RESACA CITY STREETS: Distinguishing Street Art From Graffiti

By JOE BOCANEGRA
Special to the NEWS

Joe Bocanegra

One tends to get distracted with the sights and sounds of the city while walking through these pothole-riddled roads. Walking not only is a meaning of transport between point A and point B, but it is also a means of seeing what is between the points. And you tend to enjoy those points-within-points with far more detail than what you can in a car or bike. Well, that’s a bit of a lie since, with a bike, you can at least land yourself on the curb without a single honk or obscene gesture than driving can get you.

Two modern examples of these points are street art and graffiti.

To me, these two are very different. Street art illustrates while graffiti degrades. Some critics say that these two terms are interchangeable, but I do not. One speaks of artwork that can stay for ages, gracing the city with beauty and originality while the other has been downgraded for hoodlums and gang members and usually covered up.

Most of this stuff is seen behind the storefronts, in the backstreets and alleyways, but one major place for street art is the skateboard park right next to the downtown railroad. Not only does it show fantastic works of street art, but it is changes every six months or so. Of course, the bordering walls stay the way they are, which serves as a slight contrast of the changes that the main wall has. I have seen that wall go from abstracts to portraits and back since the park first opened, but I would love to see it change to a huge sci-fi scene with gun-toting astronauts and scantily-clad alien females, with the 1980s movie classic “Heavy Metal” acting as inspiration.

Most of the street art is done with spray paint (the only thing, I think, that joins this and graffiti together), which is done freehand; although, some is made by stenciling with painter’s tape. I have seen a good number of the former throughout the city, the skate park included. One simply fills in forms, then uses different shades as highlights, shadows, and outlines. I have witnessed this creation myself on occasion during my travels, and every time I linger a bit and watch.

Graffiti, or tagging as the current lingo goes, is a bit more chaotic whereas it’s just a symbol of a certain gang or, for the more egotistical, their own initials. Sad to say, the city is layered in the stuff, which often causes home and storeowners grief as they’re burdened with cleaning the unsightly mess.

Of course, the two could be combined into one when it is unwanted. One of the more recent cases is the Dolly Vinsant stenciled-in graffiti a while back. Unwanted simply for the reason that it degraded the building, yet if it graced the front of a tattoo parlor, it might fit right in.

This leads me to another point, which is when and where either is desired. Most cases of graffiti are unwanted simply for the reason that they are inappropriately placed. By that, I mean the business fronts, the sides, and sometimes even the sidewalks. The city and the business usually do cover it up, or in some cases wash it off, but that only invites the people to do it again. Keep in mind that it is in places where it could be seen. If it was behind the store, or in the alleys, chances are that it would stay.

For example, there is a small mural located amidst the downtown area. It shows an image of a person, of indiscriminate age, and black and white swirls of paint surround the image. From what I can tell, this has been here for years. Given the previous definitions, this would be called street art, because it beautifies. But is it graffiti? Is it not unwanted – no attempts have been made to destroy it or cover it up. It is just there. Of course it could be labeled as such, but as I mentioned, since it is not really noticeable, no one makes the effort to cover it up.

It goes to show you that beauty really is in the eye of the beholder.

Read this story in the Oct. 10 edition of the San Benito News, or subscribe to our E-Edition by clicking here.