by J.R.
Graffiti can be complex, beautiful, dynamic, and controversial, but even more interesting than the art is the artists themselves. To create without desire for fame or recognition, knowing that the art will be removed or painted over, is an admirable trait credited to all graffiti artists. For my project, I decided to document the graffiti behind a local tattoo parlor. A wooden fence that runs about 30 feet long, in an area that is only open to employees and hardly ever viewed by customers, is completely covered with various tags, doodles, and giant murals behind the High Priestess Piercing and Tattoo parlor on 13th St. The artists go behind the store and tag while on smoke breaks or in between appointments. The wood of the fence is covered in layers and layers of paint; once the artists run out of space, they simply go over the old stuff. A 5 gallon bucket full of spray cans lies by the door, and every so often one of the guys will pick up a few more cans to replenish the stock.
The first 25 feet or so of the fence is dedicated to small tags, pictures, images and designs that are done in no more than 5 minutes, including a large hand with an eyeball in the center of the palm, a bunny with red lipstick and a bow, a jack-o-lantern, and approximately 30 different graffiti signatures repeating on top of or in between the images. Next to this stretch of sprayed scribbles and doodles is a sanctioned area, a brick wall where a mural that stands about 6 feet high and 10 feet wide resides behind a small flowerbed. The mural depicts images of nature: an old twisted tree beside what could be either mountains or ocean waves. Given the location of the mural, a place for the artists and employees to relax on their breaks, it’s assumed that the imagery within the piece is purposefully adding to the serenity and calmness of the surrounding environment. The various plants and flowers underneath and beside the mural create an even more natural appeal. If it weren’t for the patterns of the brick under the paint, you would think that the mural was on canvas. A spectrum of colors, shapes, and designs makes the mural unique in content and technique.
The most interesting thing about this area is that it is not directed towards any audience. The artists create purely for the sake of creating, and the public never sees it. To dedicate as much time, effort, and money for supplies as a piece of this size and skill requires is evidence that the artist behind the mural is not only dedicated to his work but that his creative ability is inspired and motivated not by money, fame, or prestige, but by the act of graffiti itself.
In talking with a few of the guys around the parlor, I found that many of the tattoo artists began their art careers as graffiti artists. It was only after they had been caught a few times that they turned their art addictions into productive (and better paying) jobs as tattoo artists. I learned that this was actually pretty typical of a lot of tattoo artists, not just these guys, and that a genre of tattoos reflecting this synchronism were becoming more and more popular as the graffiti and tattoo communities became closer. “Tag tats” are tattoos that actually look like graffiti. From bubble letters to ink drips, these tats exemplify the synchronicity of street art and tattoos. The fusing of these two diverse cultures is beneficial to both sides; the tattoo artists get to keep doing graffiti (only on skin instead of train cars), and the graffiti artists get to have their work on them forever, safe from city council removals. The best part is, street art is being recognized and admired by a vast amount of people, and though they may not be able to buy their favorite murals or pieces in galleries or museums, there’s always a guy with a needle waiting to tag it on your arm at the parlor. So, instead of seeing an artists work travel across the country on train cars or subways, now the form of graffiti migration also includes people. The more individuals there are that decide on a graffiti tattoo, the more people in all scales of society will come to accept street art for what it is: an empowering, reflective, and selfless form of art that signifies the voice of a culture that is otherwise being ignored and undermined.
Dynamic Street Art 
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