Christopher Pierro - Artist Statement For many people graffiti is considered an act of vandalism or a crime and deserves no place in the traditional art world. It is my intent to show that graffiti is indeed an authentic art form that created an American subculture and influenced artists around the world. Unbeknownst to non-artists, graffiti writers utilize all the elements of traditional artists: colors, form, lines and combine it with a unique variety of mediums, techniques and scale. This combination of techniques exceeds many of the skills found in other art genres yet are not part of the curriculum in art programs. Despite the recent commercialization of graffiti evident in advertisements, music and television, viewers have yet to appreciate the skills necessary to coalesce graffiti into these other expression of art. Despite being trained as a traditional artist, I prefer graffiti over all other styles and am dedicated to formulizing graffiti techniques and crossing it with an even wider spectrum of mediums and artistic expressions.
Education MANHATTAN COLLEGE, Riverdale, New York Masters of Special Education, 1995 SCHOOL OF VISUAL ARTS, New York City, New York Bachelor of Fine Arts, 1991 ELIZABETH SETON COLLEGE, Yonkers, New York Associates of Fine Arts, 1988
