Graffiti Art or Not?

Although some people believe graffiti is artwork, they are simply incorrect because graffiti is vandalism. Graffiti is considered vandalism because the people creating the graffiti are defacing public and private property. It causes companys to spend a lot of money, it brings down neighborhoods reputations, a lot of people associoate gangs with graffiti.

One example of how grafiti is not artwork is the people creating the graffiti are defacing public and private property which is not art but vandalism which is a crime. “Graffiti is always vandalism. By definition it is committed without permission on another person’s property”. The only case it would’nt be considered vandalism is if the painter got permission from the property owner or if they were asked to by the owner. Which is not the case for 90% of graffiti.

Graffiti is vandalizing public or private bussiness and even peoples homes. “Artists tag both public and private property, which becomes costly for taxpayers and business and property owners.”(source 4) It is leaving a big impact on the property owner because they are having to spend they own money to get it fixed. For example if someone was to spray paint an important office building, the company would’nt want to ruin their reputation so they would pay someone to get rid of the graffiti. Which is causing property owners to spend a lot of money, especially if it has happened more than once. If it was “art” the property owners would not want to get rid of the art work. But it is not art, its vandalism which not only makes them lose money from having to get it removed but also causes them to lose bussiness.

When graffiti is placed onto bussinesses and homes, it makes them get a bad reputation. “Gang-related crimes and violence are the crimes most commonly associated with graffiti.” source 4) Many people who see graffiti relate it to gangs, which can destroy a bussiness. People will be too scared to go to it incase there are gang members around, people will also believe these companies are substandard. It also ruins neighborhoods for the same reason, people wont want to live where there is graffiti everywhere, especially if they believe there are gangs around so the houses will have a hard time being sold.

In conclusion grafitti is vandalism, becasue the people creating it are not only destroying private or public property which causes the property owners to dish out a lot of money to repair the damged property, but can also give neighborhoods a bad reputation because a lot of people relate grafitti to gangs.

“The Graffiti School” by nitram242 is licensed under CC BY 2.0.