Monday, March 24, 2014

Graffiti Hall of Fame

The Graffiti Hall of Fame is located in a school courtyard in East Harlem on 106th street and Park Avenue. The courtyard provides an expansive amount of space for exceptional displays of artwork (which are featured below). In regards to Ronald Kramer's argument in his article "Painting with Permission: Legal Graffiti in New York City," this area represents graffiti writers who work within the parameters of the law (263). I argue, alongside Kramer, that graffiti can be perceived as both a sanctioned and illegal activity. Graffiti is not just one or the other. The general public's perception of this activity (which has been mostly influenced by city officials and media portrayals) greatly excludes the existence of legal graffiti. After viewing the beautifully executed murals that are part of the Graffiti Hall of Fame, I strongly argue that legal graffiti is a viable outlet for artists to display their work. It is also a facet of graffiti which should always be taken into consideration when attempting to perceive the overall picture of the long-time controversial activity.

Photo by Carol Szwei 

Photo by Carol Szwei

Photo by Carol Szwei


Kramer, Ronald. “Painting with Permission: Legal Graffiti in New York City.” Ethnography 11.2 (2010): 235-253. SAGE Journals. PDF file.

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