Cute But Stupid
Graffiti Days
Posted by amy (Nanaimo, BC, Canada) on 17 November 2007 in Art & Design and Portfolio.
GRAFFITI DAYs
on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 NOVEMBER 2007.
ADVERTISE the idea to as many of your am3 friends as possible.
Best photo-regards,
DIMITRIOS
This image is a petroglyph far up the Shuswap accessible only by boat. It's fascinating to think about what story was trying to be told by the person who "painted" these images on the rock hundreds of years ago. I think it's similar philosophy on the whole of what graffiti is today... however, I also (contradictory I admit) think that graffiti is often based in anger and ignorance with a sole intent of destruction and not delivering a message. So I am torn.... destruction for the sake of art and or message... or destruction for purely selfish reasons?
You can view my gallery of images and calendar for sale at: cute but stupid . I'm slowly adding more to the site and if there is something in my portfolio you would like to purchase but is not available on my site just contact me and I'll make it available.
I appreciate all visits and comments and thank you always... ;-)
Lorraine from Gatineau, Canada
Ah Amy, that is indeed the question!!! Fabulous find :)
17 Nov 2007 6:18am
e. from Washington DC, United States
Beautiful cultural "graffiti." I love your take on the theme.
17 Nov 2007 6:21am
Organik from Victoria, Australia
This is beautiful Amy.
Agreed on the graffiti these days. All my trips into Melbourne recently has only found ugly hate filled scribbles. There was no beauty to be found in any of it. Perhaps I take the wrong route? LOL
17 Nov 2007 7:29am
timothy sullivan from tokyo, Japan
yeah... petroglyphs. i wonder sometimes whether if any of these ancient artifacts have their own intended messages of hate or violence-- or if they were simply territorial markers or art. i guess i'd like to think that our ancestors weren't as vicious toward one another as smoe appear to be in the present.
anyhow. end of ramble. there is such warmth in this image, and love the macro-- happy you kept that aperature open all the way to create the effect you did. impressive!
17 Nov 2007 7:46am
Michael Rawluk from Prince George, Canada
Nicely done, Amy.
My question about some graffiti is: Why do graffitists get upset when someone defaces their work? I have seen interviews with some who think theirs is art and shouldn't be touched.
17 Nov 2007 8:58am
@Michael Rawluk: Sigh... boggles the mind. But no doubt it's not their concern that the canvas they've used is not theirs to use. Does this only boil down to an issue of respect? Shrug... we'll never know. Thanks Michael.. always love to see you've visited!!
Kaushal from Groningen, Netherlands
Wow, its so beautifully captured! The colours are so beautiful!
17 Nov 2007 11:29am
MaryB from Staffordshire, United Kingdom
I have to say this project has been a real eye opener, I am amazed at the diversity of the art.
This one is so special, not only the fact that it was created so long ago, but in it's simplicty and beauty and the need of the person who did this to express his/her feelings in such an artistic way.
17 Nov 2007 11:33am
Viewfinder from Bradenton, United States
Very nice "take" on the theme. BTW, I share your mixed feelings about grafitti.
17 Nov 2007 12:56pm
Jen from Alpharetta, United States
Now that's a "jenseye" kind of find!!! : D BRAVO my dear!!!
Love it Love it Love it!
17 Nov 2007 1:13pm
Gary from United States
Very nice caption and thoughts. I thought of this idea myself since I live in the southwest but I didn't think I would convey it correctly. You have managed to put into word and image what I was feeling and that's what this media is all about. Nicely done.
17 Nov 2007 1:22pm
Roberta from Canada
I do like this one! I think even when graffiti is destructive the person is still sending a message. If it is based in anger I think it tells us a lot about youth and society.
17 Nov 2007 2:06pm
Rebecca from Leicester, United Kingdom
Truly beautiful find, Amy. I love it. And I like your words too. As to the dilemma you face, personally I feel it depends on what is being destroyed, and what the “destruction” actually is. “Destruction” covers such a wide range of acts and subjects. Perhaps there are times when destruction of property may be justified, as you observed, for example, for the ‘noble’ cause of art or a message, in the case of ‘good’ graffiti, perhaps. But generally I feel that the end cannot justify the means. I am not sure at all that destruction in our day and age, especially when it involves drastically wiping out the life and soul of persons can really be justified, for whatever reason, even a ‘noble’ reason. And sadly, the further ugly extension of graffiti : vandalism, hate crime and the like, can indeed involve the destruction of persons. Graffiti may be just the beginning.
However 'noble' the message or art in the eyes of the 'artist', I feel the question still has to be asked as to where it will or may lead. Will the 'message' result eventually in the destruction of not just property, but also persons? To use an extreme example, how many countless times in history has one person destroyed another person, or one people group destroyed another people group, in the name of some ‘noble’ end which they do not view as selfish? And which may have started off as a simple 'message'?
And yet, there have been instances in history also viewed as ‘good’ when destruction has been used for the sake of the ‘greater good’. To many, war waged by the Allies in WWII, including to liberate Europe from Hitler, would be viewed as ‘noble’ for that reason. And I have a deep sympathy for that. And yet, the unthinkable destruction caused by the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs, for the ‘noble’ end of ending the war with the Japanese (and I speak this as an ethnic Chinese for whom there is historically no love lost with the Japanese – my own grandparents and extended family suffered greatly under the Japanese Occupation of Malaysia and Singapore during WWII), effects of which linger till this day, bring home the reality that even in such destruction for the sake of the ‘greater good’, countless real flesh-and-blood people, human beings like you and me, along with their whole livelihoods, properties, families, are destroyed, never to be seen again. Where does it end?
So, I don’t know, Amy. I feel perplexed just like you. I agree, it’s a complex world we live in. What I do feel is that at our own individual, personal levels, there are things we can decide and control, choices we can make, that when multiplied do ripple and have an effect in the larger whole; and at this level, if we can choose to love, rather than to destroy, then perhaps one day, our world can be a better place.
I am sorry to have gone on and on, here, way beyond the subject of mere ‘graffiti’. But your image is so beautiful and your words so thought-provoking today and touching on such vital issues, somehow this is the response it prompted for me. I apologise if some of this is not as well-expressed or edited as it should be to convey my genuine respect for you as a person and as an artist. I am typing this in a huge hurry again whilst Elise is trying to get on the computer too and wreaking a form of ‘destruction’ too (a.k.a creating a right lovely mess, as is her usual practice! - and we love her to bits for it :) lol) on our immediate surroundings, which I will have to clean up soonest. I truly appreciate your art, Amy.
17 Nov 2007 3:27pm
yiannis krikis from thessaloniki, Greece
excellent graffiti - The drawing is fantastic and your text also - I like the way you use the focus in this image - very well done
17 Nov 2007 8:34pm
bronzebilly u.k. from Barry,Vale of Glamorgan, United Kingdom
well found and captured cutes !!--your question has created a mixed response--but sorry pal there ain't an answer, as you can gather--billy
17 Nov 2007 11:25pm
Richard_Irwin from Belper, United Kingdom
Thats a good find, and that it requires effort to reach, makes it more compelling. There some ancient rock art near me, and whenever I see it, I wonder about the lives of the people who created it. I wonder if any of our modern graffiti will last anywhere near as long.
17 Nov 2007 11:54pm
pedro alexandre from loures, Portugal
this is the best so far, and i've seen lots of them.
18 Nov 2007 12:20am
Weekend Warrior( LV) from Kamloops, Canada
Amy-this is a great image and the words you have spoken has addressed the issue of graffiti vs. story telling.
From what I know First Nations people used this method to tell of legends passed on to them-their way of communicating to the young ones was through spoken and drawings. This is a perfect example of this. When I have traveled to Northern BC on the central coast I love taking a trip to where I know there is some left by the First Nations people. Funny enough, I can only get there by boat.
So I wonder what this little fellow meant to his story teller!!
Beautiful shot!
18 Nov 2007 2:49am
Laurie from New Jersey, United States
That is a great example. Original in so many ways.
Your thoughts on graffiti are similar to mine. Although I think the petroglyph was probably used as an important, primitive, communication tool. Which makes it difficult for me to compare it to graffiti of today.
18 Nov 2007 3:02am
Damon Schreiber from Toronto, Canada
Great eye. Love the way you've captured just that little bit.
Your dilemma is thought-provoking. I'm often of two minds myself. I appreciate artistic graffiti more than the ugly scrawls, though they each add a certain amount of character to the city. Also the destruction of property and eventually the feeling that we are hounded by them wherever we go (I'm thinking here of Bruce Davidson's brilliant subway photos from the 70s), but then again mass market advertising does the same thing in a less individualistic fashion, and given the choice of two evils, I'd give public space to the public rather than to corporations.
Your image gives a sense of history, and I think that's comforting - knowing that graffiti is as old as the hills.
18 Nov 2007 3:55am
Me 2 from Hamburg, United States
I just had a crazy notion ...cave drawings are nothing more than cave kids being bored and artistic at the same time .... my kids used to draw on the walls , my son even signed his name and then blamed his sister ...LOL .... so ya never know this could just be from a very hairy artistic kid :o)
18 Nov 2007 4:45am
Rabbit from Richmond, United States
The most Brilliant capture of graffiti! Excellent my dear!
18 Nov 2007 5:19am
Bron from Canberra, Australia
Whatever the answer the graffiti has served to extend our artistic lives here and now! A fine photo dear Amy!
18 Nov 2007 10:28am
Markus from Reading, United Kingdom
Neat find! In my home town in Germany there were a lot of graffiti like the following one: "Love is like a shadow, you can't see him in the dark." Which to me imho is quite close to be art, even if it is covering previously immaculate walls.
18 Nov 2007 1:30pm
Kim from Newcomerstown, United States
I'm afraid I can't answer your question. I think each case of graffiti has to be judged separately, based on the details of that circumstance. In this case, an ancient people were trying to preserve their story for future generations. I'm glad that you were able to capture it so beautifully. Well done Amy!
18 Nov 2007 1:51pm
Me 2 from Hamburg, United States
Yeah Amy , your photo made it onto the spotlight page !!
19 Nov 2007 1:32am
@Me 2: Thanks Rob!! Mary told me too!! But that doesn't take away from the thrill... too cool... I'm doing a dance of joy... and blushing...
Sandrine from United States
Love this! Excellent for the theme... I would much rather see this kind of graffiti... I can't imagine people in hundreds of years from now wanting to see, admire and preserve the graffiti of today.
19 Nov 2007 4:43am
Stu from Kyoto, Japan
Love your take on the graffiti theme. And a great image too. What a wonderful find.
19 Nov 2007 11:37am
Barbara from Florida, United States
Excellent example of graffiti. Your caption raises a good guestion. Far too deep for me to answer. If there is an answer. Today's graffiti some of which I find very creative and artistic I view more as destructive while this form of graffitit tells a story. This of course is my own opinion.
20 Nov 2007 4:46pm
@Barbara: Opinions are good Barbara! There is no right or wrong answer... Thanks for saying yours. ;-)
Barbara from Florida, United States
My congratulations to you on being featured. Well deserving.
20 Nov 2007 4:47pm
Helen from Melbourne, Australia
See what happens if I turn my back! You post a ripper and I missed it. Congrats Amy, fabulous take here. Stong message too. Bravo.
20 Nov 2007 8:32pm
Bender Bending Rodriguez from Bad Moon Rising, Australia
For the record, I used to sniff petroglyphs back in high school. This is similar to the images that greeted me for a few hours immediately after the act. I must say (dude behind me has a barrel of a gun pointed to the back of my skull), this is stunning, Amy. I'm not sure whether the blurred effect detracts from the overall appeal or adds to it as my eyeballs (aka sight orbs) are still orbiting the room where I'm being held captive by a masked assailant calling himself (?) Klaus Von Bulow. I get the feeling we're all being watched. Do you hear the walls breathing, too?
21 Nov 2007 3:06am
@Bender Bending Rodriguez: Don't hear the walls breathing but I think that's just because the voices in my head say that I'm just hearing things....
Anne from White Rock, Canada
This is a truly great capture, Cute But Not So Stupid! The depth of field control is lovely with the frontal blur framing the sharply focused petroglyph. I have a similar feeling as Me 2 mainly because of the simplicity of the drawings, like the stick pictures we would draw of mom or dad when we were quite young. Even hundreds of years ago - there were painters who created great works of art in the more civilized world - without formal training of any kind. Its so hard to know really! But when you think about it - all the heiroglyphics in ancient Egypt, etc. were much older than these petroglyphs, and were certainly telling us something in a much more sophisticated way! For instance, when I was a kid - I used to get an urge to draw whenever I had a blank piece of paper in front of me! But I had no talent in that direction at all, so would end up with stick figures and sometimes in frustration I would just scribble all over it! Early graffiti perhaps? (Later on in life I developed an urge to write something on blank pieces of paper) lol :-)
21 Nov 2007 9:44am
@Anne: Thanks Anne!! I always love your comments.. they're so insightful and a delight to receive and read!!
Nikon D70
1/125 second
F/11.0
ISO 200
450 mm (35mm equiv.)