A preface to graffiti

I’ve recently abstained from labeling what is and isn’t art. Part of why I have abstained stems from a distaste with the idea that an artist is and has to be a genius. There may have been a time in my life when I unconsciously bought into this notion. However, I believe this idea of artist as genius is detrimental to both the artist and the community he or she should be serving.

Some time back I made mention of the website ZephyrGraffiti.com and hinted at more to come on the whole phenomenon of graffiti. And here it is.

Graffiti — other than often being an act of vandalism — is probably not considered art by a lot of the art world. Nonetheless, I’ve found the craft (all art has some craft) fascinating. The Aesthetic Elevator does not condone vandalism, but to say that there is no virtue to be found in graffiti is simply wrong.

After noticing some great painting on the side of the box cars just outside of my office, I decided to document these visual works.