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People may argue that graffiti and other forms of street is a form of vandalism, others on the other side of the spectrum say that it is an outlet to those producing this specific form of art. It allows strangers from all over to see the message and take away what they will with it. Gang members have taken away from street art and have made it more of a nuisance. They made it more about marking their territory rather than allowing a message to be told.

Chicago is covered with street art. Statues lay across the city, graffiti decorate the walls, and odd objects capture the attention of passerby’s. Especially near the logan square area. Logan square is covered in graffiti. On the blue line train near the division stop is a huge poster of a ferret that is crawling over a door on a building. The building is small and hidden behind others, but the ferret is easily seen on the train. Walking down the street the ferret won’t be seen because it is behind the building. The artist must have had this in mind when considering that specific building. The buildings that surround that location are brown and all brick, then once you see the ferret that is painted over white paper the art just pops at it’s audience. 

Passing this building almost everyday, the ferret becomes something to look forward to. The artist must have carefully chosen that specific location in the hopes that strangers on the train will have something in common at one specific moment in time; and that is looking at the modest graffiti art. Careful planning must have been used to place the claws of the ferret over the door frame. The artist had to plan out exactly where the each specific part of the animal would land on the building to allow the art to pop and become more realistic. 3D art is another amazing art for all on it’s own. Many artists have mastered the form and had been able to trick the mind into perceiving something that is drawn on a flat surface to be 3D. 

 

Bus 174 

Jose Padilha decided to make his debut documentary Bus 174 when he was reading the newspaper one morning and stumbled upon an article that talked about a hijacking. The article was very factual and blunt with no detail nor descriptions. It talked about a man that hijacked a bus for four hours and held the passengers hostage. He finally surrendered and nobody was hurt. As a result of his resisting arrest the police forcibly restrained him which ultimately led to his suffocation. Jose Padilha was curious about the hijacker and wondered why the article never addressed his background. He started to investigate and decided to give the hijacker, Sandro do Nascimento, a fair chance to tell his side.

Sandro do Nascimento hijacked bus 174 for four hours and held 6 passengers hostage. When he was captured by the police he was strangled and murdered, although the police say they were just doing their job. Jose Padilha had to help tell Sandro’s side of the story through eyes of the people that knew him and through footage of what was captured at the scene of the hijack. We are told about the struggles of Sandro through the eyes of his Aunt, his adopted mother and we are even allowed a professional opinion from a sociologist. Jose Padilha was smart in choosing his interviewees considering he is allowing the audience a chance to hear about what lead to Sandro’s destructive decision that night through people that knew him very well and through somebody who deals with troubled people on a day to day basis. The sociologist gives us sight on Sandro through a professional stand point that gives the audience a chance to dissect the psychology behind him. His family gives the documentary gives Sandro a more human side, which allows the audience to reflect on themselves or somebody they knew and make Sandro easier to relate to. Through the journey of this documentary, we find out about the lives of former and current street children and what life is like in the slums of Rio de Janeiro. We see the mistreatment and the inhumane nature that is inflicted upon them.

Bus 174 was a way for Sandro do Nascimento to speak for the adults and children that lived on the streets and allow his voice to be heard. No one ever acknowledged the unjust lives of the street children until Sandro hijacked and waited for the reports to start rolling their cameras and until the crowd was large enough to tell his side of the story. He talked about all the troubles he had to face as a street child and about all the abuse the police inflicted on his life. Jose Padilha shared footage from what it was like on the streets and also inside the jail cells for all these “criminals”. Bus 174 opened the eyes to many around the world. It was also voted “one of the ten best films of the year” by The New York Times.