Graffiti Analysis

Riordan Henry

9/09/2008

INFO 390

Graffiti Analysis

This picture is technically not what most people consider to be the typical form of graffiti. Technically though, graffiti is not limited to painted words or initials. This example is still paint on a wall that was put there presumably illegally. Furthermore, though this is clearly a much more abstract example of graffiti, it still embodies art in the way graffiti tags do when they are affiliated with a gang or some other similar type of organization.

This particular example follows what the Lauer and Pentak reading explains, though it does so in a more disagreeable manner than most readers would like. This follows the approach of the materials creating the work through their own existence. The “artist” here accomplished his or her work by quickly tossing a large amount of paint on the relatively empty east outer wall of the Psychology building, ironically begging the question of the creator’s mindset at the point of this example’s creation. This splotch that pleasantly looks as if some demon or an “angel of death” met their demise by plowing right into the side of the wall, and it is highly unlikely this was the creator’s intention. Due to the large number of balconies in close proximity to this, it is far more probable that someone had acquired paint and this wall suffered the refuse after their initial project was finished. There is likely not a large amount attempted communication through this art, but since it ended up being artistically placed it can definitely communicate the creator’s frustration with proper disposal or large degree of laziness.

Additionally, the small white spot in the center of this paint gives the impression that someone attempted to clean this off the building at some point, but quickly gave up and left the building forever tattooed with a horrific collision between a campus building and some sort of flying demonic force.