Street Graffiti

Riding the Los Angeles Metro, I see what many people call vandalism of public property because they are hardly any form of art outside of initials scribbled behind billboards or walls. Of course, there are other more elaborate and colorful pieces. If you would like to see any of types of wall drawings, then all you need to do is jump on the blue line Metro train and head into downtown L.A.

At every train station and in every cab, there are graffiti hot lines you can use if you see anybody vandalizing public property to report it to police. There is a Web site dedicated to only graffiti removal
and information on where to call and report if you see graffiti throughout the city.

Some people consider graffiti a kind of litter of the city. However, as much as people paint on unauthorized public places, places like the Graff Lab should be utilized to keep at least some graffiti artists off the streets and on a legal public canvas for their painting pleasure. 

The video below is a video from riding the Metro from first street station in Long Beach into downtown Los Angeles.

 

Music is by Lady Tron "Ghost"

The Graff Lab Part 2

On my visit to the lab, I took several pictures of some of the art on the wall. Guerrero's intention was to keep this lot for the artists' of the neighborhood. However, more and more people have started to hear about this place and people have traveled from as far as Oxnard to Orange County. 

All he asks for from the kids is a $5 donation to keep up with clearing the walls and any other up-keeping that the Graff Lab might need. Although it is not required to paint.

While I talked with Guerrero, a fight nearly broke out between two boys from the neighborhood. Quickly, he rushed over and broke it up before any actual physical violence broke out. It was just kids up in each others' faces arguing about neighborhood trivialities.

After he stopped the fight, he came back smiling and said that had not happened in a long time since he kicked out the thugs from the lot.

Before I walked off to take pictures I asked him if there were any more places like the Graff Lab. He said that some neighborhoods have local painting spots, but there needs to be more of a community effort to try to open up public spaces for kids to go, hang-out and paint.

"Keep them out of trouble," he said.

Here are Graff Lab pictures:

Graff Lab

A painting of Ricardo Guerrero.

The infamous LA Gang Tours that take people on a tour in Los Angeles.

Spray cans

An artist finishing up a painting.

A man relaxing in front of his unfinished piece.

Graff Lab patrons on a hot Saturday afternoon.

A boy painting a penguin Batman.

The finished penguin Batman.

The Graff Lab

What is the Graff Lab? After reading multiple articles and negativity surrounding the term "graffiti", I had to search for some positive aspects behind what some people call their art form. The interesting thing about art is that it hesitates to have one definition. It can be what you call it.

After researching a few areas around Los Angeles I found the Graff Lab. The lab is a lot next to the facility: Pico Union Housing, which is an area for low income controlled rent apartment buildings across the way from the Staples Center in downtown L.A. The clash of two worlds is astonishing because literally two blocks down the street is the center where the Lakers play and the downtown skyline is close enough to make out details of business windows.

I met the founder, Ricardo Guerrero, a pleasant man with an outspoken manner. He said he opened the Graff Lab to keep the kids of the neighborhood out of trouble - out of jail. When he first opened the lab, he said the gangsters of the neighborhood would come, hang-out, drink beer and leave their trash. Since then, he worked on kicking them out making the lot a safe haven for kids to come and express their creativity.

Ricardo Guerrero Los Angeles Times picture

In November 2010, the Los Angeles Times wrote an article on Guerrero entitled: "Former graffiti painters find an outlet for their art."

The Graff Lab is open only on the weekends from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is located at 1038 West Venice Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90015.


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LA Times Article: Cristian Gheorghiu

From the last post, I was skimming over the Los Angeles Times and found an article on Cristian Gheorghiu titled: “Graffiti Art: A Creative Solution.”

Resembling the graffiti artist Jean-Michel Basquiat who painted on public property before crossing into canvas, Gheorghiu was a street graffiti artist known as “Smear” who was arrested multiple times and owes $23,000 in property damages.

Now, he paints legally. However, City Atty. Carmen Trutanich, has filed to sue Gheorghiu for damages for his past endeavors. He was arrested in 2009 for his affiliation with a graffiti group he ran with called "MTA". The group had created a 100-meter wide mural along the basin of the Los Angeles River. Although he had stopped painting with the group, he had been arrested for past affiliation.

In 2006, he crossed into being a serious artist by having his first gallery in San Francisco. Now, his large pieces go for $2500, according to the article. 

                                                            Photo by Los Angeles Times

The Art Emerges

History is important to understand any movement, including graffiti art.

Modern graffiti culture is embedded in a underground movement of artists, hip-hop musicians, and break dancers. New York City commenced the movement in the 1960s.

The city subways were immersed in colorful, intricate, and impressive art. The New York City subways worked as moving murals of these artists through the city.

A PBS film called “Style Wars” (there's a clip at the end of this entry) documented the coming out of graffiti, hip hop, and break-dancing. “Bombing” was a term used by artist to describe their work as being displayed on trains rolling from one side of the city to the next.

During this time, emerged some infamous graffiti artists, including: Phase 2, Dondi, Min One and Zephyr.

A famous artist in the 1980s was Jean-Michel Basquiat who rose to fame through his signature SAMO graffiti but then left the streets for canvases. He died tragically at age 27 from a drug overdose.

And the graffiti art exploded under the hip-hop movement.

This is a clip of the movie "Style Wars"

Venice Beach Graffiti

The sharp-edged script tagging on a Metro train ride into downtown hardly look like art. But, slightly off the boardwalk of Venice Beach, the walls of colorful portraits and creative abundance are hard to miss.

So the question is what is graffiti? It is everywhere – on the walls, freeway signs, in art galleries, on clothes, even in bathroom stalls.

The question baffles me because graffiti is everything. It permeates many facets of life and is interwoven in history. And, it's transformation is ever changing. From the primitive drawing's and scratchings on walls to the more modern-day graffiti, it continues to maneuver its way in society.

The more modern day graffiti is associated with a culture behind the art. It's a part of underground hip-hop, the “B-Boy/Girl” culture. It is also associated with gang territory. It is an expression through pictures and words. It is anarchy. It is a way to make political statements. The definition is relative.

But, the focus here is on the exploration of the culture and art of the modern-day movement.

Although graffiti continues to be stigmatized with crime, there are outlets for graffiti artists. Venice Beach has walls for graffiti artists to outlet their creativity. Every artist needs a permit to paint on the walls. And, every piece is temporary as new artists are continually painting over previous ones. The best part, it's a free permit for the artists.

As the exploration continues, more posts to come soon.