Event: The opening of the “Urban Archaeology” graffiti art show at Flatfile Photography Gallery, Chicago. To showcase: Works of graffiti photographers and graffiti artists; 700 to 800 patrons filed in. Beyond your run-of-the-mill, spray-can-variety graffiti: The recent genre of graffiti art is not about vandalism or gangs but about the art form itself, although some of the artists grew out of the street graffiti scene. Graffiti, the hieroglyphics of the modern age, goes ‘uptown’: The art is expressed through graffiti-style images and text on canvas or paper instead of on concrete walls. What’s in a name? Artist mystique and a need for an alias, it seems. Many artists go by one name (or “tag,” as they say in the biz) that has no reference to their given names. After all, graffiti that defaces city property is a felony in Chicago.
