Hall of Fame Summer Paintout Showcases the 4th Annual Graffiti Exhibit

Is Graffiti Really Art? Decide for Yourself!

It is said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and like other things in life, the beauty that people see in various forms of art is all relative.

Personally, I’m one of those people who sees beauty and art in everything, but I know plenty of people who tend to be a little more judgmental, about what they refer to as art.

For instance, two community events took place in the city where I live, and both were connected to art, but not everyone viewed the events in a similar way. One was a more traditional type of art exhibit, while one was definitely a hood event. That doesn’t mean it was a bad thing, just different.

I live in the hood, and honestly, I view both events as good for the community, but sad to say, not every community event gets equal coverage or recognition.

I wrote a story about the first event, making sure people knew it was coming, and all the while the second event was being organized to take place right under my nose, and I had no idea.

I actually just happened upon it, and luckily I was able to take some great photos. Let me share a little about both events.

Two Local Art Events

First, let me say that both events offered enjoyable music, good food, neighborhood vendors and resources from small business.

One event was the 2nd Annual Leimert Park Jazz Festival at the Baldwin Park Mall. The other event may not have seemed as prestigious to those who know the city, and the significance of both events.

This second event was the Hall of Fame Summer Paintout Showcases, held at the Five Points Youth Foundation. The foundation is located in a less than popular part of Los Angeles, near a dangerous intersection, and littered streets full of whatever you might expect from an area with a high homeless population.

The event at the mall celebrated the winner and finalists of their art competition, with local leaders who presented awards for the more mainstream type of art, relatively speaking.

By contrast, besides the words of encouragement given at the Paintout event, by less prominent individuals and community activists, the collection of artwork that was featured would not be viewed as mainstream.

This artwork was created by a compilation of street artists, that others might be more quick to label as taggers in the graffiti world. But since art is in the eye of the beholder, there were plenty of admirers on hand at both events, but there was definitely no shortage of interest in the latter art collection.

At both locations, the primary events that all these activities were built around, were specifically the showcases that featured the artists and their artwork.

Summer Paintout Features Graffiti Art

The Five Points Youth Foundation is a community based organization that was pleased to sponsor the graffiti artists that they say are:

“talented legendary great artists.”

The huge display area for the artists were the walls of an alley adjacent to Florence Avenue, (between the Jack-in-the-Box and St. Andrews Place).

The artists lined both sides of the alley, working side-by-side, to accomplish the work. Many of them were captured in photos, still working on their masterpieces. Some of those photos include the ones you see below.

DISCLAIMER: These images are the property of the individual artists who agreed to share their work with the public, via the public 4th Annual Graffiti Exhibit. All photos of the images were taken by the author: Justiss Goode

Final Thoughts

Whether you believe is graffiti is an acceptable form of art or not, there’s no denying the beauty and artistry in the above images.

I don’t know if it matters to the artists what you refer to their work as. I imagine, what matters most is whether or not people enjoy their work.

Judging from the people who turned out to the Summer Paintout event, I’d venture to say that everyone, including me, sincerely enjoyed the creations that were on display.

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