What is Art?

[trailraider]

It's art, yes. It's clearly in the wrong spot. I agree with all of you. I think the historical value of the building trumps the need to paint a green alien.
I even have a hard time when I see names carved into trees and cliff walls when on a trail. This is not the purpose of nature to become a canvas for some ass hats vision. There is plenty of places this would have been acceptable, our city council has actually encouraged artists to paint the bridge columns in the city to take away the concrete jungle feel. so it's not like there isn't avenues to go. and it has helped with random graffiti. Someone should add to it for the penis effect.

 

[trailraider]

Art
View attachment 361715

art
View attachment 361716

art
View attachment 361717

art
View attachment 361718

art
View attachment 361719

art
View attachment 361720

If i saw this near other graffiti or murals in a city then maybe, but the canvas of being what seems to be well preserved history. That’s just vandalism for no point. Not to say that just because somethings old it should remain untouched. Like you could photoshop this onto another place and it would make sense and not be offensive, even though it’s pretty amateur, it fits, middle of the desert only “art piece” no, not how that works.
View attachment 361721Side note since on the topic, they covered the graffiti highway, assholes, that was on my bucket list

was the graffiti hiway in the town where the coal underground is burning? cause that's on my list of places to see as well.

 

[fiend]

I don’t mean to defend the graffiti in any way, but one could equally ask, what is history? A lot of “ghost towns” and similar sites (e.g., abandoned mines) are just structures, equipment, and other stuff abandoned in place because it was too much trouble or too expensive to remove them and return the land to its original condition. 100 or so years later, someone’s trash is deemed to have historical significance. Equally, petroglyphs, cave paintings, etc. were the graffiti of their day. 100s or 1000s of years later, they are regarded as precious artifacts with historical and other value. So maybe in the 100 or more years, that graffiti on an abandoned structure will be deemed historically or culturally meaningful.

 

[TGPJKUR]

was the graffiti hiway in the town where the coal underground is burning? cause that's on my list of places to see as well.

Unfortunately Graffiti HWY is a thing of the past. It was covered with fill last year.

 

[wayoflife]

I don’t mean to defend the graffiti in any way, but one could equally ask, what is history? A lot of “ghost towns” and similar sites (e.g., abandoned mines) are just structures, equipment, and other stuff abandoned in place because it was too much trouble or too expensive to remove them and return the land to its original condition. 100 or so years later, someone’s trash is deemed to have historical significance. Equally, petroglyphs, cave paintings, etc. were the graffiti of their day. 100s or 1000s of years later, they are regarded as precious artifacts with historical and other value. So maybe in the 100 or more years, that graffiti on an abandoned structure will be deemed historically or culturally meaningful.

What breaks my heart the most is that I know I am on the losing end of this argument. I fully realize that I do not hold the enlightened high ground and there is no longer room for crusty old values like mine. I do have to wonder though, if this structure were in a state or national park like Bodie or Death Valley, would artistic expressions like this be tolerated. Even site that aren't but are popular destinations on BLM land have signs like this posted.



Of course, the key words for me are "...for the benefit of ALL Americans."

I would imagine that if the federal government had the resources, signs like this would exist at remote locations like the one I posted about. Not that it would matter though being that nobody today really seems to care. And really, why should they - these places only exist as teachable moments. Who'd want to learn about the hardships our ancestors faced, the trials they had to endure, the conditions they had to live in and the things they had to do to survive. Clearly, it's more important to erase the past and replace them with culturally meaningful "art".

 

[Brute]

I don’t mean to defend the graffiti in any way, but one could equally ask, what is history? A lot of “ghost towns” and similar sites (e.g., abandoned mines) are just structures, equipment, and other stuff abandoned in place because it was too much trouble or too expensive to remove them and return the land to its original condition. 100 or so years later, someone’s trash is deemed to have historical significance. Equally, petroglyphs, cave paintings, etc. were the graffiti of their day. 100s or 1000s of years later, they are regarded as precious artifacts with historical and other value. So maybe in the 100 or more years, that graffiti on an abandoned structure will be deemed historically or culturally meaningful.

Interesting point...time changes perspective.

I dove on the USS Saratoga in Bikini Atoll many years ago. It was sank, along with many other ships in the lagoon as part of several nuclear bomb tests after WWII...swimming through the hanger bay, one of the first things I noticed were the torpedo bombs littering the floor of the hangar amongst the Wildcats with their wings folded up. Fifty plus years have passed from when the ship was sunk to when I dove on her...and nothing is allowed to be removed from any of the ships as they have been designated as historical sites.


If a ship of this magnitude sank today, it would be declared an environmental disaster, and every effort to salvage and remove it would have been undertaken.

 

[Kuboske]

I kind of hesitate to go here, but, besides these, defenders of graffiti, our nation is full of young, "woke", idiots, destroying statues.
Probably alot of overlap, amongst this population.
I love to visit battlefields, as well as ghost towns.
Eddie touched on the way I feel about what is worth keeping, and what I consider criminal vandalism. Places with ancient petroglyphs, Register Cliff, The wagon ruts, at Guernsey, (I could on and on), are remains, and symbolic of great human struggle, to expand a nation, or survive.
Not some young moron with a paint can, and a smartphone to show the world, they exist...

 

[Snboarder113]

was the graffiti hiway in the town where the coal underground is burning? cause that's on my list of places to see as well.

Yup that’s the one, and they covered it.

How is any of the stuff you posted different? It’s defacing property.

the question was what is art not what is legal, I chose those examples for a reason.

 

[bhaner]

Makes me want to find a sand blaster and clean up the vandalism.

Then invite her to the event.

 

[MR.Ty]

Yea no. Fuck the person that did that and fuck her for thinking it's "art".

 

[JeepGA]

So, there's a gal that we've been following on IG for quite some time now and mainly because of all the amazing destinations that she visits in Nevada. I wanna say that she even writes for Travel Nevada or something like that. Anyway, most of the places she posts up about are hot springs as that's her thing but on occasion, she visits ghost towns and cool destinations like that. Today, I saw she posted up a pic from one such destination that up until a year or so ago, was still pristine and devoid of the kind of stupidness that you see all across California. In her post, she called the new graffiti "art" and suggested that I was wrong to feel sad about it being that it somehow will help prevent random taggers from destroying the place. And, this got me thinking, what in the actual fuck is "art"? Here's the post in question...

View attachment 361711

And, this is what it looked like almost 2 years ago...

View attachment 361712

I should note that I went to a very liberal architecture school and have studied art extensively during my college years. I have even traveled all across Europe in my endeavors and honestly, would anyone really call it "art" to spray paint shit like this on Michelangelo’s Statue of David? I mean really, I need someone to please educate me on why shit like this green fuck face saying that "love is everywhere" is art??

I don't know, maybe it's just me getting old but to me, this fucker is a THEAF! What he did is not steal from me but from anyone and everyone that may have wanted to see this amazing destination for what it was. And really, if there's one thing that I've seen living in the inner city, it's that what you allow only encourages more of the same. Maybe there's just a green fuck face today but tomorrow, it'll be random tagging or worse. I can guarantee it and yes, it pisses me off.

Sorry for the rant.

Who is Wonderhussy?

 

[Bullwinckle]

Damn seeing people deface anything of historical greatness is not art it’s vandalism at its finest. I feel sad for anyone who thinks differently. If they want to make art buy a damn canvas from an arts store. Not a brick building out in the middle of the Desert that people enjoy. Damn “woke” generation again telling everyone what should be....