Why Street Art and Graffiti? Part 2

I wrote my first blog back in November 2020. I really enjoyed writing it and I was really happy with the way it turned out. I had intended that first blog to explain why I have started Colour Ways and that didn’t really happen. I focused more on the differences and similarities of graffiti and street art and at the end I wrote this,

I will need to do a part two of this where I discuss more why I think these cultures are so good and why I have started this organisation to support them. But for now I shall leave with this, which was said to me by one of my favourite artists.

So although it has taken me over a year, here I am, typing away at blog number two.

So why street art and graffiti?

I don’t even know if this is the right question to ask. I guess the question I am asking is why did I start this company which is all about street art and graffiti?

Because I love it. I love IT. I don’t love them. I just love IT. IT is basically both of them mashed together and all the culture surrounding them. I spent the whole of the last blog talking about the differences but for me and my life, they are all part of the same thing. It is something I love and although I enjoyed that last blog, if I am honest it was kind of just me showing that I know the differences and I guess pointing out why some people actually do care about this stuff.

It is really important that people understand that there is often a hypocrisy between these two art forms. But at the same time I think it’s so easy to get hung up on what genre people are into and it can become a way of signifying you are cool or in with the right crowd.

So I think for me the more I think about it the less I care about the genres, I care about people getting out and painting. That for me is the most important part. There is so many ways to get up and people love to become snobs about that too. I alluded to it in the last blog. There are loads of graff stickers about but I know that some people turn their nose up at them and don’t think they are a legit way of getting up.

But I think it would be hard to argue against Cost and Revs using them as a legit way to get up.

Cost and Revs are a good example of artists who have pushed boundaries and I would imagine have faced a lot of backlash for it. Another example of something not being fully legit that I was thinking of is the influx of rollers we see in graffiti these days.

Rollers have exploded over the past ten years but I know that some people believe these are in some way less valuable in the graffiti hierarchy. I would love to know the reception Cost and Revs got when they first started doing them. For me it’s just another way of getting up and if done with style I love them.

Style is everything. You can do a tag with style and it stands just as strong as any piece.

This wall by legendary artist Barry McGee AKA Twist is a perfect example of the beauty of tags. However because of its scale and the amount of tags I would like to include a solo Twist tag as well just so that people can appreciate the beauty in a single tag.

Barry McGee is such a good example of why I love IT, of why I don’t think we should get too bogged down in the definitions. He is just such a boss at everything he does, he smashes characters, graffiti and contemporary art. He’s just an artist. (I feel obliged to say here that everyone should watch Beautiful Losers, it’s really class).

I think being an artist is something that feels scary for a lot of people. I know it feels scary for me. I have never thought of myself as an artist.

I’m not a graffiti writer. I don’t tag and for me that feels like something that is important to graffiti. I have always thought that perhaps I’m a street artist, or that I could be one.

But an artist?

Nah that’s not me.

But recently I have been pushing into the idea of being an artist. What exactly does that entail? I don’t know, I have a studio and I create art so I guess that makes me an artist. I am actually the artist in residence for G20 Youth Festival so I am deffos an artist!

I think this fear of declaring ourselves as artists can hold us back. We find ways to avoid actually saying it. I like the idea of being a creative. But then I think all humans are creative.

I think that’s why I love IT. I love street art and graffiti and everything that comes along with IT because IT is creative. IT is just endless creativity. IT is a vehicle for people to be creative and I find that really inspiring.

So why did I start this company which is all about street art and graffiti?

Because I want to help inspire more people. I want to help people I know, the ARTISTS I know. I want to help them bring their art to the city. I want to use my time for other people and to be of service.

I want to be around artists. I think that’s my main focus. To be around creativity. To be around IT.

I want to bring more of this thing I love to the place that I live. That’s really what this is all about. I want to share this thing that I love with other people and maybe they will love it too. But this isn’t about convincing anyone, sometimes I think people can get caught up trying to convince people of things when sometimes we just have different tastes. I think it’s important to speak openly about why I love this thing and even if people don’t like it, they can maybe appreciate the fact I love it.

Passion is like that. Even if the subject isn’t something we personally care about, if someone is passionate it becomes really infectious and it’s a buzz to see someone be so into something.

So aye, I’m really into this, and thats why I started Colour Ways.

Cheers.

Panda.

Why Street Art and Graffiti? Part 2

Cultural onboarding and the pitfalls of masculinity.

Why Street Art and Graffiti?