Last words on grafiti

I watched the rise of Banksy, living near Brstol during his growth in popularity and then on to London and finally the Banksy versus Bristol museum exhibition. This had a footfall of 300,000, unadvertised, indoors and pretty good fun for anyone, art fan but mainly general public liked it because it is easy to get. There was also a deep Bristolian solidarity for one of their own made good. You dont need to have followed the ongoing, London based conversation that is the art that made the papers and the big prices to enjoy Banksy. He is more of a cartoonist with that little bit of anarchy thrown in. The thrill of the chase, how did he get up there?
I watched hip hops affect on British youth culture. King Robbos justifiable rise in stature and the terrible street attack he is still recovering from. Sheets of toughened plastic cover to protect famous Banksys so they dont get vandalised in a strange twist of culture. The mainstreams swing to be cool. And that is where it lies Like zany uncles drunk dancing at wedding parties, down with the kids, councillors hunger to be in on the action and try to preserve them. Graf is fashionable with the suits. David Camerons wife gave a piece by a street artist to Mrs Obama for a present, all danger is lost.
But it isnt just the fact that street art is now accepted by the straights, that is just funny.It is the buildings deemed dirt enough, low enough archtecturally insignificant enough to be decorated by 'vandalism'. Brutalist Architecture is having a brutal time of it, canal sidings, train stations but not on a Zaha Hadid, no graf on the Ghurkin or the Ark. The Americanised doodles that spread like giant skirting boards to match the dado rails and picture rails of advertising hoardings the street artists set out to shout back at. I too hate advertising, unless they're really good and don't last too long. I feel the same about grafiti.. Yet our cities are losing their identity as Americana sandwiches out our culture from below and above. I see the odd good piece but far more poor work.The free gallery has no curater. The hierarchy system is as evident through the councils cleaners.
When I look I see a rusting drainpipe that runs down the wall and in to a drain cover with a small weed with yellow flowers. And it is real. It is art. It is so much more moving, in a different realm altogether than poorly sprayed tags. I have engaged in street art but won't again. I will stick to my photography. This is street art I can believe in, the ready made of street art. It is missed by most. The mundane is now fantastic. And the footfall is greater than 300,000