Graffiti culture - criminal activity or artistic expression? | Brian Garcia | TEDxBangsar

Graffiti culture has earned a bad reputation over the years. In this talk, Brian shares the backstory of how this culture came to be, and how it has evolved from being a means for gangsters to resolve conflicts to becoming a legal art form that revives cities. As a young fellow Brian was heavily influenced by Chicano art mailed to him by his uncle incarcerated in a California penitentiary and it sparked his artistry in these younger years. At the age of 14 he devoted himself to bicycle freestyle riding where he was then famed the name “Taz” after “Tasmanian Devil” for his high accelerated wind whirling innovated maneuvers. In his adolescences he was introduced to spray-can art , airbrushing and the art of b-boying. This is where the “Roc” was introduced to the end of “Taz”. His stage name was born, “Tazroc”. With his relentless determination and passion he began to pursue his purpose as a graffiti artist. In this time he succeeded in the legalization of graffiti walls of his inner city boroughs. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx