The art in Graffiti
April 7, 2023 Uncategorized 0 comment dfournier23
Graffiti is most commonly referred to as an annoyance to the community or a form of destruction. To the artist it is an expression of their artistic capabilities, provides a canvas for their skills to be displayed, and can even transform something non aesthetically pleasing to something pleasant to the eye. Whether a person views graffiti as art or vandalism, is all in the eye of the beholder.
While graffiti was once considered vandalism, it can be argued that it has become more wildely recognized as a common type of artwork. “George C. Stowers wrote that based on aesthetic criteria, graffiti has to be considered an art form”. Inner city taggins are now much more sophisticated. Artists are using better supplies and not just spray painting. This has evolved and improved the quality of the tags in these areas to some degree.
However graffiti is still not abundantly and/or positivley accepted by the public as a form of art, because some people consider it vandalism. Graffiti takes many different techniques, and methods, it is a genuine skill. Many people are convicned that grafitti is a “crime” or an act of defacing public property without permission. Yet, if you were to go on google and search the word “grafitti” the definition of that word would pop up. Google states “grafitti is art that is written, painted, usually without permission and within public view.”
To an artist a canvas can be anything. A canvas can be considered graffitti when it is on surfaces such as fire hydrants, the side of buildings, fences, and tar. It is a passion or art that fuels the artist to want to create something beautiful on these surfaces. Graffiti art is respected to the point where it is displayed in musuems, because the artist’s skills are sometimes asthetically pleasing. “Recognition by the art world and inclusion in galleries and auctions is one way that graffiti art is legitimized as “real” art.” (Graffitti as art, SD)
Graffitti can even transform something non astheticlaly pleasing to something pleasant to the eye. In the inner cities such as New York, or Chicago there are lots of buildings that have become abandonned and run down. “Vandalism is usually seen as a quality of life issue”(grafitti as vandalism).To a graffitti artist, this type of building can be seen as an oppurtunity to turn something unnatractive into something attractive and beautiful.
To the artist it is an expression of their artistic capabilities, provides a canvas for their skills to be displayed, and can even transform something non aesthetically pleasing to something pleasant to the eye. Although many people see graffiti as a crime, or vandalism, to artists it’s much more. It is a skillful way of expressing artistic techniques and can transform a once uninhabited run down building into something beautiful and gain the respect of the artistic community in this way.
