Argumentative Essay On Graffiti And Tagging

Within the debate of whether graffiti and tagging contributes to the art of the scape of a city, or if it merely adds to the pollution, both perspectives have merit. Ultimately, there will be a prevalent set of groups that believe strongly that graffiti or tagging constitutes vandalism, even though graffiti can be regulated such that it actually becomes its own art form that contributes to a city’s identity. However, this debate as a whole, as Alain Milon asserts, is the result of media’s dilution of the issue, and lacks the attention to detail to “determin[e] esthetic classifications” of graffiti and tagging as art or as vandalism (Durand 90). Just as hip-hop as a whole, as well as the individual parts that sum into hip-hop culture, graffiti and tagging are multi-faceted in their own right, and can be interpreted to be art, not just in the end result, but in the graffiti’s form. As Milon notes, while a tag at its most basic definition is

Graffiti and tagging tends to have a loaded message, whether it is aimed at social, political, or cultural ails, and the abrasive connotations of such messages are not what many inhabitants may see as desirable for a city’s landscape. As Milon observes, the message, rather than the art form, touches the nerve of everyone, “from the simple inhabitant to the local elected officials” and elicits a reaction and response that furthers the “desire for cleanliness and property” (Durand 93). Though graffiti and tagging has been considered dirt or pollution due to the actions taken by local governments to prevent and keep cities “clean”, the persistent desire to rid a city of graffiti lies in the interpretation of the art, whether it is considered a personal attack, or even just an unwanted work on one’s