Is it art or graffiti?

Is It Art? Some may say no but I think that when there is a story to tell that has true meaning, It is Art. Many people disapprove because they think it looks trashy or it is just teens and young adults getting doing this for fun to vandalize which isn’t the case. But that just isn’t the case they are expressing themselves through this art form. That is why self-expression is crucial, and why I think graffiti is art.

Artists can actually be paid to spray paint graffiti so why should it be classified as bad? “Graffiti artists can create sanctioned murals for private property owners and get paid for it.”(page 1). I think it can make cities and areas better and can bring inspiration to the areas. “After all, who would remember Monet or Picasso if they’d created their masterpieces on walls, only to have them painted over the next day?” (page 1). This proves my point exactly, by covering this art we could be covering the next Picasso. I think art should be expressed wherever and whenever as long as they are getting approval.

In different cities, graffiti can make statements about “Identity, art, empowerment, and politics.”(Ted Talk 0:16) To express this in a city, the chances of the messages the artist is trying to convey are more likely to affect them, than rather in a town or an abandoned building.

I think seeing graffiti put into art galleries makes people see the potential of their art. “the admission of select graffiti artists into art galleries a decade later, graffiti has straddled the line between outside and inside the mainstream.”(Ted Talk 3:22) For example Keith Haring was a huge name in Graffiti art and his work was shown in museums (and still is). A lot of his work responded to social and political events about love and being human. He also expressed the hardships of the LQBTQ+ community in his art and would often go into subway stations and use chalk to draw on empty posters so strangers walking by could be intrigued. Being asked to legally graffiti can be huge for an artist because it is so looked down on as shown in this article “artists are often commissioned to do legal murals and other work for art shows.”(page 3). In recent times having people ask for this type of art to be commissioned can help open a perspective of how beautiful graffiti can be.

As expressed that is why I think self-expression is crucial, and why I think graffiti is art.

Cities having protest art and just art in general I think further educate the people on the issues around us all instead of looking at it as bad art. And having graffiti art in museums gives a different perspective instead of the art being labeled as vandalism. In the end, I hope you as a reader can have a different perspective on why graffiti isn’t vandalism, but art.

“banksy graffiti london EC1” by eadmundo is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.