MURALS

Murals exist side by side with graffiti. Together they constitute street art. In the past murals and complex graffiti art were frowned upon for creating environments conducive to crime. Cities have since come to appreciate street art as magnets for tourism and development in previously marginal neighborhoods. Many of the people who might not go to an art museum visit the streets that are rich in murals and graffiti. They bring children, lovers, friends to gawk and photograph. Formally depressed areas such as Wynnewood Walls in Miami, Bushwick in Brooklyn, Graffiti Alley in Toronto, and Brick Lane in London have become thriving scenes. Wynnewood Walls, for example, now covers 50 city blocks. City and corporate sponsored murals are also proliferating, but I sometimes find those sterile lacking the vitality, energy, and edginess of native graffiti.