Vandalism

While walking through a city you might see a lot of words or pictures spray painted on a wall. Some people may think it is a work of art, however it is still vandalism, and it is still illegal. No matter what you write of draw on a building, appropriate or not, unless you have permission to paint someones building, it is vandalism. When doing graffiti you are basically painting over someones business place. If you wanted to paint something then use a canvas or a paper, not someones building that they worked very hard to own. Graffiti serves as “an annoyance to the property owner,” (Dolan). For businesses to have to deal with people drawing all over their property is ridiculous. Business owners have to go out of their way to paint over what other people have done. This takes time and costs money for businesses who have this problem.

Graffiti has become such a big issue in society today that “In some places you can’t buy spray paint unless you’re over 18” (Dolan). They even have spray paint cans locked up in the back at certain stores because the problem has gotten so bad. Even though graffiti is vandalism and needs to be stopped, it does give a colorful aesthetic to certain places. I believe that there is a better place where people can express themselves through art. Such as on a canvas where you are not vandalizing someone else’s property. Some people say because of aesthetic criteria “graffiti has to be considered an art form.” (George C.). Even though it may be art to people who see it and make it, it is just plain out vandalism to the people who have to take care of it and are affected by it. The cost of graffiti clean up in the US “is in the billions of dollars.” This affects tax payers and business owners, costing them money that they shouldn’t have to spend to fix this issue.

If you are thinking about doing graffiti, you should take a moment and think about who you are going to affect. Overall Graffiti is vandalism no matter how you try to sugarcoat it. Even though people took the time to create the work, it shouldn’t be on walls of buildings. It should be on a Canvas where it isn’t affecting anyone in a bad way. If you really wanted to help someone out through art, you would do it legally.

“Graffiti Art” by Bytemarks is licensed under CC BY 2.0