One morning in late July, the Christopher Columbus statue in Boston’s North End was found covered in red paint with the phrase “black lives matter” spray painted at the foot of the statue. Many other similar instances have occurred throughout the nation, and the reaction is always the same— the paint is removed and and a search begins for the “vandals.”
I find this reaction very odd, though, especially upon seeing the Christopher Columbus statue. The red paint and the phrase were visually stunning when combined with the statue and should be described as a piece of art, not vandalism.
Street art and graffiti is very common, especially in big cities, but these “crimes” have not been brought to the public’s attention until recently when “black lives matter” street art became popular.
Media is quick to use this “vandalism” as a tool to undermine the racial equality movement, but more focus should be put on the artistic value of these pieces. Art like the red paint on the Columbus statue captures the essence of what street art truly is.
Street art is about making a statement in a beautiful way for the public to see and not caring about the legality of it all. An artist can obtain permission to make a piece on a certain wall, street, or area, but in doing so, the artist loses part of the message in his or her art. Street art is rebellious, beautiful, and bold.
The “black lives matter” pieces are not vandalism— they are art.
These pieces are screaming the message that America no longer wants to worship figures that embody cruelty and racism. They scream that the voices of minorities will no longer be ignored or muted. This art works as a voice for those who are too afraid to speak up or are unable to speak up for themselves.
These works can be scrubbed away and deemed acts of vandalism, but, truly, they are acts of bravery and creativity.
Although not everything spray painted on a wall is street art, the pieces that have been showing up lately on the news are definitely art. The spray painted words “black lives matter” and other various forms of equality art carry a strong and important meaning that cannot simply be scrubbed away by a power washer.
City officials, police forces and the media are working hard to try to silence these artists. They are trying to track down everyone who writes the phrase on a wall or who creates street art for equality.
Yet, famous street artists such as Banksy and Shepard Fairey, whose art does not say nearly as much as these acts of “vandalism”, are celebrated. The real street artists, though, are the ones who make their art in anonymity for a real cause.
They are the ones who are so passionate that they are willing to put their freedom at risk to get their art out there.
For all the “black lives matter” street artists out there, remember this: they can arrest you, but they cannot arrest your movement or your art.
Jake Thrasher is a sophomore chemical engineering major from Birmingham, Alabama.
