Journal 4

The place has a lot to do with everyday writing because it determines whether it is appropriate or not. If for example, something was written on a bathroom wall of a school then people might be offended because they think that that must not be a property that is defaced, but the kids who wrote it might, other than mischief, find it as a place they can say what they want to say in school when they are being so constricted all day. But people have different values and opinions about certain places. If one were to write graffiti on a church wall there would be upheaval because place has a large affect on people's emotions about what happens there. But in neutral places, say an office building wall, people will have their opinions about a tag based on the events they perceive to have lead up to that moment. They might associate that with a thug instead of a street artist. They might not have considered that that person could be a disgruntled employee of the company trying to get his thoughts across. An appropriate place might be on a wall of a museum. People will look at the same tag there and accept/ appreciate it because it is in the "correct" place.  Graffiti, no matter where, is a good form of rhetoric because it uses convincing presentation mixed with an in your face attitude. It is undeniable, someone has to address it either by cleaning it or calling it in to the police or ultimately deciding to leave it there. By the time someone has noticed it, the artist has gotten their point across and that is enough. The issue of how the message is taken is also a part of rhetoric and the largest downfall of graffiti mainly because most times it can not be followed up on. That goes into place as well, the ability to continue your work once finished. This can stop the circulation of ideas. The person who ones that venue the tag was on can decide at anytime to destroy that piece of work, so it has to be timed perfectly to efficiently reach an audience. The scene is going to affect how the audience takes it into context. When ZEPPELIN ROCKS was written on a scene meant for tragic reflection, people were offended. But if the scene had have been of happy healing the message would have been accepted as one of the best. Scene will affect audience emotion because it is what is happening around them at the current moment. For a street artist to be able to effectively get his point across, he should put his art into an acceptable scene (time and situation) at an acceptable place. Hopefully then it won't be looked down upon and destroyed.