berlin Wall and Jamaican shanty towns. Cryptic, obscure, illegal, defiant, provocative, political and competitive. This new folk art has surfaced, from an impoverished underground, to show itself on the walls of major art galleries and museums the world over.
To most, the words “graffiti” and “art” seem to contradict each other. Graffiti is part of the quartet that makes up the “hip-hop” culture (emceeing, DJing, breakdancing and graffiti art) and even I, a person deeply submerged in this culture, found myself having certain preconceptions about this artistic subcommunity.
I sincerely wondered what the true voice of graffiti was. I’ve seen the 5-second tags, heavily distributed throughout the walls and buses of my city. And I’ve also seen the large, elaborate wall murals that, although most of them illicit, add a certain beauty to our sometimes dull steel and concrete surroundings.
A population of our youth has decided to say something to our eyes. Graffiti brings with it a unique cultural phenomenon that, like all cultures, has its virtuous and immoral sides. This article was not designed to persuade anyone to necessarily embrace the graffiti culture — given its larger unlawful side and frequent negative messages — but more to show that there is a positive area to this art form.
So who do I ask? I contacted two friends of mine. Both are completely “legit” — 100% certified graf artists — Franco (Venge) and Ernie (Ditch). They’ve tagged the buses, they’ve “pieced” the large murals, and they’ve ran from the authorities alongside of San Diego’s more famous (or infamous) tagging crews. But nowadays, their biggest claim to fame is the changed heart that they received from God’s Son, Jesus Christ.
Following are their comments to questions about their “calling”:
WHAT IS GRAFFITI?
Ernie: “Graffiti is an outlet for self expression. For kids to go out and let ’em know how it is, how they feel inside.”
Franco: “Graffiti is a broad term. It’s a picture on anything — from a scribbled name to real perfected outlines and fancy painted letters. It could be characters or just a design. Anything from markers to paintbrushes and cans. I think graffiti is somethin’ done out of a creative mind. It’s not vandalism, it’s art.”
WELL, EVEN IF IT IS ARTISTIC, MOST OF IT IS VANDALISM. BUT WHAT YOU’RE SAYING IS THAT THERE IS A CREATIVE SIDE?
Franco: “Yeah, not just tagging a name real quick…in my opinion, graffiti is thought.”
Ernie: “It’s putting in time and work…and your skill. It’s art.”
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HOW YOU VIEWED YOUR ART BEFORE HAVING A RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST AND NOW?
Franco: “The motives are different. Before, I used to paint with dark purposes — with self purposes. Now, my art…I do it with full gratitude of what Christ did for me. My art has to point to God.”
Ernie: “Before, it used to be negative, and of the world…and of my own. Now it’s changed. It’s not just my own, it’s for all people…and to get the message out.”
WHAT’S THE MESSAGE?
Ernie: “The ‘word’ of God and ideas that have to do with God…you know…messages that relate to the Bible.”
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE WAY TO PAINT?
Franco: “In my old nature, I liked markers for writing on the back of bus seats. But now I use the “Word.” I paint with God’s Word. I paint and put in front of people’s eyes a good picture of what God did…but I still do like big ol’ fat markers.”
NOW WHAT WOULD BE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GRAFFITI ART AND THE MORE WIDELY ACCEPTED ART FORMS?
Franco: “It’s just the same thing with different titles…different labels. It’s a state of opinion…of where the person’s comin’ from.”
BUT WHY WOULD SOMEONE CLASSIFY SOMETHING AS GRAFFITI AND SOMETHING ELSE AS CONTEMPORARY ART.
Franco: “Vandalism!”
THAT’S A GOOD ANSWER. WHAT IF ALL YOUR ART WAS IN A GALLERY ON CANVAS (LEGAL), BUT IT WAS STILL “WILDSTYLE” LETTERS AND CHARACTERS. WHY WOULD SOMEONE LOOK AT IT AND SAY IT’S GRAFFITI?
Ernie: “I think it’s hard for people to see it as art because a lot of property has been destroyed. If a contemporary artist illegally “pieced” his work all over some one’s wall, it would be wrong. Both ways it’s wrong…both styles are still art, but it’s how you apply that art. A lot of people don’t see the good things about graf art.”
THEN WHAT ARE THE POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE SIDES TO GRAFFITI ART?
Ernie: “A lot of taggers and gangs are just into the vandalism. An 80-year-old lady with spraypaint can vandalize. A true graf writer puts up something worth while. Graffiti is for self expression not vandalism.
Franco: “The bad side is that kids are writing…just vandalizing and destroying peoples walls and fences. That brings graffiti down. Anyone can vandalize. It has to be creative and thoughtful, and we have to keep it legal so that everyone can see the art and not the negative.
WHAT’S THE VOICE OF YOUR ART?
Franco: “…um…to show believers their position in Christ…and remind the world that God wants to bless us. I want my art to teach God’s word and edify the people of God.”
BUT A GRAF ARTIST MIGHT SAY, “I EXPRESSED MYSELF ON THAT WALL. I PUT MY HEART INTO THAT PICTURE.” — BUT IF IT WAS ILLEGAL THEN IT BECOMES VANDALISM AND SELF EXPRESSION AT THE SAME TIME.
Ernie: “Well to be illegal is wrong. I think that the kids that are honestly talented and doing it illegal…if they were given a chance to show their skill…and for someone to invest some time and money into their art. I think it would make a drastic difference in how they choose to use their art. I mean…no one invests time in them so they pick an illegal outlet, get arrested and thrown in jail where they learn more tricks of the trade or other bad habits.
“A lot of these kids don’t just paint wild letters and crazy characters. They can do portraits or beautiful scenery. If kids were given a chance and paid for their effort, they would learn how to use their skills in a good way.”
WHAT DOES A CAN OF SPRAY PAINT MEAN TO GRAFFITI ARTIST?
Ernie: “It’s a medium…a tool. Just like a performer uses a microphone as a tool. This is our tool.”
WHAT DOES THAT CAN MEAN TO YOU?
Ernie: “To me, this is my voice.”
Some of us see graffiti as a destructive force of vandalism. Others see it as a medium to produce social change through creative thought. It could be both at the same time.
In this era, where too many of our younger generations are turning away from God to express themselves through unsanctified sex, crime, and a thousand other deceptions from Satan, I don’t think the solution to our graffiti problem is to eradicate it all together.
The true solution is (like Ernie said above) investment. To invest in our kids, showing them how they can express themselves and still keep their work legal (and hopefully, Godly too). In this way, I think all of us would find it easier to accept this form of art.
We don’t have to love the colorful designs, or the fantastically original characters created by these spray cans. But I think it only right that we love our children. Eph.6:4.
Franco and Ernie’s work will be featured at a huge youth event, the EXODUS TOUR, being held at the Qualcomm Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 25. For more information, call (619) 476-3660. If you would like to learn more about the writer’s “Shadow of the Locust” ministry, visit his web site at: locustfist.com. (Ernie/Franco can also be contacted at the E-mail address: [email protected])
Jeremy, aka “Dirt,” as an emcee with the “Shadow of the Locust” ministries. The popular rapper will make a special appearance with P.O.D. at the Exodus Tour. “Dirt” lives in San Diego with his wife and two daughters.
