Is Graff A Lost Art?

It’s big, it’s black^* it’s straight out of Iraq and it’s hitting up the streets. But look out! You might not even see it because rather than its army fatigues, the new Hummer is sporting modern urban-camouflage digs. Hummer’s Australian billboard advertising campaign calls into question the legitimacy with which graffiti can claim status as an underground pursuit – especially when it’s mounted not only above ground

but on top of a building like this.

The billboard this article refers to depicts the new “small man’s” Hummer H3 disappearing into a graffitied brick wall with the tagline reading, “seriously get lost”. It is shocking and confronting to see an outlawed culture commandeered for corporate pleasure. Of course it wouldn’t be the first time the underground has been exposed for brand association but it definitely seems an odd partnership as I don’t know too many graf artists flashing around in shiny-new SUVs.

However, Australia is just the latest line in Hummer’s global campaign to blend in with the metropolitan urban environment. Almost a year ago, professional mural artists TATS CRU created a mural for the new Hummer H3 in Manhattan. The chatter on the interwebs said the piece barely lasted a week before being defaced as part of a “standard practice when corporations usurp what is believed by many to be a non-commercial art form.”

But TATS CRU grew up bombing the train lines in New York. They pioneered styles and have gained massive credentials in the underground that has helped establish a brand of their own. In their words:

“TATS CRU furnishes advertising and design services to businesses reaching out to young urban consumers and companies seeking new and innovative ways to promote their services and products.”

Yet any well-intentioned efforts to deface Hummer and TATS CRU’s paid-for graffiti, remain ineffective in the broad scheme of things. Sure Hummers are offensive. Sure they’re like a big middle finger jutting out of the urban traffic stream. Sure they’re probably worth a hundred thousand ‘Earth Hours’ in carbon emissions and sure they’re the most conspicuous flagship of the American imperial fleet to date … but we’re talking about them. And that is advertising.

For me the deeper issue is the art.

Has graffiti finally been exposed? Is it a relevant form of expression? Does it speak of angst and frustration? Does it reflect that primal instinct for recognition and demonstrate a taking of power against the powerful? Are bombers still lurking in the night, scoping walls and creating a colourful resistance against the drab concrete jungle for no fame other than the respect of their peers and the satisfaction of tight lines and dense fills?

Or are they creating a portfolio and brand to sell at market.

How will graffiti survive at market though if it loses the very thing which makes it attractive to the consumer? What if graffiti becomes legitimate?

A relevant forum topic will be formed and I hope anyone who has an opinion on this thread gets involved with their two cents. It’s an important discussion for anyone who loves to see fresh paint on walls, hidden down alleys where only those who know, and truly appreciate, ever go.

^*can choose from six other colours.