Talking Point: Graffiti

17 Conversations

Ancient stones covered in Latin grafitti

Few of us want to wake up to find the outside of our homes have been sprayed with paint, or sit on a train that declares that 'Baz luvs Debz' right across the route map. However, graffiti is not a modern problem. Indeed political slogans were discovered on walls in the remains of Pompeii, slogans that told historians fascinating things about the lifestyles and language of the Roman people.

So what if the graffiti of today is all that is left to inform historians of the future about life in the 21st Century? This week's Talking Point asks you to consider graffiti as a blessing, rather than a curse. Remembering of course to keep it clean, we want to know:

  • Have you ever seen an amusing piece of graffiti? What did it say?

  • Did you ever visit the Berlin Wall when it was still standing? Can you remember any of the slogans that were left there before the wall fell?

  • Where's the most ambitious 'tag' you've ever seen?

  • Can graffiti ever be considered 'art'?

  • What's the most insightful political slogan you've ever seen? For example, the feminist graffiti that was painted across 'sexist' billboards of the 1980s, such as the one that accompanied a pair of female legs emerging from a giant egg under the ad-line 'As beautiful as the day they were born', where someone had added 'BORN KICKING!'

  • Obviously, we should stress here that we do not condone this highly-illegal activity. So can you also suggest good methods of removing graffiti, just in case...?

Graphic supplied by Community Artist Lentilla.


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