solved question: As you were looking through the slides and links,

question: As you were looking through the slides and links, references are often made to other cultural groups and historical events. Discuss your thoughts on this and site some examples you may have caught.
replys:
1- Personally I really liked Mr. Fairey’s art. He didn’t seem afraid to make controversial art or stand up for how the communities felt. 
Seeing so much street art was awesome. But the concept that seems so fascinating is that we learned how people from all over the world, long ago, were painting, drawing, creating hieroglyphs, etc. in there own homes, caves, or wherever they lived. It just shows that art is instinctually a part of the human species. These people were all doing it in their own ways, without knowing people on the other side of the world were too. Nowadays we know that art is created all over the world, but hundreds of years ago they didn’t. 
It’s fascinating that we have ancient art from Africa, Europe, Greece, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Guatemala, Scandinavia, etc. and it is all unique to the culture at the time. 
2- I think that street art is so important. It’s a way to reach a bigger audience of people. People who wouldn’t normally go out of their way to look at art are able to see it and become aware. It is also a good opportunity to raise awareness for certain causes or appreciation for people. I remember after an awful incident where a kid from my high school was unnecessarily shot by the police and killed, somebody painted a big mural of his face to remember him. It made me really feel happy to see him represented.  I have seen many other murals painted in SLC for similar situations as well. Street art has no boundaries, you can basically put up whatever you want. It might get taken down or washed away but I like the idea that if you want to put it out there, you can. If it is for a good cause and within reason of course. Street art is also important because it is a more peaceful way to protest. It can be done without harming others and as the artist, you can also keep your identity private if you wish too. I have a great appreciation for street art. 
I have always been drawn to Bansky’s work. I remember in Park City several years ago, I saw his artwork for the first time on the side of a building. I had no idea who he was yet. I remember my friend telling me that its by Banksy but nobody really knows who the actual artist is. I thought that was so cool.  I’m not sure if now people know who he is. His artwork representing the little girl holding the hands of Ronald Mcdonald and Mickey mouse really stuck with me. It has been included in lessons of in multiple art classes that I have taken because it’s just so important and powerful. 
3- Artists have a lot of power in what they can convey through their work. Some artists may choose to convey very radical and controversial messages, while others may choose not to. Some artists may choose to show that message very explicitly through their work, so that their audience can completely understand what they mean. They might be able to have a more direct sense of power than other artists because their work may get more traction for the meaning than another artist who doesn’t have a direct message. This doesn’t mean that artists who don’t choose to use their artwork to spread big messages don’t carry power. Even if they don’t directly mean to have their art mean something, it can still hold power because of how an audience may engage with it. The power that the artist can have can be contributed to by the audience because they may speculate what it could possibly mean. The audience can dictate how the public should feel about the work without the artist even trying to do that. 
An example I felt could kind of connect with this is work that is done by tattoo artists. I especially feel like this power can be seen in their work in the 90s when tattoos began to emerge into the mainstream culture. Many people that view this artwork may be upset by it because they have stereotypes associated with it. But tattoo artists have been able to create a powerful movement for their work by normalizing it and making it a form of art that is praised. Tattoo Artists that first began in the 90s really created a movement to allow for current day tattoo artists to have room to excel in their field and be appreciated by their audience. They hold a power that may be different to other artists because their canvas is people’s skin that can be displayed to a number of different audiences. It can be scrutinized in different avenues because it is seen in day to day life. 
4- I found the powerpoint for this assignment really interesting and enjoyable because I was familiar with both of the featured artists. I personally believe the ideas of voice and concept in art are almost more important than the art itself. I am someone who wants to know what something is about when looking at art, and when there is a concept behind the art that I find interesting I enjoy the art more. I think Banksy is one of the most unique artists and plays an important role in the evolution of the art world. Seeing artists come up were the own original ideas and taking it to another level is exactly what inspires young artists today. 
I think that that graffiti is a controversial topic because it’s beautiful when done right, but can be a bad thing when it is used against someone or something. I guess I don’t really have a say on what makes graffiti good or bad because everyone has their own opinions and could like something that I personally don’t. I do think graffiti is a great thing to do to get out an important message. For example I saw many George Floyd and Black lives matter graffiti around Salt Lake at the time where those things were buzzing. I think graffiti like that is so important because it makes a statement and makes people look and stare.