Graffiti
Text A
Graffiti: art or vandalism?
Where do you expect to see graffiti? Probably not in a museum. Bristol Museum
and Art Gallery, in the south-west of England, was the kind of place you went to see
classical statues and stuffed animals in cases until the arrival of the ‘Banksy versus the
Bristol Museum’ exhibition in the summer of 2009. The exhibition hosted more than
100 works by Banksy, one of the world’s most famous graffiti artists.
Banksy is a man of mystery. He hardly ever gives interviews and likes to be
anonymous. Nobody knows much about his life or his background but many people
believe that his real name is either Robin Gunningham, Robert Banks or Robin Banks
and that he was born in 1973 near Bristol.
Banksy’s controversial ‘street art’ includes spray paintings on live sheep and cows and
graffiti on the huge wall erected to divide Israel and Palestine. Brad Pitt spent over
2 million dollars on a Bansky original. Banksy designed an album cover for the Britpop
group Blur in 2003 but he has refused at least four requests to do adverts for Nike.
A year after the Bristol exhibition, Banksy made a film called Exit Through the Gift
Shop. The film tells the story of a French street artist in America. Exit Through the Gift
Shop received many positive reviews. Nobody knows if it was about a real artist or an
invented character from Banky’s imagination.
Source
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Image: istockphoto.com –
Text B
Does graffiti symbolise a
neighbourhood in decline, or should
it be seen as valuable art? Join Labs
panellists in the great graffiti debate…
Some would agree, but increasingly, this view is being challenged by the growing
prominence of ‘street artists’ who create graffiti that many people would consider to
be valuable works art.
Just last week, a collection of works by British graffiti artist Banksy sold for more
than £400,000 at an auction in London.
On the other hand, the usual perception of graffiti as a ‘problem’ persists: English
Heritage reported recently that around 70,000 listed buildings are estimated to have
been damaged in 2011 – from, they cited, a combination of graffiti, urination and
metal theft.
What are your views on graffiti? We asked
Labs participants to have their say on the
issue.
Responses tended to represent one of two general opinions: panellists either felt
that graffiti was largely an act of vandalism regardless of its type, or felt that in some
situations, it can be acceptable and even seen as art. The responses we received
made it clear that it is the content, style and message of the graffiti that matters.
Many people also suggested setting up designated areas to keep graffiti under
control, while a few participants proposed new penalties for graffiti that is
unmistakeably anti-social.
Source
ffiti-vandal.co.uk/news/2012/04/05/gra
Adapted from: https://yougov
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201
/ [Accessed 26 May
ism-or-acceptable-street-art
© YouGov Research
Reading
Read Text A carefully and answer the following questions.
1. What do we learn about Banksy in this text and what impression do you get of him?
This question tests your ability to retrieve information from the text and use inference skills.
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2. Who did Banksy refuse to work for?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Bristol Museum Art Gallery
Nike
Brad Pitt
Blur
This question tests your ability to retrieve information from the text.
3. Is this statement true or false?
True
Banksy is one of the world’s most famous graffiti artists and therefore
he is very much in the public eye and discusses his work regularly in
the media.
This question tests your ability to retrieve information using deduction and inference skills.
False
Read Text B and answer the following questions.
4. What is the meaning of ‘unmistakeably’?
a.
b.
c.
d.
ambiguously
done by mistake
obviously
unclearly
This is a context question which asks you to identify the correct meaning of a word by reading and
understanding the surrounding text.
5. According to the text, 70,000 listed buildings are estimated to have been damaged in 2011, by
what?
This question tests your ability to retrieve information from the text.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
6. According to the text, what is considered important when deciding whether graffiti is acceptable
or not?
This question tests your ability to retrieve information from the text.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Oracy
7. Group discussion
(Teacher to gather a collection of graffiti photos – by Banksy and other examples.)
As a group discuss each photo in detail and whether you consider it to be ‘art’ or ‘vandalism’.
Decide overall and present your ideas and reasons to the class.
Group size: 3-4
Time: 15-20 minutes.
Decide on ‘success criteria’ for group work.
8. Paired presentation
The local council have decided to allow one wall in your town to be used as a wall for ‘street art’.
Explain which wall you think should be used, what rules and regulations should be put in place,
and what benefits it will bring to the area.
Writing
9. Write an article to a local newspaper expressing your ideas and opinions on graffiti: is graffiti
vandalism or art? Write 500-600 words.
Plan carefully before writing.
10. Write a letter to the local council expressing your opinions on the facilities available for youths
in the area and what should be done to improve the existing facilities or whether new facilities
should be built in the area. Write 500-600 words.
Plan carefully before writing.