Jade with Graffiti 

Vincent Giarrano made this painting of a young woman on the street with oil on linen. Giarrano is working in a long tradition of urban realism, and the image tells us a great deal about the culture of cities in the United States today. The artist invites us to consider the social codes of dress, the role of graffiti in claiming public space, and the commodification of urban life. The layering of graffiti in the painting resembles palimpsests, ancient manuscripts on which the original writing has been scraped away and replaced, but traces of the earlier text remain. Similarly, the young woman pictured seems to be claiming this public space for herself even as previous claims are still visible. She stands in front of them asserting her presence. To understand the imagery better, we can research the history of graffiti as political speech, and the art historical tradition of realist painting. The meaning of art is always contingent on social and institutional context.