It's no Banksy - what has 'street art' got to say for itself?
It's no Banksy - what has 'street art' got to say for itself?
Ah, graffiti artists – they're like the rock stars of the art world. At times creating bold and colourful compositions that are often intended to challenge authority or make an otherwise dull environment more visually appealing.
It's not uncommon to see a tag or mural, so intricate that it looks like it was painted by a team of artists. How do they do it?
Of course there is also an anti-social element to graffiti, as we have reported on time and time again.
Let's not forget about the risks involved. Not only is it, more often than not, illegal but graffiti artists also often take bold risks to tag unusual, remote and dangerous areas (train tracks spring to mind). You have to be pretty brave – or foolish – to take on that kind of risk just for the sake of creating ‘art’.
It can at times take on an even deeper baseness when used to promote hate speech, target or intimidate individuals and communities. Unfortunately, this tends to be the type of graffiti we most often encounter and report on.
Related: ‘Significant stress’ for Newry election candidate after home daubed in sectarian graffiti
Despite garnering a negative view in the public eye, there are some graffiti artists who continue to create some of the most thought-provoking works of art out there, both professionally and recreationally. The ‘recreational’ artwork may not always be appreciated by the authorities, but they certainly know how to make a statement.
As many readers have pointed out in the past - there is some humour in it - if not only for the bad spelling and poor grammar - the context at times can be relatively witty.
In 2021, one Craigavion man launched a petition to ‘Save the Reck’ and create an Urban Youth centre with a proposed ‘Graffiti Wall’ to help harness and develop spray painting skills - and keep it off our public streets!
Headlines
Hamiltonsbawn girl Ella a real fighter as she continues treatment for brain tumour
County Armagh man attacked neighbour’s fence with hammer in early hours
Fire service called several times after bins set on fire at Armagh recreation centre
Two men charged over incident being treated as sectarian hate crime in Lurgan
King invites Archbishop of Armagh to play historic role at his Coronation Service
Work starts on former Dunnes Stores site in Armagh
Shocking vandalism spree in Waringstown continues after 10 mature trees chopped down
Man (70) arrested after £2million worth of cigarettes and tobacco seized in Coalisland
Drink driver who crashed car into tree ‘traumatised’ ex-partner and her four children
Judge praises child victim of serial rape and sexual abuse at hands of stepfather
Private detective accused of harassment insists he was legally doing his job
Eleven vehicles destroyed after transporter set on fire near Tamnamore
Ticket giveaways
We’ll keep this short and sweet:
Congratulations to Maresa Crossey you are this weeks cinema tickets winner. Give us a call on 028 3744 3043
and.. Edith Nichol, you are off to see the PM Big Band on Saturday, May 13, 2023 at the Marketplace Theatre. Contact us to arrange your tickets. Well done!
Click here to enter this weeks cinema ticket giveaway
Look Back…
Ahead of tomorrow’s Coronation festivities, we took a look back to a few of His Majesty’s visits to Armagh:
2000: Within his two day Millennium visit, the Prince officially opened The Market Place Theatre to grand applause.
2021: The Prince made an announced stop at Slieve Gullion Forest Park, where he casually met with and spoke to families using the facilities, in what is thought to be the first Royal visit to South Armagh without considerable planning and security.
Coming up
For the final episode of our First Responders series, we met up with Adrian Cassidy from Keady First Responders. This episode will be out later today (Friday). Here’s a snippet...