Reactionary Art

            When looking for an instructional resource I found a piece called "Street Art" by Sweeny and within the work itself he mentioned another instructional resource by Aguilar. So I decided to draw ideas from both pieces. They were both on the relevance of street art more commonly known as Graffiti.

              Graffiti is a sort of taboo for teaching in classrooms; many would question the ethical justification behind such actions. However, I believe graffiti is truly necessary because the art form is a part of our cultural and aids in a true understanding of reactionary art. In Street Art by Sweeny Robert states that “it is the challenging nature of street art that makes it a relevant topic for discussion in the spaces of art education” While yes, the art form does need to be taught in conjunction with the dangers and illegality of such practices there are also communities of street artists who have permission to create on certain walls. “Whenever a graffiti artist obtained permission from a property owner, the artist inherently become the curator for who else would paint there and how often installations rotated on that wall.” There is a true community with the street art world, while it may seem disjointed and scattered, there is an unspoken rule book of street art that guides each artist in where he creates and when.

                The relevance of this art form in the classroom is the reactionary nature of the art. While there are heavy amounts of planning that go into a single piece, once there the artist must deal with the uneven canvas, unpredictable weather, and interference from onlookers; these are the reasons why I believe street art as a form is so in the demand right now. Sweeny makes specific note of an infamous street artist name Banksy. Banksy is one of the most well-known yet unknown artists in the profession. No one ever seems to catch him in the act and all we know of his work are websites that find his work around New York City. His pieces will sometimes go for upwards of millions due to their expressive style and major political statements they make. Entire walls of buildings have been removed so that they can be sold with Banksy’s work on them. Sweeny shows the more political side of street art referencing “Slave Labor,” a piece by Banksy confronting the child labor laws; before this particular topic Banksy made statement about the brutality or inefficiency of law enforcement.

                Sweeny also talks about the darker side of Street art referencing visual essays made by contemporary street artists on the dangers of street art in the city, Montreal in particular. These visual essays shine light on the dangers of illegally tagging. Illegal street artist are not only in danger from the law but also rival street artists and gangs within the city. It truly shows how much this group of people is willing to sacrifice for their art. As a result their tags or pieces are some of the most reactionary, taking place in mere minutes to avoid detection.

                You are probably wondering how all of this would fit into a classroom setting. I feel it would not only teach about reactionary art but pose some interesting questions on the ownership of these pieces and the cultural significance they hold. As for actual projects in response to this material, I believe students would gain a better understanding of the concept if they were to create a reactionary piece themselves.

References

Aguilar, M. (2013). Half a life painting walls: The trajectory of graffiti artist miguel "kane one" aguilar. Art Education, 66(5), 34-38. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1437171824?accountid=13158

BBC. (2013, February 18). Banksy mural vanishes from London, appears at US auction. BBC News. Retrieved from: www.bbc.co.uk/news/ entertainment-arts-21497261

Sweeny, R. (2013). SREET art. Art Education, 66(5), 4-5. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1437171918?accountid=13158