What’s Your Canvas?

Is there a list of acceptable mediums for creating art, or even forms of art? I didn’t believe there was, but I’m starting to think that not everyone got that memo. Looking at the pieces above, I’d have to say that they make a pretty powerful statement of creative inspiration.

We live in a world with a lot of closed minds! After hearing people yammering about the ugliness of graffiti and tattoos, all I can think is that I pity their narrow-mindedness. Yes, that piece also came from NY Times, but incredibly it’s one whose message I don’t agree with! Using your art with disrespect is not a good thing by any stretch of the imagination. Art in all of its forms should be about celebration. But when you’re using art to make more than a visual statement, then sometimes the end has to justify the means. Especially when the means are manipulated to control or indoctrinate.

So why do we have beliefs that tell us what is proper or not for everything that we do, including art? Who made those decisions without consulting all of us? Some of the “acceptable” art pieces that I’ve seen people pay millions for leave me stunned in wonder at the stupidity of all involved. Again, the perception that a piece is valuable simply because the artist is famous is preposterous. Fame is not an indication of talent in many cases. It’s simply a message that all is not right in the world.

There are legions of unknown artists out there who work on all types of mediums, including buildings and skin. They walk a path that hundreds have traveled in order to follow their passions. Some of the leaders of this movement are famous in their own right, with Horiyoshi III from Japan and Banksy from the UK being two shining examples of artistic genius. Is it right for people to think that their mediums are distasteful, simply because they find the canvases to be sacred? What is sacred to one is not sacred to all. And sometimes the sacred can and should be celebrated in ways outside the norm.

Artists create to improve upon what they find, and sometimes to even improve upon the human condition. They speak with their shapes, colors, textures, emotions, and imaginations. To them, the world is their canvas so they just use their preferred medium for communication. If the art successfully starts the thinking process of the masses, then I’d say that it’s doing its purpose beautifully, no matter what the canvas is. What some see as vandalism, others will see as inspiration. How we perceive the piece dictates how we perceive life. Here’s a diverse example of love for graffiti, where I found the fourth example.

I look at our cities and suburbs, and can almost see the life being sucked out of them. The monochromatic landscapes do not speak, they weep with desperation. And sadly, this blight is spreading rampantly. How much more color must we remove from life before we completely lose our humanity? To feel is to be. Is it so bad to be an individual instead of a drone? At least some people are trying to change the bad perception of graffiti: Primary Flight (thanks to an NY Times commenter for this info).

If this is your idea of what a vandal looks like, then you might need glasses or an adjustment in your perceptions, since he is respected around the world for his dedication to his art:

And here are a few stories told from their perspectives:

A 2008 NY Times story told from the graffiti artist’s point of view. – From the mouth of a culprit and it sounds pretty good!

An interview with the world renowned Horiyoshi III – Nice work, Fatkids!

See, there is no good or bad canvas. There’s only good or bad perception.