Gorgeous Graffiti

The graphic arts room has been busy this fall working in their sketchbooks and trying their hand at graffiti drawing. We began the unit by watching a news clip interviewing graffiti artists as well as citizens and building owners. The question posed was "Is graffiti art or vandalism?". The students had a hard time making up their minds definitively which lead to interesting and animated class discussions.
They set to work creating their own "tags". The process included working in sketchbooks to try out different styles and design elements. Grid lines were drawn and decisions on symmetry and line were made. On their final drafts, students made decisions of color and value. Process was the focus as the students used sketchbooks as an inquiry tool to "try before you buy-into" the different elements. It was interesting to hear the vandalism vs art debate grow and change throughout the different stages of the project.
The results were excellent!