You see it when you walk to a train station or drive underneath a freeway overpass. Massive multicolored stretches of intricate figures and designs. What is it? What does it say? What does it mean? Who put it there? How did they do it? Why did they do it?

 

It has been called graffiti. It has been called mural art. It has been called vandalism. It has been called a crime, and people have been arrested for it. It all depends on where it is, who made it, and who is looking at it. Nowadays, many cultural critics and art proponents call it Aerosol Art. But, whatever people call it, they have to admit how amazing it is.

 

Back in the day, "graffiti" was an act of vandalism and protest. Artists would sneak into the subway yards in New York City and write their names in huge letters on the outside of trains. They were throwing up a flag, trying to remind the world that seemed swept up in the materialism of the disco era and the 1980s that they were there, and they mattered. Over the years, the style and names have changed. Some graffiti is done illegally on public property and some of it is done legally in designated areas (like this picture of 17-year-old Detroit artist Rudy Alcala).

 

 

Now, some businesses and popular culture merchants have co-opted the graffiti style to sell products.

 

All in all, Aerosol Art has become a case study in how the counterculture is absorbed by the culture. In some cases, the art form is no longer a rebellion, but a sales tactic. However, that doesn't mean that the artistic spirit is dead. On the contrary, creative public art can be a part of every day life and still rebel against materialism.

 

If you ever have the opportunity to choose your own research project, consider investigating Aerosol Art: that mysterious writing on the wall. Everyone sees it, but not everyone knows what it is. People dismiss it as the work of gangs, but if you stop to realize how huge an undertaking these murals are, you'll quickly see that they are the work of artists. (In some cases, misguided, misanthropic artists, but artists.)

 

Now when you see those giant spray-paint murals, be inspired by the human ability to create art in adverse conditions. But please ... don't spray paint anything because you read this blog.

 

For an interesting starter interview about Aerosol Art, go here.

 

To see some examples of urban youth practicing Aerosol Art, go here.

 

Short Story by Adam Holland, Grade 8

 

          A lone woman, mounted on horseback and carrying a heavy spear, rode over the hill. She looked out over the battlefield. She could see the opposing army at the other end of the field. The field was beautiful. Flowers were blooming on it, the grass was green, and butterflies fluttered about. The woman, the Queen of Jeremiah, raised an eyebrow. In moments this field would be trampled and covered with the dead. She almost felt remorse. Almost.
          She tapped the spear butt against the ground three times, and her army approached behind her. The infantry was in the first line. Behind them, the cavalry, two monks brought for good luck and healing, and a pair of massive siege towers. 
     

          "Attack!" roared the Queen. The lead member of the cavalry bounded over the first line of infantry and charged forward. As he moved, the other army sent forth infantry. The Queen rode into battle, cleaving the infantryman to the ground. The battle was on. 

          The King of Mathew watched the massive battle from the wall. Things did not look well. His strategy seemed somehow flawed; the opposing army was tearing through with ease. The siege towers were getting dangerously close to the wall. He quickly moved into the tower on the wall, spreading a map of the field before him. He had marks where his armies were positioned. Things seemed to be going as planned, and yet...
          Then he found it. The flaw. The area he had left uncovered, where his enemies could break through. He ran back out to the wall, hoping he could find some way to relay the information to his army. But it was too late. Even as he reached the wall, one of the siege towers reached them, a bridge crashing down on the wall. Several foot soldiers stood in the tower. "It is over," one of them called. "Surrender!"
          The King ran back toward his tower, only to see a pair of swordsmen emerge. He turned to the stairs down from the wall, but a knight and the Queen of Jeremiah blocked the staircase. He was trapped.

          "Checkmate," said Jeremiah, leaning back in his chair with a smile. Mathew frowned.
          "Shoot. The rook again," he muttered, seeing his mistake clearly now.
          "Don't be a bad sport, Mathew," said Jeremiah playfully to his friend.
          "I'll get you one of these days," returned Mathew, still trying to be angry, and failing.
          "Actions speak louder," said Jeremiah, folding the pieces into the box and folding the checkered board.
          "You watch," protested Mathew. "You can't keep using that bloody rook forever."
          Shaking his head, Jeremiah slid the board into the Chess set and rose to his feet.

I'm taking an "Introduction to Guitar" class this semester at USC. I've always wanted to play the guitar, and I thought I would take advantage of being in college with an extra 2 units to spare and *go for it*! Well, don't let the name fool you -- "Intro to Guitar" ended up being my most difficult class this semster.  Everything is new: I'd never read music before, never held a guitar in my arms, never tapped out a rhythm with my foot on the floor as I tried to decide where the chords changed in a song. It was like learning a new language -- everything was so completely and utterly foreign.  And do you know what?  As difficult as the class is, I LOVE it!  It is probably my most favorite class this semester, too.  I am proud to report that my guitar playing is improving by the day (how could it not?) and I even got a blister on one of my fingers from practicing -- it made me feel like a true musician! :)

Now, if you'll exuse me, I'm going to go practice guitar.  "Mary Had a Little Lamb" has never before seemed such a wonderful song as when I played it for the first time on my guitar!  Now I'm on to "Amazing Grace."  Woo-hoo!