lionza:

seti-lamarr:

Fruitvale, Oakland.

i looooove these, esp because i’ve been thinking a lot about street art/graffiti and whiteness (a lot of which has been inspired by things i’ve heard from mijajaja about the relationship of race between the terms of “graffiti” n “street art” a few years ago). in chicago, a hip and quickly gentrifying neighborhood like logan square is covered in “street art” a type of vandalism people perceive as having a ~cool artsy edge~. i’ve also noticed that the rise of gentrification by hip white people also correlates with a rise in “street art” according to their tastes. it is almost like a signifier of ownership - “yes we have moved in. this is ours now. we are going to decorate this neighborhood to our liking through vandalism.” so the reason why i love these set of works is that in an environment where gentrifying street arts get recognition and praise, these tags arise confronting and attacking whiteness manifested in immigration policy and nation building while also refusing (except for the one stencil) to bend to the aesthetics of said street art by writing it freehand. yes yes yes yes