Tagging Movies -- Graffiti Cinema Might Be The Next Big Thing
Filed under: Documentary, Independent, New Releases, Home Entertainment, Cinematical Indie
Documentary film maker Doug Pray wasn't so sure he wanted to do a film about graffiti. The director of Hype and Scratch had been approached to do a documentary about the subculture of graffiti artists but wasn't interested. That all changed though when he finally spent some time with one of those artists.The documentary Infamy is being released Tuesday on DVD. The film followed graffiti artists to chronicle what it really took to be a graffiti artist in a major city – it goes way beyond scrawling "I wuz here" on a bathroom stall. Pray's film isn't the first to take a look at the art of graffiti – and here is where I say: Yes, I do think it is art. Almost 25 years ago, Style Wars was the first film to bring graffiti into mainstream pop culture. Well, it looks like no trend is being left unturned because Pray's film is just the first in a line of movies being released on DVD that are about graffiti. Not all of these films are documentaries either, narrative films like The Graffiti Artist and Quality of Life -- both made in 2004, are also getting a second look.
Considered "this ultimate form of urban rebellion," its too early to say whether these films will finally lift graffiti artists in to the mainstream art world or whether it just might be another exercise in mining a subculture for some easy "youth-oriented" dollars.
[via New York Times]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-17-2006 @ 4:57PM
Randy Campbell said...
This is nothing new; this just falls into the same category as films about the Mob, Bonnie and Clyde%u2019s bank robbery spree or any other crime story. What you will not see is the full aspect of the damage done to the property of law abiding citizens who never asked for their property to be painted or etched. You will also not see what the full cost is to repair the damage to these properties. Billions of dollars wasted, each year, loss of property values and loss of business to those businesses in graffiti prone areas. But to think that this film will %u201Clift graffiti artists in to the mainstream art world%u201D is laughable. With Taggers, 95% of them are just kids throwing up tags on anything they can, or etching storefront glass. Probably less than 5% have any artistic talent at all, but this 5% can create very nice art works. But it is the other 95% that causes all the damage and this is what citizens see on a daily basis. Graffiti will never be an accepted art form unless this culture can stop that 95%. Only then will society have a chance to see the other side of graffiti.
Jess: I think these films try and show the whole picture of the taggers lifestyle, and that includes what you are mentioning. Its just a shame that the really talented 5% gets pushed aside.
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10-17-2006 @ 5:31PM
Josh Boelter said...
While I'd agree that most graffiti are just kids painting scruffy tags, there really is a lot of beautiful graffiti and street art out there that's being created by some really talened artists.
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