The Art of the Streets

Graffiti, there’s a huge debate if it’s actually art or not. Now, the answer relies on what you consider art, and, in my personal opinion, I do consider graffiti art, and here’s why.

While, some urban graffiti is that of tags (signitures for a single person or a group of people), most of it is mural-esque art, in which it takes up a whole space and, most of the time, represents the comunity it is placed in, or, on the other hand, is a realtively small piece, done just as another form of artistic expression. And, with the words from the article ‘Is Graffiti Art?’ by Steve Dolan agreeing with such here: “If it wasn’t for the fact that most graffiti is placed on private property without the owner’s permission, then it might be more recognized as a legitimate form of art.” Stating, that, while even though most of the art seen is not all that legal, if not for that fact, it would be seen as a genuine form of artistic expression. While I do agree that having grraffiti on your private property is annoying at the least and costly at most, it is still a cheap and easily accesible expression of art, and with the more recongnition graffiti has gotten, the illigality of the art form on private properties has reduced because most of the artists are getting hired to do so, shown here: “However, after years of gaining recognition by the art community, graffiti art has been shown in various galleries in New York and London, and artists are often commisioned to do leagal murals and other work for art shows.” (‘Graffiti as Art’)

There is also more people who agree with me that graffiti is an art form, especially in the art community, seen here in this quote from ‘Graffiti as Art’: “Although many consider the spray-painted pieces a nuisance, graffiti has been gaining recognition from the art world more and more as a legitimate form of art.” This statement of being more recognized, and being more considered as an art form isn’t even all opinion, shown in this quote here: “George C. Stowers wrote that based on artistic criteria, graffiti has to be considered an art form. He makes a distinction between simple tags and more complicated pieces, stating that tags have little aesthetic appeal and probably not be considered art. However, larger pieces require planning and imagination and contain artistic elements like color and composition.” (‘Graffiti as Art’)

Featured Image: “graffiti artist” by zoetnet is licensed under CC BY 2.0.