Reading Response #8

Graffiti is my favorite form of art, hands down. Obviously there's the occasional ignorant racial, but on the whole, graffiti is such a beautiful thing. At its very core, graffiti is a non-violent act of defiance, and the very fact that a piece of graffiti exists is a powerful statement of freedom. Unlike most other styles of art, which strive for subtlety and beauty, street art is all about making a statement and making it loud and public, the art of the Intifada is no different in this respect. In Peteet's article, she says: "each layer of paint indicating a partial and temporary victory in an ongoing battle". This statement beautifully describes the core idea of graffiti: you cannot silence our message, and the fact that the graffiti existed, regardless of it's message, spoke volumes to the social and political attitudes of the people. Graffiti has often been used as a political tool because of its capacity to illicit a visceral emotional response to anyone who sees it, and Peteet's description of the continuous graffiti-ing and painting over it as a battle is very accurate and provides a lot of insight into the situation. I also agree with her assessment of graffiti as a socio-cultural indicator of attitude and with the idea that each individual act of graffiti is itself a small act of defiance and a small claim to freedom which is indicative of the struggles of a society. The "battle" of the painting the walls with graffiti and then repainting them to attempt to erase it in many ways paralleled (and parallels) the ongoing political and physical battles between the Israelis and the Palestinians.