An anonymous art critic strikes back at a graffiti writer (s)

An anonymous art critic strikes back at a graffiti writer, or group of writers, who have spread graffiti around Bloomington, for the past several months, by taping up a critique on the medium of white paper attached with gray duct tape.

 A message reads, “YOUR GRAFFITI STINKS, PLEASE STOP, SINCERELY, THE ENTIRE FREAKING TOWN.”

The message, which appeared to be laser printed onto 8.5×11 white sheets of paper, was affixed over most of the various instances of graffiti on several buildings, and walls, around the area of 11^th and N. Fairview, Monday.

The Bloomingtonian does not know the identities of the graffiti writers, or the more recent anonymous art critic, but has noticed graffiti appearing around downtown since last year. The signs placed over the graffiti are very recent, and appear to be unweathered by recent rains. Grass that was recently trampled near a building along N. Fairview suggested it had only been a matter of hours since the critic had given their critique.

One instance of graffiti that was not covered read, “Protect sex workers.”

Graffiti has long been both a form or art, or a crime according to police, or vandalism by property owners, and often a medium of social critique. Some of the very first art known to art historians is graffiti. In the 1970s and 1980s, graffiti was an inherent part of street art culture, but became accepted in the fine art world with the rise of artists such as the late Jean Michel Basquiat and the contemporary artists Banksy, Doze Green, and others, whose work has been shown in art galleries.

However, the difference between street art, and graffiti has always been up to debate.