Is It Art or Vandalism? The Two Sides of Graffiti.

Is graffiti art, or is it just vandalism and disrespect? There are many ways to look at graffiti, and certainly many different ways to interpret it.

Often when I see graffiti, I think about how incredible it is. The fact that someone is talented enough to go out with cans of spray paint and create a beautiful piece on a wall is crazy. But, although when I see graffiti I think it looks incredible, you also must think about whoever owns the building or whatever it may be done on. That person surely worked hard to own and maintain whatever it is, and it becomes tainted by graffiti.

I can see why graffiti can be considered art. In the article “Graffiti as Art”, the author states, “However, larger pieces require planning and imagination and contain artistic elements like color and composition.” I think what is stated here is pretty self-explanatory on how this is art. To create graffiti, you need to use color, which is a principle of art. Although it may be done in a spot that some consider disrespectful, that doesn’t change the fact of it being art. It contains the components of art. In this same article, it states “One of the most famous graffiti artists, Banksy, has had his work shown in galleries such as Sotheby’s in London.” This shows that it’s art, as it is in art galleries. If also goes onto say that famous people such as Brad Pitt have bought Banksy’s pieces for a hefty price.

On the other hand, I can see why people would consider it vandalism. In the article “Is Graffiti Art” by Steve Dolan, he says, “In a nearby area the local council employs someone to go around and repaint any fences defaced by graffiti. A friend of mine has had his fence repainted 7 times at least, and it took him a while to find out why it was happening!” This is an example of why it may be considered vandalism instead of art. Having to repaint your fence 7 times because of someone coming back over and over and spray painting your fence is ridiculous. That is just disrespectful to continue coming back and spray painting after seeing the fence is repainted. In the article “Graffiti as Vandalism” it says “Large cities typically budget more money toward graffiti removal. In 2006, Chicago budgeted $6.5 million while Omaha, Nebraska spends about $100,000 annually, according to graffitihurts.org.” This is certainly a problem if this much money is being spent to clean up the graffiti. This is the type of stat is what really helps people believe that graffiti is vandalism, not art.

Both sides of this argument can be seen. On one hand, I believe it is art. Artists have to put in the work to make it look the way they do, and use lots of components of art. On the other hand, someone repeatedly coming back and painting even though the graffiti you did is covered, that is just disrespectful, and I would consider that vandalism. After reading both sides, I would consider it art, but I think in some cases it can be considered vandalism, like when you continue doing it after you realize the other does not agree to it.

“Graffiti beim Kulturamt / Graffiti at the cultural office” by to.wi is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.