Graffiti Essay

Going back to the original question, what is considered graffiti? McAuliffe and Iveson proposed an idea, “asking whether graffiti is still graffiti if it is taken from its illegal context on the walls of the city and placed in a gallery” (130). In “The Making of Space, Race and Place” by Maggie Dickinson, Sandra Fabara, a writer who was featured in the Brooklyn Museum exhibit, answered this question. Fabara argued that “The pieces in galleries cease to be graffiti because they have been removed from the cultural context that gives graffiti a reason for being, a voice from the ghetto. Authentic graffiti cannot exist in the sanctuary provided by the galleries and museums” (39). She is saying that since the cultural side is being taken away and

A perfect example of the presence of artworks available for viewing is in graffiti. Graffiti is often a derogative term used to describe writing, drawing, or images placed on the surfaces of public buildings or areas. Although not considered fine art by many, as an expression of creativity and imagination, it falls under the category of artworks. What separates this form of artwork from those found in galleries is the atmosphere and environment that is attached to graffiti that cannot be replicated or found in art galleries. The raw nature of graffiti makes it appealing for viewers, however, the fact it is abundant in the urban environment justifies the idea that it can be viewed without the need for an art gallery.

Graffiti has been used many times in history to preserve and show political and religious ideas of the past. Street artists are preserving the history that is deemed “illegal” at this time. Graffiti itself is history, and it tells stories as well as preserving cities and adding a creative aspect to everyday life. The “...first forms of scripture and storytelling … were through drawings on walls. Stories passed through generations… were preserved on rocks or walls.” (Lloyd, Alexis). Now street artists are simply doing the same, whether it’s murals, tags, or people just messing around; They are preserving the unique cultures that we have today, or trying to make a name for themselves through art, or portray a political message. 85% of graffiti is just tags. (Akbar, Airfa). People's names or words made to look interesting. People trying to preserve their name through art. And this is considered a crime. Splashing your political views on a building through a mural to some people is offensive and the fact that this is illegal is a violation of the 1st amendment. Making graffiti or street art illegal is limiting an expression of people's ideas and religion.

Graffiti has been around for more than half a decade and practiced worldwide. However there is debate between whether it is a form of art or vandalism. Graffiti artists’ debate that many do not understand the reason most graffiti artist take the risk of incarceration, fines, injuries, and in some cases death to paint a wall. A graffiti artist can have the simple desire to become recognized, or to create a piece that speaks to their audience as a form of self expression. Because graffiti is associated with gangs and acts of destruction to some many cannot see the history and importance graffiti can have on a worldwide scale. Due to the fact that graffiti is usually produced illegally, meaning it is

Graffiti is derived from the Greek word graphien which means drawing on a surface such as stone. It was originally created as a word to describe the illegal drawings that ancient

By definition, graffiti is illegal. It is also considered vandalism because public or private property is intentionally destroyed, but in Alex Boyd’s blog “In Defense of Graffiti”, he clearly conveys his argument about how graffiti shows qualities of value and shouldn’t be criticized on impulse. Even though many people have seen graffiti as something to be condoned, punishable, and terrorizing, it is actually just another form of expression, communication, art, and point of view.

According to Boyd, through Graffiti is essential to understand as a form of art that crosses the boundaries of location, method, and motivation. He acknowledges that graffiti might include “racist remarks, empty slogans and illegal signatures.”(Boyd 251) Boyd’s piece is also very informative because according to the author, there are two methods for creating this form of art: murals and tagging. The most popular one is tagging because it can be found almost everywhere from fence posts to trains, street walls to buses. The main goal of graffiti writers is to put their signature tags in places to be recognized by their

Is the most controversial element on hip-hop, and tends to be its visual expression. The definition of graffiti could be that it is a mural interpretation of the artists’ inner that can be resulted in a drawing, writing, or a symbolic projection (Edwards 13-17). There are three types of the graffiti art: the Tagging, which can be a simple form of one color only; second, is the Threw-Up in which the artist may use more than two colors, and the Spray is the third type where more colors and complexity is used. (Gross 285)

Is graffiti seen as vandalism or a notable art that is used to voice the opinion of many artists? Many are quick to conclude that graffiti is an act of defacing public property, but few are in understanding of what real graffiti is. Graffiti is defined as art that is displayed or created in public spaces. So this presents the question of why some critics believe that graffiti should not be classified as a real subcategory of art. Below is the explanation as to why graffiti needs to be considered among the most prestigious and notable art forms.

Most people think of graffiti as vandalism or the defacing of private property by wild teenagers with spray cans. I had never really thought about graffiti or art for that matter until I found myself defending something I didn’t know about because I liked what I saw on the sidewalk in Memphis, Tennessee. Now, that’s sounds crazy but I did my best to explain using simple words that I hoped they would understanding.

In the summer of 2013, a graffiti artist by the name of 'Lady Pink' had police barge into her house in Queens and arrest her husband for vandalism. They took her art supplies, photo archives, and many of her prized possessions. She had to sit there, helpless, watching police take away her things. In today's world right now, expressing yourself creatively is one of the most important things you can do to help figure out who you are. A part of creative expression is art. Art makes people happy. Graffiti falls into the art category. For some people, graffiti is what they do to express themselves. Graffiti is art and shouldn't be illegal. Expressing yourself creatively shouldn't be a crime.

Graffiti portrays a message whether it’s spelled out on the concrete or hidden behind a sort of code. It lets unheard voices, be heard. There are many different forms of graffiti, tagging is the form of street art that most often results in consequences (Eickmier). This is because tagging is basically signing your nickname on a wall, and once the police figure out your pseudonym they will most likely find you. Graffiti is not always considered to be ugly though, some artists work actually ends up in museums (Wark) A manchester artist who goes by the name “Banksy” ultimately avoided jail because his work was deemed “artistic” He was later given an opportunity to showcase his work in a museum. Graffiti does not

Graffiti can be found everywhere and anywhere. It is a way for people to express themselves and be creative in a public manner. It shows how passionate and talented they can be when it comes to drawing or tagging and have it displayed as a piece of art for everyone to see. Graffiti goes way back to the ancient times and is now very well known in the modern days which makes more and more people interested and fascinated by them. It can be used in different types of ways. Many artists can either spray paint, carve, paste, or stencil them on a surface. From how we see them today they are usually images of random cartoons, big bubbly letters, vintage black and whites or inspirational quotes. Virtually anything colorful or not and big that can be easily spotted. Graffiti is more superior to be known as art than vandalism because it is a self expressing act. People need to be open minded about the images they see and look at the message behind it or else they will immediately criticize and say it is vandalizing property.

As graffiti recently transitioned to a more respectable art form, it developed a more respectable name: street art.

“According to Kim Dovey, Simon Wollan, and Ian Woodblock, graffiti is a type of art as well. She claims that there is different type of graffiti. They first talks about the different types of graffiti. Some of the types listed are stencil tags, throw up, and slogans. There are free handed drawings that are called stencil drawings. Stencil graffiti combines elements from spray-paint graffiti and from street art. Stencil artists carefully prepare stencil blueprints on hand-made sheets, which they then place on a surface and cover with spray paint. Stencil graffiti works are the easiest and quickest pieces to replicate” (Lerman 299). “Throw up are just free handed paintings. Slogans are when they