How Graffiti Murals Became Website Banners
I've recently been thinking a lot about murals. My younger sister has to paint a mural for her art class in school, it's supposed to be about 'community outreach'. She's asked me for some ideas and I've been pretty stumped, but it got me thinking about where murals came from and where they're going.
Only a few decades ago graffiti was slowly becoming infamous for decorating communities in an unusual fashion. Now years later we have embraced this street art and even given it a politically correct name in order to grant it funds; a mural. Now painting murals has become a big business, from school cafeterias to skateparks, everybody wants a mural.
But where are we now? In an age of online promotion and hardly having to leave home for anything. How do we see murals anymore? Well, let me introduce you to banners. These wonderful images often get browsed over. A single thinly cropped image can set the mood and communicate event facts in seconds. Just as a mural, the banner portrays an atmosphere to the surrounding area.
In a digital age these banners have become the new murals. You click through webpages just like you'd walk by stores on a street. Stores have window displays and websites have banners. They're becoming interchangeable in an internet dominated culture. Just like storefronts try set a mood and entice you into their store, websites do the same with banners.
I don't think banners are a direct result of graffiti and murals, but I do believe they had an important role to play in banner advertisement online. In an age that develops by the minute it's hard to decisively call anything. But one thing I do know is that banners and murals are about to change for the better.
Photo Credit: Dave Steers
By Harlen Malkowich