Graffiti Art - On Campus

Graffiti art, Christchurch Polytechnic. Oct. 2008. Ajr

As anyone following this blog will know, I’m a big graffiti fan – or, more precisely, I’m a fan of good street art - as opposed to mindless graffiti scribblings. And yes, there is a big difference; and yes, regardless of any clamp down on the activity, it is a legitimate creative pursuit that is here to stay. The sooner ‘respectable citizens’ and city councils realise that and make provision for the ‘legal expression’ of street artists, the better. Take the amazing display of graffiti that backs onto the railway lines off Moorehouse Avenue for instance (see below). I defy anyone to suggest that this is less appealing than dreary unadorned buildings. And so the Christchurch Polytech, where I discovered this colourful alley between campus buildings. I like that someone has been allowed to enliven an otherwise ‘dead’ space with bold colour. It’s fun, it’s funky, it’s loud – like most of the students I expect - and it’s SO much more appealing than the concrete-gray austerity of Canterbury University that I visited last week. For other comments on this subject click on 'graffiti' in the label line below this post.