Graffiti in American Culture
Graffiti art is a form of expression that allows people to create identity, share cultural values, and make claims on property. This artistic claim on property was a popular form of resistance against a system which supported racially segregated housing and poor wealth distribution in American cities during the late 1960’s and 70’s. These circumstances allowed graffiti to be used as a tool for marginalized people to be heard.. The concept of resistance has always played a significant role in U.S. History, leading to many of the accomplishments we see in the country today. For example, early settlers resisted the English Monarchy; and began freely practicing other religions, the Founding Fathers resisted against Great Britain and revolted, and the north resisted against the Confederate soldiers from the south and slavery. This idea of resistance has shaped the American Dream, changed it, and ultimately made it what it is today. In “Civil Disobedience”, Henry David Thoreau said, “All men recognize the right of revolution; that is, the right to refuse allegiance to, and to resist, the government, when its tyranny or its inefficiency are great and unendurable” (Thoreau, par 8). Thoreau explains that we don’t need to revolt and go to war to make a difference but instead, one must do something rather than nothing. Graffiti art is an example of Thoreau’s idea because it is used a tool for marginalized people to do their part in resistance against a system which oppresses them. American culture is heavily influenced by graffiti and the reflections of people who participate in the art form. Graffiti culture has become so popular because of the large, diverse group of people who utilize it. A sociologist, Gregory J. Snyder argues in an interview, “Whatever their class, race, religion or age, writers define themselves not by what they look like, or what language they speak, or what clothes they wear, but by what they do. Their identities are as writer’s first, and as members of ethnic, religious, and other subgroups second.” (Snyder, par 5). This point is important to understand about graffiti because it enables the art form to continuously be used as tool for marginalized people to create identity and share cultural values. In American cities, graffiti art has been used by a diverse group of people as a form of resistance against a government which refuses to hear them. |