Judy Baca and Lorri Nandrea uses the medium of writing to reframe graffiti. In their essays, we were able to envision graffiti as something other than vandalism - we saw art, a metaphoric expression of socio-political injustice, and an underground restructuring of property and boundaries.
In my reading of "Our People Are the Internal Exiles" and "Graffiti Taught Me Everything I Know About Space," I was drawn to the shared theme of "borders." Baca's affection towards murals due to the communal element of ownership (artwork that is not purchased by an individual and assigned as personal property), and Nandrea's dismay at the visible and invisible barbed wire surrounding the urban neighborhood and its inhabitants were two feminine voices acknowledging the contrived politics of society. We live in a world of differences, and the borders drawn because of these differences are the gaping valleys between cultures, classes, and races. As society continues to maintain the "frontier" 's mystique and distance from entrenching onto the so-called "civilized" and safe world, it is the dialogue that emerges from individuals like Baca and Nandrea that gives a much needed voice to the counter-narratives of the silenced.
I would like to hear what everyone's approach was in reading and analyzing the two women's narratives - mine was to read Baca's essay under the lens of the artist's identity and Nandrea's under the lens of the artwork's identity.
In Baca's case, her multifaceted character and experiences were mirrored in her career as an artist that fought, recruited, and breathed life into the culture of muralism channeled through the gritty genre of "graffiti." Her identity as a Chicana of the 50's, set apart from Americans and even fellow Mexicans because of her background and upbringing formed a personal battle to bridge the gaps between her different worlds. Paying no heed to the invisible, yet powerful gates, she forged a connection between art/graffiti, Americanism/culture... even between gang leaders and the community! Her refusal to yield to the societal expectations (from every aspect of her life) is alive in her art that yields more power and authority displayed in an ordinary street than in a halls of a well-respected gallery.
Nandrea, on the other hand, observes a work of graffiti with the analytical eye of someone keenly aware of the potency in art. Her description of the organic, raw quality of the weathered children's mural, and her perception in marking it as an evolving piece (something alive) rather than a loss makes one rethink the deceptively simple and commonplace works of graffiti found in any city. Unexpected aestheticism occurs through Nandrea's eyes as a feminist narrative, transforming the wall of a city cemetery into a poignant work that cries out an urban neighborhoods tragedy without a single spoken word. The space of a chipping elementary school project being invaded by the tags of a local urban gang reiterates the forcible reassignment of territory and placement, upheld by those on both sides of the fence.
Boundaries are often unpleasant things - they restrict, forbid, and deter. Then we have lessons from history books and fiction novels that tell us that venturing into new frontiers and crossing borders is for heroes. After all, not everyone can boldly go where no man has gone before... but should that really be the case? After reading the words of Baca and Nandrea, I feel as though all of us should make an attempt to bridge a gap in our own realities, brandishing weapons - be it a spray can or a pen - and make a heroic attempt to create a narrative of our own.
Blog Post Written By: Clara Cho
Picture Credits: Courtesy of Flickr - "Barbed-Wire Fence" and "11 Spring"
8 comments:
I agree with Clara that Baca's work with murals helped to "bridge the gaps between her different worlds." However, it can be read that in Nandrea's writing, graffiti was often used to further separate the different gangs and the world they built up for themselves in the urban landscapes. While these worlds appear to be more and more separate, they are still united in the values that they share. Nandrea's article "Graffiti Taught Me Everything I Know About Space," is especially interesting in the discussion of counter-narratives as the values and ideas reflected in the gang images on the wall represent some of the same values which America was founded on. The values such as seizing property which belongs to others without any regard for the well being of other human beings kept silent or often misconstrued are left out of the history books. These unwritten or unacknowledged values seem to be more easily shown by the use of graffiti, paint brush, or a pen.
The profoundness of the graffiti and the mural, The Great Wall, is matched by the seemingly deliberate placement on a wall facing a cemetery and surrounding a prison, respectively. These spaces are often ignored, decaying, and isolated. What effect would these large works have if placed in a "mainstream" location? Would the counter-narrative still be read the same?
Jen, thanks for your response!
I liked your take on how Nandrea might actually be creating a dichotomous world in the urban community. It made me think about the stark difference between the children's graffiti and the gang's "tagging" activities. To be honest, I was a little skeptical of Nandrea's article when it got into the area of hyper-analyzing the "life" of graffiti (beautiful and well thought out interpretations, but not entirely accessible, no?) but one real solid discussion was about the seizing and reassigning of property. I'm definitely with you there. I'm also glad that you share my sentiments of the poignancy on the placement of murals and "graffiti art" in very deliberately barren and/or unusual locations. To answer your question, I think the effect of the graffiti being elsewhere (or a "designated" space for art, etc.) it would allow a great amount of leakage for the intended message (if there is one at all!) and the counter narrative would be a considerably weaker one.
I visited the city of Philadelphia for a few days during the summer and saw wonderful works of art painted on various buildings and bridges. I eventually learned that they are part of a Mural Arts Program within the city. The program itself is more than 20 years old and contains hundreds of beautiful works of art all over the city. Through research, I learned that art led to unity between the various cultures of the area. I'm surprised because everything seems to have come full circle for me because of these two readings. I completely agree with Judy Baca's goal of peace and friendship through art and through the Los Angeles art program. On the same note, I found Nandrea's take on graffiti fairly depressing yet true. The graffiti is somewhat of a barrier or border between different societies. For example, during my stay in Philadelphia, I didn't really see any mural arts within the beautiful midtown skyscraper area. However, I think the goal of the graffiti is not to be seen by everyone, but rather to evoke feelings and thoughts from those who see it. The fact that Nandrea thought so deeply about what she saw in Chicago shows that, while probably not intended, the graffiti made a statement.
To answer Jen's question, I'm not sure if putting these works of art in certain public places or places with more exposure is a good thing. I sort of see these artists as rebellious underdogs who promote social harmony. Working with establishment doesn't seem like the right thing in my eyes because that's essentially who these artists are fighting. The fact that these murals tend to be in barren, empty places is extremely symbolic to me. I'm just not sure if putting these works somewhere like a museum would be right.
Clara brings up a lot of good points about the articles. I also found it interesting about how graffiti is made available to everyone and not just a rich art collector to cherish something purchased in a gallery painted by a college educated artist, all alone. But it is something that belongs to everyone and no one particular class or person has the agency over it. (Unless it's on a building without the owner's permission, than legally they have the power to erase it and usually do immediately.)
It really is heroic to attempt to bring two opposing things together. Hopefully one day we can be a society of heroes with no casualties.
I found the irony of the mural on the cemetary wall with barbed wire beautiful. They painted on the outside where there's no barbed wire, but they still have their own invisible barbed wire, like the traped dead. The students and "thugs" mark what they find important saying something that means something to them. They're trying to make the space they're trapped in their own because it's all they have and might be all they ever have. Their own markings, prove to themselves that something is theirs, paying no mind to law. This is an issue that is above written codes.
To address the previous comment made by Jen, I think that if such works would be placed on a mainstream location, it would be taken care of (painted over) immediately and they would blame the community for the state it is in. However, it is probably that company, an example of the larger capitalistic nation, that oppresses many in the neighborhood. The community may suffer because the company has the agency to cause inconvenience (at the very least) to the employees and/or complain to local law enformcement who may subsequently may crack down on and most likely target minority youths.
eric:
You were so lucky to experience a viewing of graffiti art in such a grand scale! It sounds wonderful.
Your comment about how graffiti is not necessarily there to be viewed by "everyone" but moreso that they are there for those who notice it, and to evoke feelings in those who do really struck a chord with me. Although it did not come to mind while I was reading the articles, you have an extremely valid point that the audience is not exactly a captive one. For instance, when one goes to a museum or a gallery, there is a sense of "show" and "purpose" in the act (not counting those who were forced into the trip, of course :) Whereas graffiti is there only for those who will take notice of it. Some people go through a city street staring only at the buildings, some only at the people, and some only at the concrete - one's awareness of one's surroundings are always varied.
On that note, I think those of us in this class will certainly be of the group that really "notices" graffiti the next time we encounter it. What an interesting way to regard "awareness!"
kiowa, thank you for commenting! your imagery of the lofty and consumerist-based art industry/culture is exactly what came to mind as the dominant narrative in all discussions of art and ownership. graffiti truly takes things in a whole new direction, yanking the concept of property and audience out of the contrived patterns that we often fall into. the lack of need for credentials (and sometimes even permission...) for the authorship of a graffiti peace really gives it that rebellious edge that makes a statement all on its own.
after reading your comment, I started to liken it to the hip-hop culture's own stance against "the man" and established culture that stifles any variety. i read in an article about how the practice of wearing extremely baggy pants (we're all familiar with this image of hip hop, i'm sure) comes from the desire to rebel against snooty elitism of "proper attire" and all that it represents. some may see it as dressing sloppily, or "like a hoodlum," but to others, it is a powerful sociopolitical statement!
Personally, I had a greater connection with Judy
Baca's story. I really like how she writes in the
first paragraph, "When you deny a people's culture you can make them disappear, you can control them." She talks about how she was forbidden to speak Spanish and that her mother taught her to speak English without an accent so she would not be treated differently.
Later in the essay, she writes about creating murals. That "by taking a small object and transforming it into a giant image, you teach people to look at it in a different way." She eventually was a part of 250 murals and hired over 1,000 people. This is a great example of writing that helps readers feel that their writing, their art, and anything that they do can lead to a movement of change in a community and really everywhere. Many of the artists hired did not agree with each other on various things, but in the end, I think it helped strengthen them.
Posted by: Natalia Minkin
natalia, i also connected really well with the baca reading as well. my own family wanted me to fit in without any problems, so they concentrated a lot of effort into making sure that i would be "american" enough to not be teased at school (for example, not packing me korean meals for lunch, making sure that they spoke english when they came to pick me up at school) and later on in life, i always felt an odd sense of disconnect to my own culture because i had been trained to be ashamed of it - having been told (without precise wording) that in order to fit in, I had to "hide" my home culture. i think if i hadn't grown up to embrace my roots, i wouldn't have been able to become as strong a person as i am today :)
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