Author: Dana Walters
Usually the term "graffiti" denotes vandalism, ruin and wreckage. The pictures that coat the walls of subway stations and impoverished buildings might look beautiful and creative, but they still remain synonymous with destruction. Adding the term "art," to "graffiti" might therefore appear contradictory, but that is exactly what Alex Benepe '09 and Alex Consalvo '09 have done in their new exhibit "Cave Paintings."
Although both have a background in art, Benepe and Consalvo have never before put together a show of this magnitude. Working tirelessly for about two weeks, they left no wall, pole or floorspace bare. The graffiti is almost an affront to the eye at first glance, with its unusual beauty sinking in slowly later. The two seniors joined forces after seeing each other's work in the Martin Luther King, Jr. show. Consalvo maintained that he had always been interested in street art, and this show is a manifestation of his lifelong fondness for the medium.
Calling "graffiti art" oxymoronic fits easily within the framework of the exhibit, for much of it reflects opposition. Combining seemingly antithetical images and ideas, Benepe and Consalvo have brought a nonconformist attitude indoors under the auspices of the administration's approval. Images of Abraham Lincoln stand alongside Oliver Twist's plea for more food, and a scrawled "Fight the mediocracy" shares a wall with an ad for Coke ironically done in the style of the Adidas logo. With black and white and a m
Graffiti rejuvenates drab Forest basement
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