What do you think?
Is it art?
Is it crime?
Personally I think yes and sometimes. And I must admit the quality of said graffiti can have an effect on my opinion. When I am painting over bad graffiti on the side of the building I manage I can be pretty grumpy. But when the train passes by there can be some pretty amazing graffiti on the side of those ugly drab cars. Some very creative work with layers and depth. Work that is a lot more interesting than ads on the side of buses. I can’t help but ponder who painted it and under what conditions.
I don’t think I know any graffiti artists. But I bet if I did I would have a better understanding and probably a little more appreciation for graffiti. Enter the new movie Bomb It!.
BOMB IT is the explosive new documentary from award-winning director Jon Reiss investigating the most subversive and controversial art form currently shaping international youth culture: graffiti.
Through interviews and guerilla footage of graffiti writers in action on 5 continents, BOMB IT tells the story of graffiti from its origins in prehistoric cave paintings thru its notorious explosion in New York City during the 70′s and 80′s, then follows the flames as they paint the globe. Featuring old school legends and current favorites such as Taki 183, Cornbread, Stay High 149, T-Kid, Cope 2, Zephyr, Revs, Os Gemeos, KET, Chino, Shepard Fairey, Revok, and Mear One. This cutting edge documentary tracks down today’s most innovative and pervasive street artists as they battle for control over the urban visual landscape. You’ll never look at public space the same way again.
BOMB IT has shot in Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Tijuana, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Hamburg, Berlin, Cape Town, São Paulo, and Tokyo.
That blurb was taken from the movie’s web site which you can find here. The site also lists the artists interviewed and there are too many names to count. I would venture a guess that it is close to a 100 or more. They all have names cooler than yours and many even have links to personal web sites.
The movie looks interesting to me because it would allow me to gain some knowledge on an art form that I am pretty ignorant on. And as you know I am a sucker for artists being interviewed. I may just have to set aside $29.95 and buy it because I doubt I am going to find it at my local Redbox. If your interested you can buy it here.
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