Street art at its best

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GRAFFITI – the scourge of local councils and residents the world over – is a major tourist attraction in the heart of Melbourne, the capital city of the Australian state of Victoria.

MOSAIC OF FACES: Portraits painted by various street artists at different times and reflecting different styles and techniques form a large mural which covers the whole sidewall of a shop building in Melbourne.

Recognised internationally as one of the world’s most livable cities, Melbourne is the second most populous city in the country after Sydney and a melting pot of cultures, with over a third of its population born overseas.

It has a long, proud history as the birthplace of many of the country’s traditional and contemporary cultural institutions.

Unsurprisingly, the city is also a thriving centre for street art and culture.

Graffiti – street art or vandalism?

Once stigmatised as an anti-social, subversive activity carried out furtively in haste under the cover of darkness by disenfranchised segments of society, street art has emerged from the underground into mainstream consciousness as an artistic form of expression, social commentary and critique.

The local councils have a love-hate relationship with street art with some making efforts to promote and preserve it as culturally and historically significant works of art while others denounce the high financial costs and lost manpower hours spent every year on restoring and replacing vandalised and defaced public property.

In 2004, the inaugural Melbourne Stencil Festival marked the beginnings of an annual affair which rapidly expanded from a three-day event in a warehouse in North Melbourne into a 16-day festival in 2010, showcasing a diverse range of contemporary street art and culture from Australian as well as international artists.

But in 2007, the state government introduced the Graffiti Prevention Act 2007 which advocates tough anti-graffiti laws.

This includes making it illegal to carry spray paint cans on or near public transport property or infrastructure “without lawful excuse” and restricting sales of spray paint cans to persons under 18 years of age unless they can prove they need the cans for employment purposes.

The Act also allows for punishment of up to two years’ jail time and fines reaching AUD$28,036.80 (about RM88,000) for various offenses.

Understandably, the street art community views the Act’s provisions as an infringement of free speech and human rights.

Supporters of street art take great pains to point out the differences between ‘graffiti’ as valid art as opposed to ‘graffiti’ as vandalism of public and private property.

However, the city of Melbourne does have a graffiti management plan in place which seeks to balance the concerns of street artists with that of the wider population of residents, allowing ‘legitimate’ street art to grow while ensuring that public interests are also taken into consideration.

Forms of street art

Many Malaysians are familiar with graffiti in the form of crude words, images and vulgarities spray-painted across walls and defacing public property.

But street art has expanded beyond spray-paintings to stencil art, posters, stickers, and even art installations created using mediums such as wood and stone.

A number of these works require high levels of technique and skills as well as great attention to detail.

Others reflect simple phrases and images which carry profound themes while yet more, are just meant to be taken at face value or just for fun.

Street art is now widely accepted as a legitimate art form.

Street artists like the UK’s Banksy have gained international acclaim and recognition, successfully selling works for thousands of pounds and being invited to conduct art exhibitions in established art museums and galleries across the world, including New York and London.

Companies seeking to tap into the youth market or energise their products and services with more hip and savvy branding often hire street artists as part of their corporate advertising and marketing strategies.

In the heart of Melbourne

A casual walk around the city centre will reveal explosions of colours and creativity delightfully splattered across shop fronts and building walls as mundane city walls are transformed into canvas for imaginative visual articulations – a living, breathing, flourishing and ever-changing outdoor art gallery,

It becomes almost like a treasure hunt as visitors and street art admirers try to discover new works as well as identify the works of various street artists.

Street art is constantly changing the city’s visual landscape as new works are always appearing over old ones.

Thankfully, there are ongoing efforts to document and preserve them.

The city also allows for street art meeting certain criteria to be registered and issues street art permits for certain areas. A list of registered street art applications which have been approved or are pending approval can be found on the city’s website (http://bit.ly/hkttV7)

Hosier Lane is arguably the city’s most well-known street art landmark attracting visitors from around the world, many of whom in turn have added their own mark to the laneway’s ever-changing artwork.

A comparatively lesser well-known but equally awe-inspiring destination for tourists and street art fans is the Croft Alley Project.

Nestled within Melbourne’s Chinatown just off Little Bourke Street, Croft Alley is a narrow alleyway flanked with high walls boasting breathtaking artwork and murals by Ironlak Team Australia — a team of Australian-based street artists sponsored by AVT Paints, an Australian company which manufactures spray paint, markers and other products and accessories used in the creation of aerosol art.

The Croft Alley Project began in 2009 in collaboration with “Don’t Ban The Can” — one of many of the street art community’s responses to tougher government laws on graffiti.

Organised with the support of the Croft Institute – a well-known bar and local landmark which sits at one end of the alley — street artists gathered to create works of art on the walls lining the alley and also as a show of unity to promote awareness about legal street art.

Earlier this year, stage two of the project kicked off, resulting in completely new artwork painted over the old ones, and giving street art fans another reason to keep returning to Croft Alley.

So the next time you’re in the heart of the city of Melbourne, take some time to check out its unique street art and celebrate street art culture.

Remember to bring a camera, extra batteries and plenty of film or digital memory to capture the artwork and the moment because chances are, it won’t be there the next time you’re there.