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Daisy Cowdery

Dr Owen

English 1510-10

20 November 2017

Graffiti: Art or Vandalism?

In society today when people talk about graffiti it’s almost always portrayed in a negative

manner. Some consider it to be associated with vandalism or even property damage, but to others

it’s a work of art. To some, the word graffiti signifies that it’s something bad or illegal but what

many people don’t know is that the actual definition of graffiti shines a much more positive light.

There are many different forms of graffiti and although some only focus on the graffitist name in

the piece there are many other forms that are works of art. So, if graffiti is simply an art form

why does society view any and all use of the word in a negative way?

Graffiti has been in existence since prehistoric times and has been one of the

most influential pieces of evidence to help scientists understand and examine things that

happened during the time periods. For example, the ancient cave paintings in France have helped

scientists understand how long humans have been in existence. The relief sculptures in Ancient

Egypt are one of the earliest documentations of religion. For thousands of years humans have

made works of art in public spaces and according to Greg Eickmeier, whether these works

communicate understandable messages, the thing they do say is “We were here. We existed!” He

is saying that graffiti doesn’t have to have words or a meaning for it to have a purpose. Graffiti is

just simply a way to show the world that someone was there and created it.

There are many different forms of modern graffiti, so are they all considered vandalism

or are some considered art? Delana, a writer from WebUrbanist states that Tag, Throw up,

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Blockbuster, and Wildstyle are all forms of graffiti that revolve around the graffitist name and

the name is the center of the piece. These forms of graffiti are what many people think about

when they hear the word graffiti.

                             

 Tags: Unknown artist(s)                                               Throw up: Unknown artist

Abstract, 3D, Stencil, and Brush are more of a mural or painting form of graffiti that have

some sort of image or message behind them. So, can graffiti be viewed as art or is it always

considered vandalism? 

                         

            Abstract: Mark W. Moore                                              Stencil over Tags: Banksy

Graffiti’s modern form is most abundant in larger cities and originated in New York City

during the 1960s. According to Camille Lannert, modern graffiti was created as an aspect of hip-

hop culture and has developed and expanded nationally and internationally over the last several

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decades. Graffiti art evolved differently in each city and served a different function based on the

particular subculture that promoted it.

Graffiti art is representative of an individual’s identity that is consistently portrayed in the

artist’s artwork. Graffiti art is an abstract or a mural of some kind that expresses the artist's

feelings or emotions. Mandy Wark says that this form of graffiti is often viewed more in an

artistic manner, but it’s still considered vandalism by many because of the negative manner

around graffiti in general. 

 Gang graffiti is a type of graffiti in which the sole purpose is to represent an individual’s

gang affiliation and related gang involvement. It’s a form of tag that gangs uses it as a means of

communication with other gang members or rival gangs and is also used to establishing

territory. 

      

Graffiti Art: Mural/Abstract Created by            Gang Graffiti: Salisbury, North Carolina

Jimmy Chiale, Bloor and Shaw-mural

According to Greg Eickmeier “tagging” is arguably the most prevalent type of graffiti

and cities all over the world have passed laws with strict fines often accompanied by community

service-hours that offenders spend cleaning up graffiti. Other types of graffiti are large colorful

mural-like works that take many hours to create. In most American cities this type of art is still

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considered vandalism, and so the same laws and consequences apply. Graffiti is generally

viewed as having a negative impact within communities where it is abundant. There is a basic

idea or feeling that a highly tagged neighborhood has been overrun by crime or that it is simply

an area of a city that is not worth caring about.

Camille Lannert says, “Graffiti art is an independent type of graffiti which should not be

associated with gang graffiti. Graffiti artists are commonly regarded as criminals but should be

considered as artists as well. Graffiti artists adhere to the standards of artistic evaluation used to

assess the quality of their art. The only difference between an artist and a graffiti artist is the

legality of the artist’s canvas”. 

 

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Works Cited

Delana. “Graffiti Designs & Styles: Tagging, Bombing and Painting.” Web Urbanist, 2007-2017 Webist

Media, weburbanist.com/2009/09/24/graffiti-designs-styles-tagging-bombing-painting/.

Eickmier, Greg. “Graffiti: Art or Vandalism?” Museum of the City, 2017 Museum of the City, Inc.,

2017, www.museumofthecity.org/project/graffiti-art-or-vandalism/.

Lannert, Camille. “The Perpetuation of Graffiti Art Subculture.” Butler Journal of Undergraduate

Research, vol. 1, 2015, pp. 47–66.

Wark, Mandy. “Graffiti: Art Or Vandalism?” The Odyssey Online, 2017 Odyssey Media Group, Inc., 27

Oct. 2017, www.theodysseyonline.com/graffiti-art-or-vandalism.