Is graffiti art? Or vandalism? - Kelly Wall

翻译人员: Lily Liu 校对人员: Jiawei Ni

Spray-painted subway cars,

喷涂的地铁车厢，

tagged bridges,

贴了艺术贴纸的大桥，

mural-covered walls.

画满壁画的墙。

Graffiti pops up boldly throughout our cities.

涂鸦大胆地占据了我们的城市。

It can make statements about identity, art, empowerment, and politics,

涂鸦可以用来表达 个性，艺术，权利以及政治，

while simultaneously being associated with destruction.

然而也同时具有破坏的意味。

And, it turns out, it's nothing new.

事实上，涂鸦并不是新鲜事物。

Graffiti, or the act of writing or scribbling on public property,

涂鸦，或者说是在公共财产上 乱涂乱画的艺术，

has been around for thousands of years.

已经存在了上千年。

And across that span of time,

当然，在这段时间内，

it's raised the same questions we debate now:

涂鸦引出了我们至今还在辩论的话题：

Is it art?

涂鸦是一种艺术形式吗？

Is it vandalism?

还是一种破坏行为呢？

In the 1st century BCE, Romans regularly inscribed messages on public walls,

在公元前1世纪，罗马人经常会在 公共墙壁上面刻写信息，

while oceans away,

而在海洋的另一边，

Mayans were prolifically scratching drawings onto their surfaces.

玛雅人大量地在他们的墙壁上刻画。

And it wasn't always a subversive act.

当然，涂鸦并不总是破坏性的行为。

In Pompeii, ordinary citizens regularly marked public walls with magic spells,

在庞培，普通民众定期会 在公共墙壁上刻画

prose about unrequited love,

关于单相思之情的咒语和诗文，

political campaign slogans,

以及政治宣传口号，

and even messages to champion their favorite gladiators.

甚至是为了支持他们热爱的角斗士而撰写的留言。

Some, including the Greek philosopher Plutarch, pushed back,

但是一些人，包括希腊的哲学家 普鲁塔克，在那个年代

deeming graffiti ridiculous and pointless.

也认为涂鸦是荒诞且无意义的。

But it wasn't until the 5th century

但是直到公元5世纪，

that the roots of the modern concept of vandalism were planted.

对于破坏文物行为的概念才开始形成。

At that time, a barbaric tribe known as the Vandals swept through Rome,

在那个时候， 野蛮部落汪达尔席卷罗马，

pillaging and destroying the city.

掠夺并摧毁这个城池。

But it wasn't until centuries later that the term vandalism was actually coined

但是直到几个世纪以后的法国文艺复兴时期，

in an outcry against the defacing of art during the French Revolution.

破坏文物行为这个词才被创造出来， 用来反对文艺复兴时期对艺术的丑化。

And as graffiti became increasingly associated

然而，随着涂鸦越来越多的和

with deliberate rebellion and provocativeness,

有计划地叛乱和煽动活动联系在一起。

it took on its vandalist label.

涂鸦被加上了恶意破坏的标签。

That's part of the reason why, today, many graffiti artists stay underground.

这就是在当今好多涂鸦艺术家 都隐藏自己身份的部分原因。

Some assume alternate identities to avoid retribution,

一些人认为隐藏涂鸦艺术家的身份可以避免惩罚，

while others do so to establish comradery and make claim to territory.

另一些人这么做是为了 建立同志关系或者宣誓主权。

Beginning with the tags of the 1960s,

标签1960年代，

a novel overlap of celebrity and anonymity

一部混杂着名人和匿名者的小说，

hit the streets of New York City and Philadelphia.

开始在纽约和费城的大街小巷一炮而红。

Taggers used coded labels to trace their movements around cities

使用密码符号来标记他们在城市里的行踪

while often alluding to their origins.

而且常常显示出他们的发源地。

And the very illegality of graffiti-making that forced it into the shadows

由于涂鸦的是非常不合法的， 这迫使它变成地下行动。

also added to its intrigue and growing base of followers.

这也增加它的好奇性 而带来更多的追随者。

The question of space and ownership is central to graffiti's history.

空间和归属权是涂鸦历史的主要问题。

Its contemporary evolution has gone hand in hand with counterculture scenes.

它的现代演化 是紧随着反主流文化背景的。

While these movements raised their anti-establishment voices,

随着涂鸦运动出现了反对它们的声音，

graffiti artists likewise challenged established boundaries of public property.

涂鸦艺术家相应地挑战着 社会公共财产的固定界限。

They reclaimed subway cars,

他们开拓到了地铁，

billboards,

广告牌，

and even once went so far as to paint an elephant in the city zoo.

甚至有一次还画到了动物园大象身上。

Political movements, too,

也包括了政治运动，

have used wall writing to visually spread their messages.

他们使用墙壁来用图画表达他们的心声。

During World War II, both the Nazi Party and resistance groups

在二战期间，纳粹党和反对团体

covered walls with propaganda.

在墙壁上涂满了宣传标语。

And the Berlin Wall's one-sided graffiti

柏林墙的一面涂鸦墙

can be seen as a striking symbol of repression

就可以被视为压制的突出标志和

versus relatively unrestricted public access.

于此相对的无法限制的公众。

As the counterculture movements

当与涂鸦艺术相关的，

associated with graffiti become mainstream,

反主流文化运动成为了主流。

does graffiti, too, become accepted?

那涂鸦也被接受了么？

Since the creation of so-called graffiti unions in the 1970s

从1970年代开始成立了所谓的涂鸦联盟，

and the admission of select graffiti artists into art galleries a decade later,

10年后涂鸦艺术家的作品也可以进驻博物馆，

graffiti has straddled the line between being outside and inside the mainstream.

涂鸦一直在主流的内外之间徘徊。

And the appropriation of graffiti styles by marketers and typographers

涂鸦艺术被商人和印刷者采用着，

has made this definition even more unclear.

这使得对它的定义更加模糊。

The once unlikely partnerships of graffiti artists

涂鸦艺术家们同传统博物馆及同行业

with traditional museums and brands,

之间的看起来不可能的伙伴关系，

have brought these artists out of the underground

这使得这些艺术家重见天日

and into the spotlight.

来到聚光灯下。

Although graffiti is linked to destruction,

尽管涂鸦与破坏关联着，

it's also a medium of unrestricted artistic expression.

它也是一种适中的无限制的艺术表达方式。

Today, the debate about the boundary

如今，对于丑化和美化的边界的

between defacing and beautifying continues.

辩论还在进行。

Meanwhile, graffiti artists challenge common consensus about the value of art

同时，涂鸦艺术家 对于人们对艺术价值的传统定义，

and the degree to which any space can be owned.

以及对空间的所有权进行了挑战。

Whether spraying, scrawling, or scratching,

不论是喷漆，乱画，亦或是乱写，

graffiti brings these questions of ownership, art, and acceptability

涂鸦引出了对于所有权、艺术和社会容忍性

to the surface.

的问题的讨论。