Richenda Court

Isis Amlak

Art is a microscope which the artist fixes on the secrets of his soul and shows to people these secrets which are common to all…

Art is in essence a reflection of life, of who we, all the occupants of this universe, and the universe beyond those we see and know, are. Art tells the stories of who we are for example the earliest known rock art preserved in the Saharan sands in Niger dates as far back as 6500 BC. They are carvings known as petroglyphs and depict animals like giraffes that no longer exist in that area. So, art is at its most essential a reflection of who we are but is also what our society is and should be. Art is Art is past, present, and future commentary, present in every aspect of our daily lives, a diverse range of human activities in creating visual, auditory, or performing artifacts. Historically, art, literature, poetry, and music have been tightly woven into movements of social change. There are numerous examples of artists, poets, singers, and writers being censored, arrested, beaten, or even killed for their visual and vocal dissent driven by their moral stance as activists. In his essay, Tolstoy, critics the nature of art, the relationship between creator and spectator, with reference to the work of many of Europe’s iconic creators including Beethoven, Michelangelo, Shakespeare, and his own work. He posits that art is anything that communicates emotion. He also determined that is a tool for positive social transformation, Art lifts man from his personal life into the universal life* , a force for good. Tolstoy also frames art in relationship to its ability to communicate notions of morality; The only obligation which I have a right to assume, is to do at any time what I think right.** Art is controversial, critical, collective, and convergent. Art and creativity expand the mind and soul. Art is a language in itself but one in which interpretation plays a major role. Plato defined art as just a reflection of the real world. But art is a tool… In the past, activist artists employed their creativity to signal a problem. Now, social practice artists are devising creative approaches in an effort to actually fix things. And they are starting with the belief that in order to change lives, you have to harness the imagination and experience of those whose lives you are hoping to change—in collaboration with them, in their neighborhoods, in their streets, even in their homes.*** Across the globe wall are adorned with street art, images that embellish and beautify and transform public spaces into colourful, canvasses. Street art speaks of the people reflects lived realties, our flavour, it celebrates identity, and signifies where we are at any given

Protest art is transformative a weapon, a pen or canvass that can be used to take us to where we want/should be. It advocates for and gives a voice to the oppressed, commemorates, celebrates, and elevates dissenter, rebels and revolutionaries and campaigns for social change. Art is also an extremely interactive channel, it has the power to make connections and transcend social, cultural, and spiritual barriers. From its inception street art and graffiti have been associated with urban protest. This art form has been at the vanguard of dissent against corruption of the corporate, the monotony of the urbanism, the inequity of gentrification, the privatisation of public spaces and challenge our unequal, discriminatory racist, oppression riddled society. Labelled ‘illegal art,’ this genre is one of the most powerful form of and political agitation. However, it has also been controversial because its aesthetics and morality. It has also been accused of having fallen victim to appropriation and economic exploitation. In 2016 Italian street artist Blu famously destroyed every artwork he had painted on the streets of Bologna over the past 20 years. He covered all of his murals in grey paint in protest of the exhibition at Palazzo Pepoli, “Street Art: Banksy & Co,” which will feature some 250 street art works, including some of his own pieces, removed from their original public locations. ‘Street art makes cities and towns individual and breaks away from dullness. Sometimes street art not only looks beautiful, but it has purpose, it often wants to make a statement. Street art is the perfect way to express the lives and values of a community.’*** Tagging in simply terms is when an artist, tagger, writes her/his signature, pseudonym on a public space. According to a 2020 post in Cool Tour Spain it was a Philly based, 1960s, writer named Cornbread who is credited as the first known tagger. Of course, there would have been many unknow tagger before him. The post goes on to say that ‘there exists a profound negative mentality towards tag graffiti’ and tagging is framed as vandalism. Yet art is to some whatever the artist declares it to be. So, is tagging art? In many instances defined as art because it has the capacity to communicate dissent, anger at injustice, challenges to inequality, pride or joy a plethora of human conditions. Words may also be art because Art is not a handicraft, it is the transmission of feeling the artist has experienced words have meaning, directions, descriptions, instructions they have power. Text, typography, and bookmaking are accepted artforms. This is particularly evident in Islamic Calligraphy a particularly important art form in the Islamic world. The Qur’an, written in elegant scripts, represents Allah’s divine word, which Muhammad, Peace Be Upon Him, received directly from Allah in visions. Quranic verses, written in calligraphy, are found on many different forms of art and architecture. Likewise, poetry can be found on everything from ceramic bowls to the walls of houses. Calligraphy’s presents visual objects consciously created through an expression of skill or imagination, it places aesthetic value on language, specifically Arabic. These words convey feelings, they tell stories, depicting significant moments in history and perspectives; the words are art.

* What is Art – Tolstoy, Leon (1897) ** The Rights and Duties of the Individual in relation to Government - Thoreau, Henry, David (1848) *** The art of social transformation - Miller, Pamela (2016) https://caringmagazine.org/the-art-of-social-transformation/ **** What is Art – Tolstoy, Leon (1897)

Since 2009 the Portobello Wall Public Art Project has commissioned visual, and more recently sound, installations. The public installations stretch along a 100-metre-long brick wall opposite, a local landmark, the Spanish School. The wall links two of the most well-known market areas in London: Portobello Road and Golborne Road, W10. Rhythm and Sound the current installation curated by local artist and musician Tony Thomas, comprises of large billboards with QR codes that allow the viewer to also hear the sounds associated with the images. His work is featured alongside the work of, Stephen Spark, Wayne Crichlow, Jason Garcia, Benjamin Salmon, Carl Gabriel, Peoples Sound, Tara Hobson, Kevin Joseph, Nick Anthony Fiorenza, Moose Azim, Bread and Shutter, Collin Hill, Jim Linwood, John Joe Coffey, Oxford Gardens Primary School, Benjamin Salmon, and Victor Novais. The photographs and illustrations chart the music of the local area, providing the viewer with a diversely vibrant musical journey through our local social history. The commission has allowed me to connect to many different communities in West London. Each one makes and enjoys different music from around the world. This includes leading London jazz players, Steelpan from the Caribbean, punk, and digital music. Portobello Road reflects the richly diverse community of London and it has been great to be welcomed by all and engage them in my work. Rhythm and Sound in North Kensington is a community-wide positive thread that runs through the history of the area and is worth celebrating. As John McLaughlin says, ‘The mathematics of rhythm are universal. They don’t belong to any particular culture’ ***** The 2019 installation, comprised of a welcomed and cherished addition to the art heritage of the local area features the late great legend Daddy Vigo, founder of People Sounds, Local Heroes Aswad Tony ‘Gad’ Robinson and Angus ‘Drummie Zeb’ Gaye, we sadly lost Drummie Zeb on 2 September 2022, Panist Debra ‘Pan Diva’ Ann Eden and Calypso legends Trini Boi Joocie and Alexander D Great. The images also include scenes from Portobello Dance School that has been providing children from age 3 to adults training in Classical Ballet, Tap and Street for the last 30 year; the school has been attended by hundreds of members of the community. During this year’s Carnival most of the images were defaced with tagging devoid of ant artistic merit in an act which is aptly described as vandalism. The blatant disrespect for the artistic heritage and culture of the local area begs a number of questions: how important is morality in art? Does the artist have a responsibly not to harm the work of other artists? Is public art street simply a canvass for taggers? Similar questions arose in the aftermath of the Grenfell fire when the Grenfell inspired graffiti that was held dear by local was erased and/ or tagged. Art has always been a creative way to preserve history, a way in which communities showcase what they are proud of or highlight issues that are important to their lived experiences. Seeing Daddy Vigo’s face covered in meaningless scrawls is offensive and of course upsetting to all those who knew, loved, respected him, and hold his memory and contributions to our community dear! Of course, it is also offensive to the many local artists and their families, who took pride in the works, to see them ruined. The defacing of the art along the Portobello wall is purely an affront to art there is nothing in those tags that represent any artistic quality, form, or endeavour. The tags are all ugly, lacking any degree of skill or creativity, and fails to express or communicate an idea or emotion, except wonton vandalism. The act is a violent assault on our history, and culture and quite possibly motivated by hate. Tagging this much valued community asset serves no purpose in terms of being provocative or, challenging the status quo, if anything it obscures images that do challenge the status quo, images of people who are not always celebrated and made visible in the mainstream. The activist and instigator of Carnival in the UK, Claudia Jones said A People’s Art is the Genesis of THEIR Freedom, this disparaging act is in fact a form of erasure, an act of shutting down the freedom of the cultural expression communicated through the images. It is incumbent upon the commissioners to ensure that future installations are protected from this sort of vandalism and as a community. As a community we ought to also consider how we make it known to graffiti artists and taggers that we will not tolerate open season on our public art!

*****Tony Thomas