Notes on controversial imagery:

Our hope as curators is to elevate, educate, and inspire the community to be better viewers and interpreters of art. This requires deep looking, reflection, and asking good, but sometimes hard questions.

We want to move the viewer beyond easy, emotional levels of looking and help them become mindful of their feelings — ask why they feel that way — guide our thoughts without quick reactions.

There are hosts of images that could be seen as controversial but we want them to serve as a source for interpretation rather than quick reaction.

Graffiti artists, street artists, and the various sub-cultures represented in this show see their art as a creative expression of themselves (like specialized signatures), which they can write on as many surfaces as possible — especially as graffiti. The more they repeat what they write, the stronger the message becomes. Typically, it’s not done for us viewers, but rather for other writers and members of those sub-cultures. Such understanding helps onlookers avoid being deterred by an art form merely because it’s unfamiliar.

Those in authority often (not always) view graffiti as something that need to be controlled because it represents lawlessness, chaos, and destruction of property. Whether it be police, politicians, teachers/administrators…. or anyone in an authoritative position often see controlling graffiti as the goal.

This is true in scholarship regarding graffiti and it has not been until recently that we have started to look at it from different perspectives.

In a recent statement, the CCAE Board of Trustees reaffirmed the Center’s commitment to Street Legacy: SoCal Style Masters. Read the full statement here.