User:Esch Em Spring 2008

Welcome to my page! I hope you enjoy it! :)

“Graffiti and Social Deviance: Is it really a crime or just an expression of one’s self?”

Objective: I propose to use the medium of Flickr to present the “art” of graffiti as a two-fold issue: a socially deviant crime and an expression of an artist’s freedom of speech. Both sides view themselves as correct, but which one is? I plan to give both sides a voice through pictures taken in the local Athens area as well as the campus of Ohio University and quotes from research and newspaper articles regarding the subject.

Interest: This is interesting because graffiti is everywhere. Lately, major efforts have been introduced to eradicate and clean up a city’s image by removing the artwork that is painted all over public property. It brings up the question, “Where should the line of expression be drawn?”

Background Reading: -“The Great Graffiti Wars of the Late 20th Century”-Sherri Cavan -“The Artistic Construction of a Counter Culture”-Rashaun Esposito -“Crimes of Style: Urban graffiti and the politics of criminality”-J. Ferrell -Duncan Cumming graffiti photos/quotes -sociology text book

General Plan: I plan to read all the information I have found about social deviance and graffiti. After getting a hold on all the information, I plan to walk around the Ohio University campus and also drive around the local Athens area in search of graffiti as well as evident efforts to remove it from public property. Once all pictures are taken, I will upload them to Flickr and create a slideshow set to quotes from artists and public leaders on this issue.

Collaborators: I plan to work alone for this project due to my course load and time constraints. I feel it is better to take a solo approach to this project.

http://www.youtube.com/v/GW9iD3wpBW8