These articles discuss the trends in graffiti artists. Is there a stereotypical graffiti artist and a typical place in which graffiti is created? These chapters point out gender, political, and religious themes in both graffiti subjects and artists. There is an idea that all graffiti artists are male. This is because many of the graffiti artists who are famous are male, so we assume that anonymous ones are also male. Sotheby’s did this on an instagram comment following their sold Banksy print by declaring that the print was renamed “by the artist himself”. Why do we make this male assumption and is it true? While there is a trend in gender, there was also a trend in political leanings on which college campuses have graffiti on campus. Both liberal and conservative schools may include graffiti on campus, but the subject of the graffiti varies in the same way that student political opinions vary. The articles also discuss religious themes in graffiti by using Keith Haring as an example.
The role of the wall is something that has been discussed regularly in this seminar. The last point of these articles is declaring walls as both positive and negative. Walls serve as barriers and as protection, they make us feel safe through closure and also make us feel separated. The connotation that comes with a wall continues when that wall has graffiti on it.