The Art Of Graffiti

The cities are the devilish dreams of our Gods. To inhabit a pigeonhole, wake up as Kafka's Gregor Samsa, shave the weekend stubbles off, get into a new set of inner-wear to feel a deceptive sense of freshness which also vanishes with the first pee, wear that plastic smile and go cuckooing in the work-place is what we call as living. Modern life has metamorphosed us into monstrous vermins. Only skeletons move, wear suits and blabber those same fifty words day in and day out. Haven't we become the ghosts of ourselves long ago?

Graffitis are an artistic whimper of a moribund civilisation, a muted moan of the chaotic cityscape. The alienated urban man with stained hands scribble, write, draw or paint on the sidewalks, pavements, subways and public toilets. Those walls have become the canvass of his lacerated soul. Some of these graffitis express the subconscious outpourings of sexual repression. And many others are creative markings of a subaltern urban culture with subversive overtones. Some are profound artistic expressions which mock at us and raise fundamental questions about our hypocrisy and snobbery. They tear the facade apart and leave a tight slap on our conscience. That is, if we still claim to have one.

The city of Mumbai is the only place in India where i've seen graffitis on the walls, stretching across miles and miles. It is not found in Lutyens-Sheila Dikshit's Delhi as it may not suit the finer tastes of dignitaries to the Commonwealth Games and the power brokers of the nation state. It is not there in Bangalore or Hyderabad, which are fast becoming treeless real estates. Chennai can only boast of those gory cut-outs and gruesome posters staring at every nook and corner. The only ubiquitous cultural feature which can claim of a pan-Indian unity is the graffitis loaded with sexual symbolism adorning the walls of all the public toilets cutting across the country. Is there a cosmopolitan pop culture unique to Mumbai which has led to the flowering of many a beautiful graffitis on its long stretches of walls?

The art of graffiti may belong to an age old tradition of mankind. But the turning point came to this pop art form only during the most poetic year of 20th century - 1969. The year of 1969 was when the students' movement gathered momentum from Sorbonne to Berkely, the antiwar protests broke out across the globe, the Hippie subculture and the Woodstock Festival happened. The 1970s saw the city of New York emerging as the cultural capital of the world of graffitis. From there it had spread out to Paris and London and many other cities across the globe. Many cities have banned it as an act of vandalism and some have encouraged it like the city of Mumbai.

It is Jenny Holzer who transcreated this art of graffiti into an interesting art of installation. She started using the words and ideas floating in public space for her LED exhibits on gigantic billboards across various cities. She is a pioneer in using texts as an art form. Her works speak of the subtle power of words in creating resonances lasting long in the mindscape. She continues to inspire through her projections about feminism, power, violence, death and love. As the pop singer-duo Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel say in their hit number The Sounds of Silence, the words of the Prophets are always written on the subway walls. Only we should be able to discern it.

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Protect me from what I want.



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Sloppy thinking gets worse over time.



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Instead of hearing it from an ass, i would rather fart.



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Men are not monogamous by nature.




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You must have one grand passion.




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Did you live, before you die?



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