Art or Vandalism?

In unit 3 of A Nation’s Argument we learned about segregation, mainly looking at how each generation of blacks are oppressed in different ways. For a FE we went to the Newberry Library, to explore an exhibit that had articles and pictures of ways each decade changed in the oppression of black people. After this, we looked at the thesis of the arguments made by the government and whites, and the other side’s view, also known as the antithesis. This learning led me to the action project, we had to pick a topic that is controversial so it has two sides to it. Then we have to side with a position on this topic, and then talk about that position and talk about the opposite position. Then create a synthesis to see a middle ground of where they can work together. The topic I chose was graffiti: is it art or vandalism. I argue that graffiti is art, and as such, should not be considered an illegal activity. Something I liked about this project was getting to see the other side because I like to think of all sides and try to find a middle point for everything. Please enjoy reading about why I think graffiti should be seen as an art-form.

Meneses, Jaume. “Graffiti als Jardins de les Tres Xemeneies.” 2007. Wikicommons. Web. Mar. 16.2016

Thesis:

Graffiti is something that I have liked, mainly because I can draw letters better than characters. Aside from that, graffiti, something I once thought was vandalism, I see now as art. So why doesn’t everyone else see it that way? Well, that is simply because not many people have gotten to know it like I have. Most people just see a name, a “tag”, an image spray-painted on a wall. They don't see any art within the writing itself. Graffiti has not been seen as art, simply because it is writing more than actually making a piece of art, like drawing a character or landscape. To this point I argue that poetry is an art-form comprised of words, so, is it that the speaking of words that qualifies poetic language as art? Graffiti has a message behind it, which is really that these artists just want to be recognized by everyone and anyone. Whereas many other artists have to work so much harder to get recognized, like going to art shows and trying to sell it. Graffiti is special in the way that:

• You get a rush from doing it.
• Anyone can do it.
• It is the longest art from to have always been popular.

Think about that -- many art-forms die or lose popularity, like fresco, those types of painting were so big. Then they just died off, people found other things, other art-forms that interested them more. Graffiti, however, is becoming “immortal” because it was created in the 1980s, and is still talked about and seen everywhere. Also graffiti does make jobs for people in some ways; the city will hire people to clean the spots where the artists tagged. The person cleaning it can get money for their family or themselves.

Vandalism means: “action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property.” When someone is tagging they aren’t putting damage to the surface, they are only adding to what is there, which could be removed easily.

Having stated that, graffiti doesn’t destruct or damage any of the property, but simply adds to it. Calling graffiti vandalism is basically calling it something it couldn’t be. I think that graffiti doesn’t always have to be something put on a wall that is public or private. It can in your notebook, on a canvas, anywhere. I think graffiti has just got a bad rap because many people, who aren’t in the art community maybe, see it as vandalism.

Support for Thesis:

“Graffiti has been used for years and years, from drawing on walls by the cavemen to the claiming of cities by the ancient Romans. It also has given cities a unique flare. Graffiti is a way for people to express themselves and show their imagination and creativity.” - Lloyd, Alexis. "Could Graffiti Ever Be Considered Art?" The Antelope Valley Times. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.

“Buildings that are “tagged” have a more personal feel than buildings with plain white walls.  Because of the appreciation for graffiti’s beauty, instead of viewing graffiti as vandalism, many realize the amount of skill necessary to create the street art and appreciate the message it delivers.  Many people admire Keith Haring, a famous graffiti artist from the 80s known for his artwork around New York City.  Haring’s artwork is so widely known that the city has embraced its presence around the city.” - Delavari, Sami. "Graffiti Should Be Recognized as Art, Not Vandalism." Calabasas Courier Online. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.

“Graffiti is a form of art for those who can’t afford high end art supplies, or even go to an art class. Many of those doing graffiti art are very talented; they have a knack for the art they put out there. It is very hard to get it perfect so it takes talent. It is a way for them to be noticed; by their art. Sure, there are right and wrong places to be doing graffiti, but graffiti should indeed be considered art.” - Krey, Nicole. "Is Graffiti Art?" On the Prowl. 20 Nov. 2015. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.

Antithesis:

For the other side who see graffiti as vandalism, see graffiti like this because they are taking property that someone owns, and doing whatever they want to it. You don’t want to have this nice house and then your kid writes all over the walls-- no, it looks messy then. People/the city owns these things that these “artists” are tagging, the building then has to be fixed using the owner’s money. “Whether particular viewers find any given piece of graffiti artistically, is irrelevant. Graffiti’s most salient characteristic is that it is a crime.” -  MacDonald, Heather. “Graffiti Is Always Vandalism.” New York Times. Nytimes.com. 2014. Web. Mar. 2016. Also, some graffiti artists think tagging something means they own it, like how a signature at the bottom of a painting means the person made it. Some graffiti artists think that because they do this, they own the building, mailbox, newspaper stand, etc. So upon which they’ve made their artistic mark someone who works hard to build this building and make it their own, is ruined just because an artist writes their name saying it is theirs now.

Francki. “Garage Door Graffiti-Vandalism.” 2010. Wikicommons. Web. Mar. 16th, 2016

Synthesis:

Both sides can agree that graffiti is writing a tag, or handstyle on a surface, whether it be canvas or spray painted on someone's building. Secondly, we can agree that graffiti will be done illegally no matter what, since that is part of the point of doing it. Any city should try to legalize it, in all public areas. Then maybe the rush of doing graffiti illegally is gone. This will tell who is really doing it for the art of graffiti. Which matters, because it should be done for the artist expression, not for the fact that it is just illegal. Or another compromise would to make spots around the city for these artists to tag, so they can still get their name out in the art community. The city should try to speak with Brazil, because the Pandolfo twins, famous graffiti artists, made graffiti legal there and they work to make Brazil a more artistic place. They even work with the government to make graffiti and street art better.

Conspiracytheory74. “Os Gemeos Tag” 2013. Flickr. Web. Mar. 16, 2016.

Questions for graffiti artists:

1. How would a you feel if someone tagged your house?
2. Should graffiti become legalized, so the rush of doing it is lost?

Questions for people who think it is vandalism:

3. Why do many people perceive the graffiti as vandalism, and not actual art?

Question for you:

4. What do you see it as? Why?

Conclusion:

My synthesis is something that has made me wonder now, “what if?”-- what if we could make either of suggestions happen. Would it turn out better, or would these graffiti artists rebel even more than most do I would definitely like this, because I have talked to graffiti artists and some say they don’t want to do it illegally because they don’t want to be arrested. I think this would help them look better, and have this fear for trying to do something that they love. Then again, many like the rush of doing it illegally -- and take away that rush and there could really be a lion. This is such a seemingly minor issue that no one really talks a lot about, and I want people to think about it.

We the Students!

In unit 2 of A Nation’s Argument, we looked at the U.S. Constitution, what is was made for, and how it’s related to the Declaration of Independence. With that in mind, we reviewed the three branches of government, mainly focusing on the Judicial branch, and the Supreme Court decision, Scott v. Sandford (1857).  The judicial branch of government seems to have a lot more power and sometimes contradicts what the Constitution is trying to convey, in my opinion. Lastly we looked at the amendments, including the Bill of Rights leading me to the action project, asking us to look at our school's Code of Conduct. We had to identify a rule whose logic we thought was flawed or unjust and amend it, so that it works better for our school community. I chose to talk about plagiarism because that is a problem in any school, and while our section was good at making the violation clear, I thought there were adjustments to be made. What I liked about this project was getting to pick something from our Code of Conduct, because if we make a good enough argument, then we could potentially have it  amended. Please enjoy reading what I think we have to change about the plagiarism rule.

Code of Conduct Section: “Cheating/Plagiarism: ​Plagiarism is the most serious violation of academic integrity. GCE students are expected to submit original work on all assignments. Ensure that proper citations are noted on all work (including images) is necessary and that student’s Blogs follow Creative Commons laws. “

Why is this rule unjust? This is just talking about the cases of blogs, not about if one student uses another students help; which is plagiarism, but there have been cases where there has been blame of this section, for simply writing down a fact, not the answer just a formula, and have been put under this rule. The premises of this rule are that if any student uses another form of work to turn into theirs, or doesn’t use Creative Commons, they are guilty of plagiarism, the conclusion. 

• P1: Use another piece of work as theirs.
• P2: Doesn’t use creative commons. 
• C: Guilty of Plagiarism/Cheating.

Now, that much is very straight-forward, but what seems to be the problem that I and other students have, is someone actually helping someone vs. actually committing this infraction of the Code of Conduct. This rule shouldn’t apply when simply helping another student, since plagiarism is, “the practice of taking someone else's work or ideas and passing them off as one's own.” But, when a student is just helping someone by giving them a formula or information that will help them get to their goal, is not plagiarism, although it has been perceived that way at the school before.

My revision to the current rule of plagiarism rule in the Code of Conduct would be this:

​Plagiarism is the most serious violation of academic integrity. GCE students are expected to submit original work on all assignments. In the case that a student helps another student, the one receiving help must change the words (paraphrase) to show understanding of assignment. Students must ensure that proper citations are noted on all work (including images) and that student’s blogs follow Creative Commons laws.

"Officer Helps Child With Homework at The Cameron Community Ministries After School Program" (2009) Wikicommons

Above the image shows a man helping a kids with homework, now he is just helping, and maybe writing something down on his sheet to help the kid. This isn’t plagiarism, it is just simply helping one person understand a concept.

Another way of understanding my proposed amendment is like when police officers use outside sources to help them with cases. They use the other outside sources for some help to get a little more information, so they can run with that information and get to solving whatever the problem is. In the end, the police officer gets the credit on that case, and even though s/he got some help, it was really all him/her. What I am saying is that if a police officer can use outside sources for help, and end up getting credit, why not a student that is using another student for help.

How will this new amendment help the GCE Community though? The community will grow, through students feeling encouraged to work together better, and be able to learn together, and teachers will see that all the work is understood, because each student will have different answers. My cosigner had this to say about my new amendment:

“I totally agree with this amendment because students should be encouraged to go to a friend to fully understand the concept that we learned in class. The way this amendment is clarified and now understandable there won’t be contradiction to it and if a student breaks this rule then there will be consequences.” -KIS

How might this connect to the actual Constitution? I would say this amendment is most connected to the first amendment of the U.S. Constitution because it shows we are allowed to work together, and mainly with freedom of the press, write whatever we want on a subject, with the ability to use outside resources. Now since that amendment is the first, it should allowed that a student who submits work of their own, with maybe some help, has not committed any infractions. To answer how this shows true citizenship, we must first define citizen: It is a member of a political country/community. Citizenship, is when that person follows all the laws that are in place in this country/community. Now having said that, my proposed amendment shows that because it very easy to follow now, since they can’t be attacked for simply helping someone in doing work.

In conclusion, I believe that it only right that the Code of Conduct change that section, to my revised edition immediately. There have already been many problems with section of the Code of Conduct, and changing it will make for a better GCE community in the end. Below are the main points of my argument:

• P1: Section only really talks about blog.
• P2: Two students were claimed to have infracted on this rule, for simply helping, not turning word for word work.
• P3: We wouldn’t blame a police officer for using an outside source for help in a case.
• P4: This will help the GCE community become better.
• C: This new amendment is needed.

References:

"Citizenship Foundation: Educating for Effective Citizenship." Citizenship Foundation: What Is Citizenship. Web. 09 Mar. 2016.

Shooting Creativity

In unit 1 of my new course A Nation's Argument, we focus on what makes a good argument. We defined argument, which comes from the Latin word meaning to clarify. We learned about the structure of arguments, by looking at the Declaration of Independence that America wrote to the British. We also looked at art, and how that can also be used to make an argument, or just show the reality of a subject, which is an effort at making something clear. For the action project, we had to make our own Declaration of Independence about a class/course we would want to exist in our school. Something I liked about this was that we got to chose our class, something that means a lot to us. I would say a challenge was actually coming up with an idea because in my class, a lot of people’s ideas overlapped. Please enjoy my Declaration of Independence!

                                                                                                     

I declare that there is a independent study class that is all about filmmaking and acting. Films/videos can show everyone something that is so amazing, either fake or real, and still get someone to feel a lot of emotions. Acting, which is usually part of a film, is so important, because not only does it make the audience feel more, but it also makes the person who is acting, more open to trying new things. From acting and filmmaking you can learn so much, about almost anything, and open new ideas to yourself. The purpose of school, is for kids to get a chance to learn and grow as people, both educationally, and socially, and to see and meet new people from all over. With the education given to us, we can learn from old/new things and use them in our lives to become better people. All of this can be achieved with an open mind, and wanting to learn more. My unalienable rights as a student are to grow, and have my desire to learn and interests nurtured, and with that filming and acting can be a shortcut to learning about new cultures, things that are going on in the world, and what could happen to our world. With the fact that filming can open up someone’s imagination. Nothing will ever be too boring because in this class you will be able to explore your imagination, and grow at perfecting this art.

The guiding question to this course called , “Shooting Creativity”, is: What can one film do to one person? Think about that, too, because hasn’t a film made you cry, or laugh to the point of crying? I have felt a lot from movies -- they let me into new things, explore my imagination, and be able to see the realness in a subject that sometimes you just can't get from a book. I feel like many other people feel this way, and I want them to be able to have the skills and tools they need to pursue their dreams of exploring this artistic medium.

This course will be offered during the elective term of the school year, because it is neither a STEAM or Humanities course, but in a way both, since there will be a science to the editing, and history will be added to the units. There will be three units: the first unit, called “Act”, will be focusing on acting; the different types there are; what it is like to be on stage versus being on set; and how to be a strong wonderful actor. We will also look at great actors and what makes them so good, how a comedy actor can differ from a drama one, and what can also connect them. The second unit, called “Shooting”, will focus on how to properly film, what makes a good location to film at, and different angles and what they can convey. The last unit, called “Tweak”, will focus on editing, and all the pieces that go into it, including adding special effects, changing the lighting, and trimming and adding stuff in.

My desired outcomes for this class, are for people to learn how to make a great film, by actually learning the editing, camera work, and acting, among other things, that all go into making a wonderful film. This class will take students and bring them into a wonderful world where they can make their own films, and they can explore the kinds of things they like in films. Though certain students will need a lot of different materials; course materials include cameras for shooting, editing software for everyone, and possibly a partnership with a improv place, such as iO Chicago, which is a few blocks from the school. Improv actors are amazing at doing things on the spot, so if there were actors in need, and they would be partnered with us, hopefully they could help. We could even visit them for an FE and learn how acting to them is different from acting to other actors, learning about what they have to do differently.

P1: Film can offer a person something that is very important.

P2: Films can release many emotions in one person.

P3: This course will focus on acting, filming, and editing.

P4: This course will turn someone into an expert on making a film.

C: “Shooting Creativity” should be a class in the GCE School curriculum.

NVA "Expert Film Maker Graph" (2016)

I declare that there be “Filming Creativity” where students can learn all aspects of filmmaking -- camera work, editing, and acting skills. This all will help develop well-rounded, enthusiastic, curious students learn much more, by building the skills to adapt and be open to new things, and make the best films that a high school student could ever make!