Graffiti, a new way to worship?
You’re walking around downtown Toronto and as you take note of your surroundings you notice a lot of graffiti, what does this make you think about the city? A common response is that the city looks run down and unsafe. This is known as broken windows theory, which proposes that signs of disorder in a neighbourhood, such as broken windows and graffiti, are directly responsible for crime in these areas (Anderson, 2012). An opposing response could an appreciation for the work of art that colours the bland walls of the city. Graffiti is to be defined as unauthorized writing or drawing on a public surface. In the past graffiti has been used to rupture the status quo. For example in the New York City “ghetto” in the 1960s to the 1970s minority youth turned to graffiti to as a way to reclaim their space, which they did not technically own but were stuck in (Anderson, 2012). Grafitti is also a form of popular culture that creates a space for conversation to occur between oppressed peoples and their oppressors.
In Cairo, Egypt graffiti has played a large role in the recent revolts that lead to the removal of Husni Mubarak (Klaus, 2014). Prior to Mubarak’s removal there was minimal graffiti in Cairo and that which did exist consisted around message of love and religion, but closer to and after his removal graffiti became a way for displeased citizens to fight back against the government and their extensive controls (Anderson, 2012). Not only did the citizens of Cairo use graffiti to show their dissatisfaction with the government, but they also used it to communicate with and build a strong following of other citizens who shared the same feelings, thus resulting in a united front and a successful revolution (Anderson, 2012).
In a similar vein the people of Israel and Palestine have been using graffiti as a tool to battle each other’s religious beliefs (Heffez, 2012). The article further goes on to illustrate that graffiti was also being used as a way to remind followers that each religion cannot survive without the acceptance of both Jews and Arabs, the acceptance of democracy and the acceptance of religious tolerance (Heffez, 2012). Recently there has been a famous street artist by the name Mohammed Ali who uses his Muslim faith to inspire his graffiti art (Speciale, 2013). When asked if he thinks graffiti leads to urban deterioration, Ali responded:
“This idea that graffiti represent aimless youth, urban ghettos and vandalism needs to go, disappear. We must put an end to this perception, which is wrong. I admit I am not a huge fan of some types of graffiti: I look at them and they say nothing to me. If you put something in a public space, it must say something it must have a message for the audience, which technically owns that space. You cannot make everyone feel that a work of art belongs to them, but as a street artist, I believe that you, we, must try. I want to try to establish a connection with people. Graffiti are the breath of the city, the cry of the people. Those walls that surround us in every metropolis, that loom over us, that, let’s face it, even divide us, that contain and surround us- well, graffiti artists use the ugliness of concrete as a canvas and transform it. So graffiti represent the voice of the people” (Speciale, 2013).
Ali goes on to propose that graffiti should be used as a new communication tool to unite people, regardless of differences in faith, through the common practice of religion (Speciale, 2013).
A recent article in a newspaper from Rome showed the Vatican partaking in some unusual habits, they tweeted a picture of graffiti left on the side of a wall near the Vatican (Squires, 2014).
The above image of the Pope portrays him as a sort of superhero, ready to save the day, which is likely the only reason why they were so fond of a type of art typically assocaited with vandalism (Squires, 2014). I personally find all of the above examples of graffiti art refreshing, it’s amazing how something so simple as spray painting a picture or set of words on a wall can lead to a revolution of oppressed people or a coming together of people of different beliefs and values. I think that it is time we start seeing graffiti not as vandalism, but instead as an art that can be used to change the world and unite people worldwide. I leave you with the question of whether you think graffiti can or will become an acceptable form of worship? Or if graffiti will ever leave the realm of vandalism and be truly recognized as the powerful art form that it is?
Reference List
Anderson, C.L. (2012). Going ‘All City’: The Spatial Politics of Graffiti. Graduate journal of isual and Material Culture, 5, 1–23
Heffez, A. (2012). Peace and conflict through graffiti in Israel/Palestine. Tikkun. Retrieved November 16, 2014, from http://www.tikkun.org/nextgen/peace-and-conflict-through-graffiti-in-israelpalestine
Klaus, E. (2014). Graffiti and urban revolt in Cairo. Built Environment, 40(1), 14–33
Speciale, A. (2013, April 20). “Graffiti? Ultimately they are scared art” Vatican Insider. Retrieved November 16, 2014, from http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/news/detail/articolo/liberta-religiosa-religious-freedom-libertad-religiosa-24220/
Squires, N. (2014, January 29). Superhero Pope graffiti appears on Vatican street. The Telegraph. Retrieved November 16, 2014, from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/the-pope/10604089/Superhero-Pope-graffiti-appears-on-Vatican-street.html
