Personally, I think it's a really cool craft - there's a lot of technique and know-how just to control a can properly, let alone to pull off a composed piece or calligraphy. Some people do learn their basics on the fly for sure but I think it's a gift to the public when writers are given space to perfect their art.
Calling it broadly cultural is a bit wanky in some respects, but I think it is! In some ways, I think it's similar to why here is so interesting. Given the risks of participating and the lack of any kind of tangible reward outside recognition from other people involved, this/it exists largely because people've decided they want it to; and I think that's a pretty special thing imo - especially as a niche in our cultural ecosystem.
Anyway, just a little enthusiastic rant - I think graff' and street art represent a really neat subsection of our cities latent underground 'come-as-you-are' DIY culture. We have a pretty strong tradition in this respect, but it's only really something you hear about when the older cohorts start yarning (we never write anything down about ourselves here, I swear).
Like over the last couple of years I've increasingly noticed we only really celebrate our alt and DIY cultures once they're about 20-30 years passed and someone personally cared enough to keep artifacts from when they were around - like with that 80s-90s DIY punk-gig poster exhibition put on at the State Library a little while back. All stuff made on photocopiers and stapled to power poles during the Bjelke-Petersen years, someone just kept a bunch of them and bam - an admittedly really interesting exhibition. Nothing gets to be around long enough to be appreciated - so we never really learn who's doing what and how good it is until its been scraped off or firebombed unless you already knew, you know?
Point being, I reckon it would be really cool to deliberately subvert our cities de-facto culture of waiting until something's gone to appreciate it! Small steps, but I think it'd be cool to try building a bit of that culture in here.
TL;DR, what do we think? I get around the city a bit and every now and again I see a new work I think is cool or interesting. Would people be interested in seeing stuff like that on the sub? Like snapshots of the art being made in our city.
This's a community, thought I'd ask first - we're all figuring out what this place and our feed wants to look like. Unless people say otherwise, I think I'll just put things up as I see 'em. Would be really cool to see what's being made in parts of the city/suburbs I don't usually pass by if anyone else wants to join in! Lets appreciate our cool shit IRL!
Neither were the churches. Or the hospitals. Or the UN facilities. Or the Schools. Or the desalination plant. Or the tents filled with refugees. Or the graves of Australian soldiers. Or Palestinian civilians. Or the greenhouses.
Do you understand?