Haven’t we all wondered that who writes and draws the innumerable vile abuses and graphically depicted private parts of male and female anatomy on the walls of public toilets in trains, market places, schools and Government offices? Don’t we all get terribly irritated when after freshly white-washing our boundary walls, we find names like Rajesh and Hari scribbled on them or some weird animations drawn purposelessly? The names of cupid-struck lovers etched or scribbled on tree-trunks and rocks at tourist spots, and walls of historical monuments are another common annoying sight. All these are instances of an act commonly referred to as “GRAFFITI” writing.
Graffiti is the application of media on publicly viewable surfaces. It is defined as being "a drawing or writing scratched on a wall or other surface". When done without the property owner's consent, graffiti is a form of ‘vandalism’ and is punishable by law in most countries. It has been used in the past to spread social and political messages. It is also considered a modern art form, and can be seen in galleries around the world.
Graffiti is at it’s crudest and most vulgar form in public toilets. The most noteworthy aspect about this boorish and coarse graffiti is that we all condemn the writer without knowing who he is, although he might quite possibly be the man relieving himself right beside us in the public toilet. Interestingly, we all read the loutish words scribbled on the wall and then, either get disgusted or simply laugh them off thinking that they must be addressed to somebody else, but not even once does it ever occur to us that the abuses might be directed towards nobody else but us, by some under-cover enemy of ours.
Inspite of it’s characteristic crudeness and vulgarity, Graffiti has undoubtedly played a vital role during our adolescence or growing up years. How can we ever afford to forget that the first abuse we ever came across, and the first thing that sparked our curiosity about the ‘untaught and taboo’ was not from a foul mouthed roadside urchin or an ill-mannered senior or a bold feature film, but it was from these very obscure and intriguing words and pictures drawn on the walls of our school toilet that had put our tender minds and imaginations to work overtime.
But graffiti wasn’t always this crude practice of scribbling mindlessly or insultingly, that haunts most unguarded public places these days. There are multitudinous examples of artistic graffiti in the history of mankind. Graffiti has existed ever since the days of ancient civilizations such as Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire. Presently, the oldest instance of graffiti known to man has been dated as approximately 32,000 years old. They are the paintings of a large number of murals on the cavern walls of the recently discovered Chauvet caves in France. There are examples of scrawled prehistoric symbols on the walls of the Lascaux caves dating back 15,000 years. The Romans expressed their aversion to the dictatorship of Julius Caesar in scribbled messages on the walls of the Forum Romana, while the early Christians carved statements on Pagan temples and within the Catacombs. The graffiti of Pompeii, where the term was first used in context, gives an insight into the mechanics of this frozen culture at a grassroot level. Although much of the history has been lost due to the popularity of charcoal as a medium, other examples have been found at locations such as the Domus Aurea of Emperor Nero in Rome, Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli, and the Maya site of Tikal in Mesoamerica. . There are also examples of graffiti occurring in American history, such as the Signature Rock, a national landmark along the Oregon Trail. Later, French soldiers carved their names on monuments during the Napoleonic campaign of Egypt in the 1790s. There is also evidence of Chinese graffiti on the Great Wall of China. In this light, agnominal graffiti is unique in it’s ability to bring forth the age-old human practice of writing on a wall. Thus, it can be seen that various expressive symbolic modes throughout history and pre-history display trends similar to those of “contemporary graffiti”. Hence, graffiti has evolved over time from an ‘art form of expression’ into the present crude form that is known as "modern graffiti" or contemporary graffiti; the public defacing of a surface using spray paint, markers, and other materials.
Writers are aware of the seditious implications of their art form, but do not always choose it simply to vandalize. The destructive nature of graffiti is indispensable to its role as a catalyst for change, both symbolic and social. Hence, Graffiti also has a positive side to it which has come to the fore at times of political tension and social unrest. Graffiti is the result of very specific needs, and is about spreading a message and to draw attention to something of socio-economic or political relevance. Graffiti has been recognized by many contemporary critics as a form of public art that is an effective tool in facilitating social emancipation or in the achievement of a political goal. The murals of Belfast and of Los Angeles have offered a means of communication and self-expression for members of these socially, ethnically and/or racially divided communities. The Berlin Wall was also extensively covered by Graffiti reflecting social pressures relating to the oppressive Soviet rule over the GDR. Another example includes the political punk band ‘Crass’, who conducted a campaign of stenciling anti-war, anarchist, feminist and anti-consumerist messages around the London Underground system during the late 1970s and early 1980s. An anti-capitalist art group named the ‘Space Hijackers’ did a piece in 2004 about the contradiction between the capitalistic elements and it’s use of political imagery.
Graffiti is also used as a means of rebelling against authority. It can express or criticize a political practice or can simply form just one tool in an array of resistance techniques. Political groups and individuals have used graffiti as a tool to spread their point of view. This practice, due to its illegality, has generally become favored by groups excluded from the political mainstream, for example, fascist supporters often scrawl ‘swastikas’ and other Nazi images. Both sides of the conflict in Northern Ireland produced political graffiti as well as slogans. Loyalist murals often refer to historical events dating from the war between James II and William III in the late 17th century, whereas Republican murals usually refer to the more recent troubles. Many freedom fighters involved in various freedom struggles and liberation movements across the world have used their prison sentences as a means to further protest by scribbling graffiti on the prison walls that voiced their radical views giving inspiration to fellow political prisoners fighting for the cause.
Therefore, there are undoubtedly a number of examples of artistic and revolutionary graffiti in the history of mankind, but now that has been replaced by crude abusive words. If we relate the present crude graffiti that is found in most unguarded public places – from tourist spots to toilets – with the earlier traditions of using graffiti as a tool to rebel against unjust and oppressive authority, and to show resentment against the ills of society, then we might find a strong connection. Even today, Graffiti is being employed by the underprivileged and deprived to reclaim public space where, being socially and economically marginalized, they have no right otherwise. The sight of a solitary public place/space, especially a wall, surfaces the pent up frustration and restlessness of unfulfilled desires in such people and they, being unable to contain the dissatisfaction inside any longer, unleash their anger and incivility on the walls by scribbling the vilest of abuses. The abuses ain’t directed towards anybody in particular because the writers themselves don’t know whom to blame exactly for their problematic lives, unending miseries and unfulfilled dreams. Since they have been unable in achieving what they pined for, the suffering proletariats derive sadistic pleasure by destructing public property and private belongings, and sardonic joy by insulting one and all. It is believed that even sex helps in releasing the bottled up frustration, helplessness, stress and anxiety in a person, but all that the sex-starved Indian middle class and lower middle class are left to do, is to vent their repressed ill feelings through spoiling public property - by crude provocative drawings and filthy abuses on the walls of public toilets, damaging the seats of trains and buses, spitting on freshly painted walls, and tearing leaves and grass in well maintained public parks. They neither have the money nor the capability to buy a space in a newspaper or magazine or some other public forum/platform to get their petitions, grievances and voices heard, and even if they somehow did, the "ruling class" or the "establishment in power" controlling the mainstream press, would systematically exclude and censor all radical and alternative point of views. Thus, the same graffiti-tarnished walls in public places that portray the bourgeois society’s declining moral code of conduct, are also the very walls that act as a ‘huge canvas’ showcasing the anger and frustration of the unheard-speakers and unread-writers who after years of silent suffering, have simply become disillusioned of the system, the judiciary, the ineffective five year plans, and false promises of politicians, and have ultimately resorted to such crude methods, out of sheer desperation, to make themselves heard. The graffiti-marred walls continually scream to us, the PRIVILEDGED DEAF, in “speechless MONOLOGUES” about the deprived comman man’s distress and agony and the frustration stemming from their helplessness.
Poor people who are oppressed or suppressed need an outlet, so they write on walls—it’s free. A city in which graffiti has been entirely expunged "embodies affection for authority”. However, people also have the right to protect their property. Thus, it’s a human dilemma. Therefore, finding a solution to this dilemma, many cities in Australia have designated walls or areas exclusively for use by graffiti artists and ordinary people so that petty vandalism is discouraged and yet people are encouraged to express their dissatisfaction and grievances, without the worry of being caught or arrested for vandalism or trespassing. This might be the solution to the problem in our country as well. Hope one day the freedom of expression, rather “freedom to express frustration” will no longer be restricted to crude abusive graffiti on toilet walls, bus seats and narrow by lanes, but on special ‘WALLS’ assigned for such ‘LIBERATION’.
"Art has the ability to criticize the system of the status quo. Graffiti is without question the most powerful art revolution in the recent art history. And any revolution might be considered a crime.”
BY : SHUBHRO SEN
