I love graffiti

By Mario Barros (Lenguaviva)

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries of The Somerville News belong solely to the authors of those commentaries and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville News, its staff or publishers.)

The positive feedback I got on a recent body modification article that I published in this paper has encouraged me to do two things: I'm getting my first tattoo (very soon, I promise), and I'm devoting a few lines to another type of drawing that I find equally inspiring: graffiti.

I have been a graffiti lover since I was a kid. I used to scribble all kinds of things on the walls of my Cuban high school and felt a huge adrenaline rush whenever I did it. Man, was it exciting! I never stopped doing it, even when my girlfriend urged me to knock it off one day. “What do you have to do that for, you idiot? It's horrible!” she told me. Needless to say, I broke up with her right there. No unappreciative young lady was going to derail my artistic dreams at such an early stage.

The only problem with developing my wall-tagging skills in Cuba was the lack of paint. There is always a shortage of anything and everything on the island and paint is no exception, so I was forced to draw my hieroglyphics in pencil or chalk, like everyone else. The scarcity of paint, however, did not prevent the proliferation of an interesting breed of signs that always called for the fall of one and only one person. Those DOWN WITH FIDEL tags became so ubiquitous that they soon lost their suggestive power. Something similar is happening with SUV commercials lately. They are losing their mojo, for obvious reasons.

In case you didn't know, the history of graffiti dates back to the ancient Greeks and Romans. But my friend Ken, who knows a lot about the topic, swears that the first wall artists were cavemen who enjoyed painting beasts on their dwellings for the fun of it. Lack of television can lead people to do weird things, believe me. From there, tagging evolved slowly until it experienced a revolutionary change with the invention of spray paint. Then some critic claimed that graffiti could be considered an art form… and millions of people became artists overnight. And I really mean overnight, because the hours of darkness are the best ally for the artists to express their ideas on places that are not necessarily theirs. Most exterior walls, train coaches, bus stops and trashcans can attest to that.

New York, of course, became the graffiti capital of the world, but the Big Apple does not have the exclusive rights to the fashion. Tagging flourished in other countries as well, the defunct Berlin Wall probably being its most visible example. Which reminds me of that other wall being built on the Rio Grande to keep our graffitists from bringing their intricate designs south of the border. You know how overprotective those Mexicans can be of their historic buildings.

Like any other art form, graffiti can be controversial: some people hate it, while others, like me, find it simply delightful. I like it so much that I would love to see every city in the world set aside some space for its preservation. Hence I am strongly advocating that every community build a wall on which graffiti artists can express themselves in a free manner. Isn't it a great idea? Particularly if the said walls are built way under ground and access to them is granted only to the artists. In that way their works will be sheltered from the criticism and misunderstanding of selfish, closed-minded, petit bourgeois citizens who only care about the neatness of their communities. Graffiti lovers of the future will appreciate it.

The author is a Cuban-American humorist who lives in the Boston area. He can be reached at mario@lenguaviva.org

Comments

[Pinko]

Go back to cuba!

[Monet]

May we send you the bill for the cost of cleaning up the "ART" off the sides of our buildings and homes? Or how about we approach the Museum of Fine Arts or the Isabella Stewart Museum and ask if they will dedicate a side of their buildings so you, and your fellow artists may continue to pursue your "ARTISTIC DREAMS", or better still how about we buy some canvas?

[Mario]

Dear Monet, please read the article again, especially the last paragraph. It's not exactly what you think. It's called satire.

[Mayda]

I like your sarcasm, I think not many people our age can really appreciate that form of "ART"? I used to live in L.A. and some neighborhoods there look really disgusting, I think more than Art it looks dirty and filthy and makes the walls look unclean and trashy. Great article!

[NMN]

I guess Mario is trying real hard to be funny. But, if he is like the few Graffiti nuts I've met..then, he is as he appears to be....Stupid.

[Paul]

Poor NMN, your sense of humor died in kindergarten. It's a satiric piece. The author is not trying to be "funny". Well, maybe your little brain can't take that much. Go back to your tv.

[yizzurp]

Graffiti is a true artform, I agree that doing it on other peoples property is not good but down by the train tracks, the artwork is amazing. Look around the ghettoness and hatred and actually take like 10 minutes of your time lookings at all the work, they do this with a spray can and with limited time and still comes out flawless. A city is not a city without graffiti, get used to it!

[Mario]

Thanks yizzurp. I appreciate your opinion. You understood that the article is NOT about graffiti glorification.

[Danny Olshool]

I am wondering if anyone knows what parts of Somerville are areas in which smoking and throwing cigarette butts is encouraged? I know of one such area where it is. In most places it is a crime to litter but in front of the abbey lounge smokers are flicking butts into neighbors bushes and yards as much as the sidewalks are covered with them. This amount of smoke entering nearby apartments and homes in this residentially zoned area is proabaly not a good thing.

Are there any other areas where people don't get fined for littering?

[yizzurp]

Oh Oh Mr. Barros thinks he a smart@ss. I know you were being sarcastic but I was not. I was in your classroom a couple years back tagging up your desk lol. This is not school, you don't have to grade my comments. I am entitled to my opinions and don't appreciate negative feedback thank you.

[Mario]

You got it wrong this time, yizzurp. The article is sarcastic, but my reply to you was not. You are as entitled to your opinion as I am to mine. First ammendment, remember? Sorry if you don't like it.

[somebody]

Philadelphia started taking graffiti artists and channeling their talents and skills a different way. As a community outreach effort, the city recruited them to paint murals all over the city. Now, Philadelphia has more murals than any other city, and if you look closely... you'll see very little graffiti even in the worst areas.

[Courtney O'Keefe]

This piece is better...not great, but better.

[Mario]

Thank you Courtney. I really appreciate that comment. You made my day!

[adds]

Nobody here knows about graffiti or the culture of graffiti. You're probably all middle aged losers in Anysmalltown, USA, and can't do any form of art, or anything artistic at all. And that's why you feel the need to ruin graffiti for the rest of us..