Melbourne - Street Art
April 1, 2009
Carrie Hutchinson wonders if it's necessary - or even possible - to heritage-list Melbourne's street art
The artistic value of graffiti has been a live issue for three decades. And time hasn't withered its capacity to stir ire on both sides of the argument. It's an issue the residents, authorities and artists of Melbourne are pondering now, as pressure mounts to heritage-list some of the city's tourist attractions. Both the National Trust of Australia and Heritage Victoria have suggested protecting some of the graffiti-covered laneways.
No surprise then, the calls have raised the rancour of those who think such moves encourage illegal desecration of public spaces. And, interestingly, some supporters of street art also see the approach as dubious.'The National Trust was having a conference the following week,' says curator, artist and street-art identity Andrew Mac. 'Call me cynical, but I think they made an announcement to drum up interest in the conference.'
In response to both the National Trust suggestions and the news that a Banksy daubed wall in the UK had sold for more than £200,000 on eBay, current-affairs programmes warned ordinary Australians that the National Trust wanted to make graf-covered city walls worth more than their suburban homes, and turn teenage criminals into heroes.
'I don't think they even believe that stuff themselves,' says Mac, who says that protecting the art will strip it of its vitality. Graffiti, by its nature, is ephemeral, and part of the attraction of Melbourne's back streets is that they are constantly changing. He's critical of retrospective permits which have been imposed on places such as Hosier Lane, the street he looks over daily from his gallery Until Never, and looks after in the capacity of an unofficial curator. 'The permits confuse young artists who think the street has become legal,' he says, adding that a community made up of himself, other street residents and artists controls who paints at Hosier Lane and when. 'Basically, you have to be invited to paint here. The permits encouraged people who weren't qualified and they wrecked a lot of the art which was here.'
For anyone who knows about street art, the names represented on the walls of Hosier Lane are impressive. Recently, Mac invited female graf artists, including French graffiti superstar Fafi , to put her mark in the alley. As popular as the pieces might be, after a time they're likely to be altered or painted over completely.
Writer: Carrie Hutchinson