Stencil Graffit

Views on Graffiti

Graffiti (art) is one of my most favourite types of arts to look at as it is a very good way to see how someone has expressed their thoughts, and it can give buildings better looks. I'm sure if someone wants to do a portrait of some sort , they should get the 'okay' from the building owner first. But when it comes to kids going around spraying their 12-man local gang names or signs or whatever, it is just pathetic looking.

One of the most controversial graffiti artist that captures my attention all the time is Banksy. I feel that his work speaks truth on political topics and with added humour. He plays with common conceptions of stereotypical view that people have, this is what makes his work unforgettable . His inside and outside work are both at mind-blowing, some pictures below shoe some of his inside and outside work!

Graffiti can look nice on buildings, but if they are doing it on someone's private property (housing) without their permission then I say it is wrong!

It's subjective, because anything can be considered art nowadays, so you can't really argue that some graffiti it is not art, however you can argue that the quality of graffiti as an art.

DPM Graffiti Crew

There is a growing campaign in support of the five members of the DPM graffiti crew jailed at Southwark Crown Court last month.

Five men from South London have been jailed for up to two years for painting on trains and stations.- Andrew Gillman, 25, from St John's Hill, Battersea: 2 years custodial sentence.- Ziggy Grudzinskas, 25, from Ulundi Road, Blackheath: 18 months custodial sentence.- Slav Zinoviev, 25, from St John's Hill, Battersea: 18 months custodial sentence.- Paul Andrew Stewart, 26, from Manor Lane, Lewisham: 18 months custodial sentence.- Matthew Pease, 24, from Manor Lane, Lewisham: 15 months custodial sentence.

Three others received suspended sentences. The organisers of the Support DPM petition argue that:"-Graffiti is a non-violent crime and these men represent no threat to society.-Graffiti is a mainstream art form and the messages given in our media and general culture are confusing, these young men sought fame in a way that Banksy is celebrated for, they were incarcerated!-These young men have otherwise clean records.-The judge accepted that none of the defendants are at any risk of re-offending.-Of all of the controversial activities that young men engage in today in modern society, graffiti is at least constructive and creative.-Graffiti is a wonderful thing and as a society we have to develop ways to bring it into the mainstream rather than ostracising it’s perpetrators.-Even Judge Christopher Hardy himself said:"It would be wrong of me not to acknowledge that some examples of your handiwork show considerable artistic talent, part of what is now known as the graffiti subculture and on the way to being recognised as a valid form of art.- MOST IMPORTANTLY-These young men have a lot to offer to society. This is not achieved by incarceration. A community order for those who were imprisoned would have enabled them to give back to society and would have been far more appropriate".

G DAVIS IS INNOCENT!

In 1974 a 33 year old man named George Davis was convicted of robbing the payroll of the London Electricity Board in Ilford. He was nailed on the evidence of cops who were outside the bank at the time of the robbery and was sent to prison for 20 years.However, his friend Peter Chappell was convinced Davis was innocent and inspired by discrepancies in the police statements and the fact that none of the bloodstains at the scene matched with the defendant, started calling for Davis' release. Chappall enrolled some friends and embarked on one of the largest sustained grafitti campaigns Britain has ever seen. Over the following months 'G DAVIS IS INNOCENT' appeared on walls, bridges and tunnels from one side of London to the other, some of which are still visible today.The vandalism culminated in Chappell and four others breaking into Headingley cricket ground in August 1975 the night before a test match between England and Australia. Using plastic cutlery from a service station they dug holes in the pitch, filled them with oil and painted 'Sorry it had to be done, but George Davis is innocent' in large white letters on the wall as they left. The match was postponed and Chappell got 18 months for criminal damage.The campaign brought the case to the attention of the Home Secretary who after a police inquiry released Davis two years into his sentence using the highly exceptional and controversial Royal Prerogative of Mercy.The fight to free George Davis was one of the most spetacular campaigns ever fought against injustice, an achievement only slightly marred when a year after his release Davis was found guilty of robbing the Bank of Cyprus for which he served six years, and three years after which he was caught red-handed robbing a mail train.

Banksy

Banksy clean streets
Keeping the streets of Hoxton Square clean and tidy.
Those red bricks have been painted on the white wall of the White Cube gallery.

Banksy Liverpool house rat.

Banksy Thug For Life
Thug for life piece found off the Clerkenwell Road.

Banksy copper reflection
Found round the back of Waterloo station.

Banksy Guantanamo Bay prisoner

Banksy kissing coppers
This tender embrace on a flesh coloured wall in Ladbroke Grove lasted all of three days before it got too much for someone and was promptly buffed

Banksy Another Crap Advert
The original version of this poster didn't last too long so Banksy went back and knocked up the size of the font a bit so nobody could miss it.

Banksy Covent Garden
This was just outside Covent garden tube station (turn right as you exit and it's on a junction box on the other side of the road).

Banksy Covent Garden
This was just outside Covent garden tube station (turn right as you exit and it's on a junction box on the other side of the road).

Banksy Thug for life bunny rabbit.

Banksy Designated Picnic Area
Tempting sign in Shoreditch. Bring your own rug and wicker basket.

Banksy Bridge over Old Street.
The rats have even revisited the favourite Banksy haunt of the bridge in Old Street.

Banksy "Pest Modernism" rat stencil near Tate Modern, South Bank, London
This rat was maybe making a comment on the art world.

Banksy "No surrender" rat stencil, South Bank, London
The message of the reappearing rats was quite clear.

Banksy Old Street London - TV Window

Banksy Bermondsey Street London
Down and out in Bemondsey Street.

Banksy "Thug For Life"
Opposite the steps on Brixton Academy.

Banksy in Brighton
Well faded, I found this on a knackered old wall near New England Street.

Banksy Brighton Sea Front
Ghetto fabulous rat down on the Basket Ball court on Brighton sea front.

Banksy South Bank, London
South Bank London.Can't be sure this is a Banksy but then everyone can suffer from a bit of overspray on a difficult surface.

Banksy stencil - Very Little Helps
Stencil of the Very Little Helps image from Banksy sprayed on the side of a chemist in Essex Road, East London.

Some Local Stencil Graffiti

War By Numbers, Shepard Fairey. War by numbers piece near Stolenspace, the venue for the Nineteeneightyfouria show. .

Shepard Fairey street work, London. This is the fifth time Shepard has been hitting London's streets and the amount of work he's done suggests it is his most prolific visit to date.

Obey / Shepard Fairey paste up, Old Street roundabout. Obey paste up, Old Street roundabout.

Obey Stencil , Ladbroke Grove Another theme to be seen throughout London.

Eelus stencil graffiti, Old Street area. I read on Wooster recently that this was by Eelus who is also responsible for one of my favourite pieces of street art in the pas couple of years (a girl with a At At on a leash). I'd post a picture up but when I finally tracked it down it had been sprayed over except for a tiny corner.

Nikita, graffiti , Brick Lane, London E1If you want to make a name for yourself as a graffiti artist, the South Bank and parts of the East End are the place to do it. Close to cutting edge artists and galleries, you are sure to get noticed if that's what you want.

New Media New Arse, Brick Lane.Just round the corner from the White Cube in Hoxton is this piece of graffiti declaring contempt for the invasion of new media types.

D*face, Old Street phone box.I found this stencil on the base of a phone box. It must have had the cleanest lines I have ever seen on a stencil and was placed in a very unassuming position.

History Of Graffiti

Graffiti has been around for millions of years. Romans wrote on the walls of buildings they conquered and cave men drew illustrations on cave walls, although graffiti has not been in the United States quite that long. Graffiti first became big in New York and spread through other states. It started as tagging or writing your name on a street sign. Then gangs used graffiti as a way to mark territory. Not long after, graffiti became a form of art. It inspired young artists to come out and use this new art as a form of self expression. Whatever mood they were feeling they were able to make somthing beautiful. Lee Quinones, one of many graffiti artists, changed the grimy place near Brooklyn bridge into an incredible gallery of art.

Graffiti started moving from streets to subways and quickly became competitive. Graffiti artists had to compete for space and it inevitably offended property owners. This, and the misunderstanding that all graffiti represented gang activity, led to community pressure on polititions. But still graffiti artists strive to improve their art which is constantly changing.