Art is expression through any medium. It carries meaning and expression of thoughts and ideas. It holds feeling and energy. It carries force and diversity that not only the artist can see. It carries individuality, reason and inspiration. It does not have to be understood by anyone else. It conveys some of the innermost feelings in the most abstract ways. It contains beauty and elegance. It is about stating ideas, whatever the cost of conveying them. If this can define art, graffiti is an art form.
Since the dawn of human existence and literally thousands of years before written languages developed, people have used their surroundings as a canvas for expression. What a better place to find art but in Montreal. The old city’s elegant buildings are modernized by some of the most beautiful pieces of graffiti one will ever see. The mixture of old and new creates a totally unique place. The individuality of the city is reflected upon its thirst for art. What a better canvas than a stone wall. You do not have to visit a museum to see it, all you have to do is roam around the city to discover the building’s walls are used as the canvas and the local people are the artists.
Graffiti artists are the Picassos of hip-hop culture. They portray a language, an image, a voice and a vision. Graffiti is important because it is truly PUBLIC, in the streets. The artist is totally free, as long as he does not get arrested, and his message can be seen by anyone. True revolution starts with free expression like this. Graffiti lives in silence, it grows in darkness, it redefines itself and shows that there is much more to life than we all think we know…
