Graffiti Days: Battery Townsley I

Posted by liaso (Bay Area, United States) on 17 November 2007 in Art & Design.

The next two days I am posting photos of "graffiti"/graffiti. For my friends not part of aminus, I am joining in on a theme:

A new theme...Wall graffiti...A strong message is given, an art is produced for all to enjoy free of charge or maybe it can be ugly. So go out...find the graffiti...photograph it

For me, I am fascinated by the definition of graffiti and my own feeling of the difference between "graffiti"(which I consider to be something positive) and graffiti (which I consider to be something negative). A simple definition of the word from dictionary.com says "markings, as initials, slogans, or drawings, written, spray-painted, or sketched on a sidewalk, wall of a building or public restroom, or the like". I tend to think of these initials and drawings in two ways. Words or names that are just scrawled don't tend to impress me whereas public art/commentary in the form of word art or murals is much more my style. Of course, the question is what distinguishes "graffiti" from graffiti in my mind. I think when a mural or word art has individual artistry, rather than a crude drawing or phrase, and/or it has significant historical value, it is "graffiti" to me. Graffiti has a much more illicit feeling, something like a scrawled name (rarely a picture) that is just there to claim ownership or say "screw you" rather than as a visual communication of art or feeling.

I found a very interesting essay on the nature of graffiti. http://www.graffiti.org/faq/graf.def.html It is a very good read, and states part of my conundrum regarding wall murals and artistic "graffiti": As graffiti has begun to find its way from its original urban locations to the walls of galleries and museums, the question of vandalism and graffiti as an art form has provoked endless controversy, raising such questions as whether vandalism can be considered art or whether graffiti can be considered graffiti if they are made legally. What artistically distinguishes a wall mural that was painted at the bequest of someone with one that was not, besides the legality of it? If you put them side by side, would you be able to tell? And if the non-requested graffiti comes from a very specific era, representative of a culture and a time, and it manages to last for decades, what then happens to make it "graffiti" and something historical to be preserved, rather than painted over during restoration?

The photos for today and tomorrow are from Battery Townsley in the Marin Headlands. It was built just prior to U.S. involvement in WW II, construction beginning at the start of the European portion of the war. It is in the process of being renovated, and only reopened in October of 2007. (Meaning when I just happened upon it on my hike it was only the second time it was open to visitors as it is only open once a month.) As per the Chronicle, prior to the Battery's renovation it was "dilapidated...had been battered with graffiti, broken beer bottles, mouse droppings and years of neglect. It was closed to the public in the early '90s." As the renovation process is still happening, there is still a great deal of graffiti covering the walls of rooms yet to be repainted. The article about the reopening of the Battery is here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/15/BA1FSQ1NF.DTL

Today's picture is an example of historical "graffiti". It will not be painted over, as it is a representation of the culture and artwork of the men who were stationed here after Pearl Harbor. It has moved from graffiti to art of historical significance and that fascinates me. How do you define its history? It was drawn in the 40s during the war, but has penciled names on it from the 50s (one is dated 1958), and who knows what if anything was added by the kids who graffitied the walls in the '80s. Is all of it art? Or only the portions created by the army during the war?

Please note this picture has been slightly cropped and the contrast adjusted. I had a shadow on the left side caused by the people surrounding the drawing as we listened to the guide describe its meanings and symbols. I'm not sure if something is still graffiti (or even "graffiti") once it's a stop on a tour.

P.S. Sorry for the late posting today. I conked out last night and then woke up very late today. Then I went and wrote a mini-essay on the subject. I will slightly delay Sunday's posting, so that the pics get equal time on the home page.