For as long as humans have been able to write, people have been writing on walls. The Romans wrote on the buildings of the towns they conquered, and even before words were used, the cave men painted on walls; hence, the Romans called this writing phenomenon graffiti. Graffiti is defined as “the act of inscribing or drawing on walls” for the purpose of communicating a message to the general public (Merriam Webster). The term comes from the Greek word "Graphein," which means 'to write.' As the times have changed, so have the forms of writing on the walls has taken. Today, a few different classifications separate graffiti such as the gang graffiti that street gangs use to mark their turf, graffiti that people write to express political views, and graffiti art, which is the new form of graffiti that has just emerged in the past twenty-five years. In the urban city settings, graffiti has taken a vibrant, bold, and often illegal presence. Recently, the question is raised as to whether any form of graffiti can be considered art. Is it vandalism when it is placed on the side of a building or car, but art when it is on a canvas on someone's wall or in a gallery? Looking at these two views of graffiti, graffiti should be considered art because it encompasses three significant components of what defines “art”; graffiti art demands technical skills, showcases the artist’s worldview, and thrives within the traditional art community.
First of all, the consideration of any form of art is that it demands technical and artistic skills. Not only does Graffiti meets these requirements, but also introduce new expertise with its own style in the art world. Slowly, but surely, the art community recognizes that graffiti is an valid form of art even th...
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...lic were more knowledgeable of what graffiti consisted of. Graffiti should be categorized as art because of the required skillful elements, the expressive display of artwork from a particular graffiti artist, and the universal acceptance of graffiti as an art. For these reasons, the public’s outlook on graffiti should shift. In order to shift this view of graffiti as vandalism to art, people need to look past the act of the graffiti, and rather invest into the beauty of the art found within graffiti. Change can only occur if the public does not equate artistic graffiti mistakenly with gang graffiti. The sooner the undying reputation of graffiti is dropped, the more the artistic form of graffiti will breathe in the general community. In all, graffiti as an art has a better chance of achieving beyond its neighborhoods if only the public perception of graffiti alters.
Within the impoverished urban streets arose a youth culture captivated by infamy and self-pride. A youth culture virtually undistinguishable from members of modern society with a passion, setting them apart from the community. The members of this underground subculture could be your next-door neighbor, your son or daughter, or the contractor repairing your roof, yet you would have no idea that they strive to “bomb” objects and surfaces found in everyday life. It is the subtle differences that distinguish a graffiti artist from the average member of society, such as their, mindset, desires, speech and active lifestyle.
Inside the yard now stands a freshly painted mural, sixty feet wide and twelve feet high. The work is the result of weeks of designing and planning, and with luck it might last as long on the train as it already has on paper. What the boys have done, what has taken place inside that trainyard, is a work of art. [Let us begin with a basic assumption. One may object to graffiti on social or moral grounds, but only in the most conservatist terms can it not be considered “art.” Any idea of art which does not go out of its way to disinclude vandalism will, in fact, contain graffiti. We will, then, put aside social and moral considerations for the duration, and consider graffiti as art.]
The identity of a graffiti artist is hardly ever known unless they want to tag their art with their name or a nickname. Graffiti writers as a subculture are trying to express their political views through civil disobedience by painting pictures that speak out against the government. This subculture developed because they were tired of being oppressed by the government. Graffiti is one of the most enduring acts of protest. It is an important tool for the resistance movement as a way to publicize their protest. It is a visible and powerful form of protest that is going to promote change in the social justice by allowing oppressed groups of people express their viewpoints without being penalized by the
Graffiti is an art form that was bred from the rebellion of youths. The first sighting of graffiti was seen on subways, and other impoverished areas around New York. This form involved what is called tagging , where the artist signs his or her name, nickname, or group name, on the side of a building or other surface. It is well known for its bold, colorful presence and intricate script. It is still prominent and visible in those areas of the Bronx today.
Although many people believe that graffiti is vandalism, it is in fact art because many museums display graffiti, people are interested in it, and it displays beauty and emotional power. Many people have learned to appreciate graffiti as an art form and have opened their eyes to the beauty and emotional power it holds. From the video on CBS News, “Is Graffiti Art or Vandalism,” Laura Fanning (museum visitor) explains at 1:42 “. now I see it as more of a commentary and a statement of ‘I’m leaving my mark’.” This quote exhibits a museum visitor whose perception of graffiti changed when she went to a museum that displayed graffiti.
The flip side of graffiti is that it can become a noisome. During the mid-1980, the city of New York was faced with a big problem of graffiti. The graffiti was displayed all over subway walls, trains and street corners. The city tried to crack down on graffiti artist by fining or jailing if caught spray painting public or private property without permission. This action did not detour the artist. They just found clever ways to get around the police or neighborhood
Within the last few years, graffiti has been deemed an acceptable and tasteful genre of art. Long gone are the days where the spray can belonged exclusively to the local delinquent. From the past to present, there has been a shift in how street art is recognized by the general public and the government. Laws and policies are being put into place that both defend and threaten the promulgation of this creative medium. By both protecting and prohibiting, the government displays an inconsistent and confusing relationship with street art. When art is so subjective, it can become challenging to delineate the fine line between vandalism and creativity. This essay will discuss the changing public perception of graffiti, the trademark and copyright battles between graffiti artists and property owners, the categorization of street art as an artform, and the beneficial aspects of commissioned street murals.
The Graffiti community is, although they will not admit, a bunch of aesthetic filled souls. Everyone gathers recognition in this community. “Graffiti isn't something a normal person does, I have been through a lot of situations just cus I do what I do,” my subject explains. These artist ARE outcasts, for a good. They express culture and it is something they get a feel for. It is brilliant, even with the trouble.
Art is defined by Oxford’s Dictionary as works produced by human creative skill and imagination. The argument of whether or not graffiti is art has been around for an indeterminable amount of time. Because of many different and valid reasons, graffiti should be considered as art.
Graffiti is a form of art that people use to express themselves and to convey various messages to people in a particular community. In the movie "Graffiti Verite':. One of the graffiti artist explained that his purpose in doing graffiti is that it allows him to "express his anger' on the wall. Another kid by the name of "Jipsie" said that graffiti is a "form of growth". There were several different explanations that artists shared as well as several different reasons why they like graffiti. The common theme among the graffiti artist and taggers was that graffiti is simply a form of self-expression (Bryan). At the end of the film one tagger made a comment and said, "graffiti is not vandalism, but it is a beautiful crime". This comment did not make sense to me. Committing a crime, a hideous act, is not a beautiful thing to do by any means. Graffiti does not mean people can go around and draw and spray paint on other peoples property. Regardless of what types of graffiti are being expressed by the tagger, this type of self expression is considered vandalism when people decide to draw, destroy, or violate any persons property without consent. As a result of taggers committing the crime of vandalism, property owners, concerned citizens, and law enforcement officers spend too much time, money, and energy trying to put an end to the unlawful act of vandalism.
During the Roman Empire and ancient Greek, graffiti was well known as an inscription but graffiti was discovered long before the Roman Empire and ancient Greek. Graffiti was discovered 30,000 BCE in caves paintings using tools such as animal bones and pigments. These illustrations were often placed in ceremonial and sacred locations inside of the caves. Today graffiti is a form of art conveying political social messages in artistic form.
‘“Graffiti (sgraffiti), meaning drawings or scribblings on a flat surface and deriving from the Italian sgraffio (‘scratch’), with a nod to the Greek graphein (‘to write’), originally referred to those marks found on ancient Roman architecture”’(Weisburg). Though, it is unknown when or where graffiti first made an appearance; modern graffiti did not come around till the late 1960’s to early 1970’s in New York. The term “tagging” is the modern form of scratching (Weisburg). It also is considered the origin of all modern graffiti, including street art.
Mention the word graffiti and what typically comes to mind is something unpleasant and distasteful like indecent language scribbled on a wall of a store or crude pictures. Most graffiti is characterized as vandalism on property that does not belong to the culprit. Graffiti also displays negative graphics that promote some type of vulgar message such as violence, sex, drugs, gangs, and racism. On the other hand, when the terms “street” and “art” come together, a blast of colorful creations upon blank slates on the street comes to mind. Although street art is technically considered graffiti, it is a type of graffiti with positive qualities, but certain figures in society find street art to be, in some way, disruptive. If used properly, street art can be appreciated artistically and socially. Despite the negative stigma attached to graffiti, street art has emerged as a progressive valuable art form whose vast history, surge in popularity, and urge for social change warrant its classification as a fine art.
There are a great number of reasons as to why graffiti is generally looked down upon by common folk. A point often overlooked is that graffiti is vandalism. Most graffiti is in fact done without consent of the owner of which the piece actually appears on. It is illegal and that’s the bottom line. At the end of the day it is still someone’s property that is being defaced. Another key point is that gangs typically use graffiti in a variety of ways. Gangs can use it to publicize their status of power, mark territories, send messages, and warn intruders. Yet, even though it is wrong that does not mean it still isn’t art. If there were a beautiful and eye-catching mural on a wall, would most people not take a glance at it and consider it a work of art? People will realize it is art before processing the fact that it is illegal.
Graffiti started in the 1920s when gangs would tag train cars and walls to mark territory mainly in New York City. Graffiti took a different turn in the 1970s when young adults decided to use street art as an outlet to express their political and social outrage. This movement had soon gained the attention of the “adult” world. Graffiti was known as “creation through destruction” and to this day is still considered illegal in most parts of the world. In modern street art the mediums used have evolved past spray paint and now artists are using different methods with spray paint to progress their works past crude tags.