The difference between graffiti and murals

What a heated issue… Talk with a mural artist in Balmy Alley and a graffiti artist whose been spraying the Dogpatch for years and you’ll hear completely unique perspectives. San Francisco and Oakland are hotbeds for incredible public art – from Diego Rivera’s mural at City College to the photo archives of the city’s many talented graff artists.

It’s art that’s free and open for everyone to enjoy or converse about or be stimulated by… That’s why I think it’s high time I set myself straight on what I’ve gathered from the artists I’ve had the pleasure to meet.

One of the roles of art – for the artist – is to be seen, to be heard, to express. Street art is just as much about that as the libretto for La Boheme. For those with visual inclinations, street art is perhaps the most accessible form of expression: it is largely self-taught, it is a social act (even created communally in some cases), it is low-cost, and it can be meaningful to the artist and to the place where the art is created. Drawings on cave walls are known to be the very first art form, and throughout history mural arts and graffiti have both been important.

Here’s my cheat sheet:

Murals – painting, spray art or mixed media that has been arranged between the property owner and the artist. In most cases the art is owned by the property owner, the license by the artist, maintenance is either arranged by a local mural arts organization or the property owner, and it is the owner’s duty to contact the artist in case touch-ups are needed. If the artist cannot be contacted or gives permission for the owner to hire another artist they may do so. Any representations of the art (like postcards) sold by a third party without the artists’ permission or compensation is illegal. Mural artists make a career of doing mural art because most of their work is commissioned.

Graffiti, or graff – spray art done with as broad an array of motivations as murals, but most often not done with the permission or agreement of the property owner. In some cases there are areas that have been somehow designated for graffiti. Most works of graff have some measure of artistic merit. Vandalism and tagging are different from graff, where someone just scribbles their alias or scratches a bus window. Obviously not all tagging, vandalism and graffiti can be neatly categorized, but generalizations about it have led to misconceptions. Graffiti artists range greatly with their motivation and expectation in terms of making a living – they can be anonymous, humble, or ego-maniacally leaning. Careers can stem from their graphic abilities, but outdoor commissions aren’t the norm.

The issue with street art is finding its place. When there is a community that cares about murals anything is possible – Precita Eyes works tirelessly to support the creative juices in their community and raise funds to keep Balmy Alley and mural arts alive.

There are places in the West Coast cities I’ve documented so far where there are unwritten agreements between the owner and the artists – a safe place for expression.

A similar, brilliant, non-verbal conversation happens when people and paint are unleashed on wall space.

Mission’s Balmy Alley exemplifies the variations in street art wonderfully. The one-block alleyway is lined with a riveting show of murals – each commissioned by the buildings owners. There are a few small spaces where murals and grafitti coexist, however.
In the recent weeks a graffiti stencil of Micheal Jackson went up near the Garfield Park end of the Alley. There is also a tiny graffiti – a wooden shoe that has been thrown over the telephone lines as a part of an anonymous artist’s cross-country project.

The other “graff” I know of on Balmy Alley is really tagging. On the front of a depiction of a Mission 14 bus, a bus known for being covered with tags, are left and not painted over. I love looking closely at these murals and making connections like this – once you see the 14 buses rolling by you’ll understand why the tags were left on the mural.

There is a mural tour offered by Precita Eyes that I would recommend to discover the inspiring stories behind the artists and their murals around San Francisco’s Mission. The guide, often muralist Patricia Rose, meets up with the food tour groups I lead when we’re in the neighborhood. Here she is showing us her mural.

In West Oakland the street art scene is much less official. It isn’t in conflict with mural art – you can appreciate both without condoning those silly folks who scratch windows and deface murals with spray cans.

This is one of those so-called agreed-upon areas. Each picture builds on the impact of the others. I don’t know the details of the arrangement so I don’t want to give away the exact location, but here are some things I saw there last week (below). The owner even wrote a sign to the artists saying there was an area he or she didn’t want marked up and the rule is consistently obeyed.

I wonder what would happen if there were a few muralists willing to take apprentices here, or if there were some funding for street art projects on these blocks. What would change? I guess West Oakland would rather go along quietly welcoming amazing artists and their studios on walls like these – the allure is alive.

Across the street from this wall there’s another studio where towering sculptures are constructed, destined to be public art on San Francisco’s Embarcadero and at Burning Man.

Next door to this hand I spotted the man who makes my favorite soap, filling his car for a delivery to the Claremont Hotel. What a happy surprise discovery. He makes luxurious Montclair Soap Company soap in a warehouse space shared with artists and even some small food businesses. Suffice to say, magic is happening in this ‘hood. More than could ever be covered in one measely blog entry.

This is what can happen when grafitti has a place:

 

If you’re in need of some extra visual stimuli you can always paint on your own walls – those you own, of course. One tip I’ve heard across the board with artists I’ve talked to is to prime the surface first – wash it really well first so that all the dust particles don’t impede your painting. Sand down rough areas, and use a primer paint or gouache for canvas or a handmade white tempera first and let it dry completely. When you’re done painting, you don’t necessarily have to seal the mural if you clean the prep your surface like this and use paint suitable for outdoor use.