Oct 23 2012
5Pointz
Artist at work
Courtesy of Cassie Lui
Back in September, I went on a cultural event to see 5Pointz. I actually see 5Pointz every day on the 7 line as I take my long commute to school. I always happen to look at it, but I never seem to pay too much attention. The only thing that catches my attention from this building full of graffiti is the insane and beautifully detailed “painting” of the famous Notorious B.I.G. I’m always intrigued by it, but never took the time out to walk around the building and see the entire artwork that is on this building. Going to this place really opened to eyes about the artwork that NYC is surrounded by. NYC is full of graffiti, although it is not looked upon as art, 5Pointz makes people realize that graffiti is a form of art and it should be appreciated. The fact that artists take the time out from all over the world to come to this building to show their artwork, without having the chance of being penalized for destroying public property, is amazing. While my visit there, I saw a man who was actually working on a piece of art at the location. His work was so detailed and you can see the heart that the artist was putting into it. The amount of time, work, and effort that goes into the artwork that is shown on this typical Queens building is absolutely breathtaking and makes me actually appreciate the graffiti that surrounds NYC. The one thing that truly made me amazed was the fact that people want to destroy the building and take away this beautiful artwork away. The fact that this building’s purpose is to showcase graffiti (legally) to the public and for these “street artists” to portray their talent to the world, to the city, and to themselves. To take that away from an artist is truly unfair and truly destroys a form of art that is strongly practiced in NYC even though it is looked down upon. I love 5Pointz and what this building consists of and this building made me appreciate graffiti in a whole new way. Graffiti isn’t just “scrap on the walls”, it’s actually art that has meaning to it just like any other piece of artwork in the world.
