Power: On the One Hand, But then On the Other Hand
posted on 5 March 2011 | posted in
Arts and Entertainment
Our contemporary world is so saturated with words and images that it is hard to notice the tremendous power influence the messages around us can exert. I have had two different experiences, one positive and the other quite negative, of power conveyed through graffiti. On the one hand there was the emotional and psychological pain felt by a high school student and her family when an angry peer used spray paint to scrawl his hostility toward her on a local bridge. The large, coarse, unpleasant words smacked them and everyone who knew them in the face every time they travelled by this place. The sting of these words and the public display of hostility was a terribly negative and hurtful experience. On the other hand, I have travelled in Northern Ireland and toured Belfast to better understand the politics, turmoil and efforts toward peace in the more recent history of this strife-filled place. One of the most powerful testimonies to “The Troubles” along with the grief and hope of this city is portrayed by the graffiti – the powerful memorials, tributes and other expressions of grief, hope and aspiration is astounding to behold. This is a very different style to the more familiar graffiti like Banksy street art. These astounding murals are works of art and reveal the soul of the Irish people. They are instruments of peace born of broken hearts and broken lives. They hold the power to mend those hearts and lives, too.
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