NPR Asks, Public Art or Nuisance?
This morning on NPR, a fierce debate concerning graffiti went down. Feathers got ruffled and a web forum gave listeners a chance to voice their opinion on the controversial matter. Although some hateful responses were tinged with ignorance, others were worthy of high-fives. Below are two excerpts that we support. For the full thread, see KQED Community.
San Francisco piece by Shepard Fairy (referenced several times in the thread).
“Public art itself can carry a powerful message, and can be a beautiful expression of the defiant and rebellious spirit that has shaped this country for so long. Unfortunately, like so many forms of expression, cheap mimicry has given it a bad name.” -Jollymore
“Humans have been leaving their marks on the walls for over 30,000 years! Graffiti can be found in caves, in pyramids, in the ruins of Pompeii, and from settler scrawls by Native markings in Utah.”-Anonymous