RRaW: Week 5a Exercise 4 25/3 Political and street art

How is political and street art relevant to me?

First off, I can't think of how political art is relevant to me as I can't think of any examples. Street art however is relevant as I see it everywhere. Especially in Otara. I see tagging everywhere. On walls, rubbish bins, signs, doors, shops. Political art I guess could be similar to this. I see posters encouraging people to quit smoking, I guess this is a form of political art however it does not relate to me in the sense that it is not appealing to me as I do not smoke. Such as street art is also not appealing to me as I do not see careless tagging and graffiti as 'art', I see it as offensive and disgusting. However I have seen professional graffiti on walls, almost like murals. This is 'art' and is more relevant as I appreciate work that has a lot of effort and thought put into it, albeit it is not my style.

How would I use political or street art to represent my community?

If I had to represent my community through political or street art, the message I would convey would appeal to all young people, people in my age group. I would spread messages encouraging them to better themselves, for example encourage them to get an education or a job, encourage them to do the things they love whilst working towards their future. It would also include messages urging those that are going down the path of drugs and self harm, to get back on the right path as these things are big issues in the young adult community and they need to be addressed. I would use techniques that might catch the eye of the young adult community, for example stencil art would be quite eye catching, similar to that of Banksy. I would use brief statements; "HAVE FAITH IN YOURSELF", "GIVE YOURSELF A BRIGHT FUTURE", "CHOOSE THE RIGHT PATH". I would also include images of things that are not necessarily relevant to the issue or statement but images that can make someone smile, such as a kitten or a puppy, or something associated with positiveness like a sun - small symbols. I would put this art where I would expect the target audience - young adults - to hang out, such as skate parks, malls, movie theatres, high schools, universities, recreational areas for young people.

Does political or street art have a place in my life?

Political or street art may have a place in my life if it is relevant to me, or if I wanted to convey a message to a community.