Monday, November 20, 2006
Legal spaces in Leeds
Royal Park school / Hyde Park
This is a legal wall around the side of the disused school on Royal Park Road which is used exclusively by graffiti writers/artists. It is a free wall in the sense that anyone can do anything whenever they want (although I'm told its regulars are fairly territorial). It is a positive thing that the wall has been allowed but personally I found it uninspiring - my view is that this kind of graf has developed little since its inception.
I find it quite an eyesore and fail to engage with it - the people that do it seem only to be communicating to other graf writers, that is, it fails to engage with a larger audience, or explore larger ideas/issues. Given the disdain with which most graf writers view new forms of street art - stickers, posters, stencils etc - these forms would seem inappropriate here, and would probably result in broken legs (from what I'm told).
I found this, scrawled on the floor, which made me laugh:
¶ 4:07 AM 
Royal Park school / Hyde Park
This is a legal wall around the side of the disused school on Royal Park Road which is used exclusively by graffiti writers/artists. It is a free wall in the sense that anyone can do anything whenever they want (although I'm told its regulars are fairly territorial). It is a positive thing that the wall has been allowed but personally I found it uninspiring - my view is that this kind of graf has developed little since its inception.
I find it quite an eyesore and fail to engage with it - the people that do it seem only to be communicating to other graf writers, that is, it fails to engage with a larger audience, or explore larger ideas/issues. Given the disdain with which most graf writers view new forms of street art - stickers, posters, stencils etc - these forms would seem inappropriate here, and would probably result in broken legs (from what I'm told).
I found this, scrawled on the floor, which made me laugh:
¶ 4:07 AM
