The Bee’s Knees: Street Art

Hello, and welcome to the Bee’s Knees, the weekly special here at Comic Booked where I take a look at some of the different ways people combine words and pictures. This week we’re looking at one of the most discouraged forms of art around—graffiti.

Graffiti has been around for thousands of years, even going back to the ancient Greek vandalism of even more ancient Egyptian ruins in Abu Simbel, Egypt. Today it’s hard to find a single railroad car that has not been painted over in bright colors. But it doesn’t always look trashy. Britain’s street artist known as Banksy, some of whose work can be seen on the right, has raised the bar in graffiti with his detailed pictures and social commentary.

Some people have looked for ways to enjoy making graffiti without breaking the law. Miami, Florida has seen so much graffiti that instead of fighting it, the city now takes pride in its artistic landscape, even displaying the finer pieces, such as Wilfredo Lee’s picture below, to tourists.

Some artists have chosen to express themselves on public landscape through light graffiti instead. Light graffiti is made by moving lights and photographing it with a long exposure camera. While being completely harmless to the world around it, this form of graffiti provides a stunning and psychedelic way for artists to draw graffiti all they want without fear of breaking the law.

And that’s the bee’s knees for this week! Please stay tuned to Comic Booked for more ways people blend words and pictures to create all-new forms of art. In the meantime, feel free to tell me in the comments section if there’s something you know of I should write about. What are your thoughts on graffiti? Is there a right time or place for it? Please share! The possibilities are endless!