Grafitti as a social treasure

I fell in love with Grafitti when I fell in love with my husband. In his mid teens he began stealing paint and spray from Home Depot in Miami with his friends and they ended up painting half of the guetto walls and trains of the city. In fact we can still find some of his stuff there which is rare. It made him cool even 20 years later when I met him.

But 20 years ago grafitti was a crime, kids would end up paying high fines or completing community service time for 'polluting' the walls of cities like Miami. Today artists like Banksy get paid millions for their work and have their art protected by city councils like London (see how they have stopped the work from being erased)

Banksy is a major tipper (as in he makes the point tip) not just for himself but for others around the world. Many art and culture critics have made money compiling Banksy's work as well as writing about the mysterious artist, but what is really interesting is how other grafitti artists are inspired by Banksy's work.

This is the work of Derby Blue and he does his wall painting in Joao Pessoa, north of Brazil.


His work is also amazing and you can check some more of his stuff at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/derbyblue/