Culture Shock

Truly one of the great things about the arts section under the helm of the Bear is the expansion of its boundaries for allowing an appreciation of creativity's many forms. All artistically sound in the way that the less trod path is often most enriching for the journey. Everybody makes something that can be considered art. You need not be told what's good. It's in the beholder's eye.

Nice point made.

Nice observation via the metaphor of what others consider a nuisance for this piece. Seems others miss out on life's color while too busy discerning its hues.

Graffiti artists only care about themselves. Why don't you try buying a canvas and stop ruining property that isn't yours. Someone should come and spray paint all over your belongings.

Tenpin, whom I assume considers him or herself a champion for the arts seems to be a bit closed-minded when it comes to acceptable mediums of expression. Makes me wonder whether this person would say artists utilizing other alternative or mixed media also "only care about themselves," or tell a sculptor or performance artist that their creations aren't valid simply because they were produced on a canvas. Tattoo artists use skin as a canvas. Some artists work with leather, and some even use nothing more than candy and the human body to create beautiful photographs. (Oh, wait, that's not done on a canvas, so it must not be acceptable)

What's probably most interesting is that every SINGLE piece of art is created by a self-centered person. He or she has something to share and wants to show their skills in expressing it.

If anything, pin's comment simply adds legitimacy to the question in Mr. Bear's article about whether graffiti constitutes "art." One simply has to look at the maelstrom of colors and balance of crisp and blurred lines to realize, though it may not be the viewer's favorite style, it IS beautiful.

I think it's interesting that some of the very first examples of human expression were nothing more than pigments smeared on cave walls (which I'm pretty sure didn't BELONG to anyone save for mother earth, and weren't bought a effing Hobby Lobby). Would Tin be willing to say the carvings at Mt. Rushmore constitute vandalism as well?

"God, why didn't the sculptors just buy a gigantic canvas instead of carving all over mother nature's property?" Funny how the rules bend.

A mon avis, spray painting other people's belongings creates simply beautiful works that EVERYONE can enjoy by simply walking to work, school or with a date. Good luck buying a canvas large enough to warrant the attention of everyone down the block. Don't get me wrong, I know there's the occasional "F-you" crudely scrawled across train cars and buildings, but for the most part, graffiti artists (yes I said artists)create some beautiful displays.

Perhaps a look at the paint itself rather than the surface on which it's applied might not make graffiti so annoying to some.