Hello loyal blog readers, it’s been a while, so here goes an actual proper blog post!
We will begin with a rant on street art appreciation.
During an English class about how to construct reply articles to newspapers this article was examined. I’d really just like to get this out of the way.
Street art IS beautiful, some is not up to the standards of fine art, I admit, but it’s still raw. There’s emotion and drive and meaning there. From the beautiful murals to the filthy, clumsy, three second tags, I can appreciate the work put into the preparation and skill needed. There is so much that goes into a lot of this work behind the scenes, I only wish it could be recognized more freely, opposed to the sneering at tags of juveniles. I doubt the journalist of the article could cite the works of Shakespeare in their first few years of primary school.
When you look past the scrawls and simple tagging, there is art. There are actually artists out there. True artistic souls, who in some ways can be seen as practicing an art form, the same ways that earlier artists did – only with less recognition to their true identity as the form is, of course illegal. I see famous artists starving on the streets of Spain and France, begging to commission in their early days of little difference to this situation.
They develop a style, a technique. Their tag is their identity, their art is their life. To them, writing CTCV on top of their life’s work and development is… criminal. The thing is, a legal commission is a request. True graffiti in illegal spaces has a certain je ne sais quoi about it – the artist was willing to get fined or arrested for what they are doing. They value their art that much. (This is not so say that some commissioned art is any less beautiful, but for the sake of the argument it needed to be pointed out).
If this is worth gallery space 
And this: Andy Warhol – Blowjob
Then this should be also .
It is a worldwide art form and should stay this way. Street art makes me think, and I love to document it whenever I can. The industrial world has so much to work with, and the disrespect put towards these masters of their form shouldn’t really be used.
Take Banksy for example (props to the man! He actually has a gallery exhibition in England, not sure if it’s still on). He’s reached the hearts and minds of millions just by working with his form. People listen to him and his works.
A lot of the actual more artistic and time-paced illegal graffiti actually shows more respect for the canvas of a vacant building than the people who own the place itself. Think about it – these people risk a criminal record, and spend minutes, hours, days, even YEARS developing that one piece; A piece that could be removed entirely. A piece that could have CTCV scrawled meaninglessly about it.
Hell, I’d love to have my house covered in an artwork,
to be remembered as a part of the great movement that is street art. Melbourne is known for its street art for the fact that it is actually worth looking at, a lot of the time. Has anyone noticed the popularity of Flinders lane? It is REVERED. 
And frankly, Madame, a lot more people appreciate it just as I do. A lot of people are also indifferent, which is what I consider as NOT MINDING THAT IT IS THERE. Even the ABC cares enough to be interested.
There is graffiti code, no art or tag should be altered. It breaks my heart to see CTCV scrawled over some of what Melbourne’s street artists (YES, THEY /ARE/ ARTISTS!) are capable of. And no disrespect meant, but the whole point of graffiti is to send out a message, messages sometimes unspoken by journalists willing to please old-school mindsets.
Tags: CensorSHIT, Epic Rage, Graffiti, Melbourne, Political correctness, Rant, The Media