“I think art is a useful tool for showing what one may be afraid to say,” Benjamin, who has recently moved to Bushwick, says as he looks at the graffiti in front of him
Graffiti has been a part of New York culture since the 1960s, following the death of Charles “Yardbird” Parker, a popular jazz artist, in 1955 and groups of people writing “Bird Lives” on buildings. Now in 2015, graffiti is considered a form of art and in the neighborhood of Bushwick, this is evident.
Bushwick is in Northern Brooklyn, near Williamsburg and Ridgewood, Queens. In past decades, it had a reputation of being full of “Gangs, drugs and violence” according to Gloria, who’s been a resident of the area for 21 years.
However in the last decade, the neighborhood has been gentrified and has become a popular area for “hipsters.” This has led to a drastic change of culture in Bushwick because of the people moving in. As rent increased, lower-income individuals could not afford it left their homes in search of lower rent. Therefore people who could afford it moved into these homes.
This change of people also led to a change of what people expressed in their art. The majority of the graffiti today is a variety of emotions of different topics like police brutality and pop culture. Many artists want their voices heard and graffiti is a way to get a majority of people to see it.
Gloria also recalled how most of the graffiti was gang related in the 80s and 90s, so everyone knows whom they are affiliated with. But now people just want their ideas out there. Bushwick is also the home of the ‘Art In Bushwick’ organization, which hosts many of the artists responsible for the new type of graffiti.
One example of this is the artwork of a young man in traditional Mexican attire with the words ‘Earth’ and ‘Revolution’ written on his right and left hands respectively. The pose he’s in is similar to one of surrender. The background is a dark red sunset and birds flying around, with bullet holes seemingly hitting the young man. “I think it’s beautifully symbolic, given the current actions of the police,” says Franklin, who was departing the nearby Jefferson St. subway station. One of the more interesting things about this piece is how the paint is also on the ground, resembling blood. The art was made by Ta’Kaiya Blaney. It is located on the corner of Starr Street and Wyckoff Avenue.
Another piece of art is the more recent rendition of 4 Renaissance artists, (Leonardo Da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo and Donatello,) painted with the same colored masks of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles that hold their names. This combines modern culture with the Renaissance era. The 4 men are painted in black and white, aside from their masks, which are the 4 colors of the ninja turtles (Blue, Red, Orange and Purple respectively.) The mural was created by New Zealand street artist Owen Dippie and is located at the old railroad tracks near Morgan and Meserole avenues.
Traditionally graffiti was used as a way to express one’s emotions about a certain topic, may it be one as serious as police brutality or as light hearted as friendship. The artwork in Bushwick is no exception. But there are always those who don’t like what’s going on.
“Why do you need to let everyone know what your name is? I honestly don’t see the point.” Hebert, an elderly man who was passing by, said. He was referring to the graffiti that read “Marley” multiple times on different colors. There was also the random destruction of posters at the Jefferson St. Stop, at the stairwell. They told a story about the two women in the ‘AT&T’ posters that didn’t relate to the actual message of the posters. The graffiti was written on these posters telling a story of how the two women in the ad were actually a couple, and how difficult their relationship was. Currently, different posters have covered up those ads. But even this “mindless” vandalism meant something, at least to the person who spent their time writing it out.
The graffiti is allowing Bushwick to blossom into a place for people who want to spread a message to the masses. It helped make a place that used to be filled with factories and chaos into a place that is calm and filled with art for the world to see.
that is also a decent place to spend time at. But what if that place actually exists in the heart of Manhattan?
“Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.”