Local Graffiti

For my fieldwork topic, I chose to study the local Graffiti scene in Bloomington. As a student living on the south side of Bloomington I frequently see tagging on buildings and street signs without thinking much of them, other than they should probably be cleaned off at some point. However, after the first couple weeks of this I class, I quickly realized that these images can be equally as powerful as the songs I’m listening to on the bus home. Coming from a Chicago household that embraces artistic expression, I was exposed to globally famous works of art and the elaborate graffiti work of the inner city, and I am slightly disappointed in myself for seeing tags and pieces strictly as vandalism and crime. In Bloomington there are hundreds if not thousands of tags ranging in size and context but one site in particular takes the cake when it comes to quality and density.

The wall behind Rhino’s Youth Media Center is the mecca of all local graffiti, and the main site of my fieldwork. I believe this particular spot says the most about what it really means to be “local”. On the wall it seems as if the pieces themselves are all respectful of one another. Neatly stacked and fit side by side, not obnoxiously covering up anyone else’s work or disrespecting another artist in any way. That’s what Bloomington is all about. Acceptance and respect. As a tight-nit, close community, Bloomington has a University right in the middle of it that attracts cultures from all over the country and the world. This constant flow of different people and new ideas in and out of the town has shaped the local scene over time into a rich, diverse mix of people that embraces self-expression and freedom, crossed with a relaxed southern, suburban atmosphere. I had seen this wall before while cutting through the ally that runs behind Rhinos, but it was nice to get to actually spend a little time there and soak it all in. Like most, this alley isn’t particularly appealing and going alone at dusk to take my pictures was somewhat of an eerie experience, but when the flash lit up that wall, it completely drew my attention away from any nearby eyesores. The fact that the wall is somewhat hidden from any street view might make people think that the community frowns upon this kind of expression, and try’s to keep the graffiti culture quiet, and this might be true to some degree, but its more so the placement and not the material. Obviously they don’t want storefronts overrun with tags, and that’s why spots like the Rhino are so important. It’s an open spot for these underground artists to express themselves in a legal manor and be “loud”, that’s partly what local work is all about, being loud, and I think its fair to call these pieces of work visually loud.

I think that one similarity most of these local graffiti artists have is that they want to be taken