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Is graffiti art or vandalism? In many countries, it is a crime to paint on walls and street artists can have problems with the police. In other countries, street art is permitted in certain places. For example, in Taiwan, there are ‘graffiti zones’ where artists are free to paint and write on walls. In São Paulo in Brazil, the city council allows some graffiti artists to paint on the city’s subway trains.
Nowadays, street art is more popular with the public. In some cities, there are street art festivals. In Bristol in the UK, there is a street art festival in August every year. Artists paint all the buildings in a street. Lots of people come to watch the artists and take photos. Street art can be seen in galleries too. There have been exhibitions of street art in galleries in Paris, London and Los Angeles.
Write three hundred words about the origins of street art and what you think the pros and cons of street art are here in the UK.
Comments
Thomas Critchley
9 May 2018
Is painting on public walls art or vandalism? In my opinion, displays on walls can be classed as either art or graffiti.
Graffiti is the Italian pleural word for graffito, which means to etch on a wall using tools. The ancient Greeks were known to etch symbols on walls. In this period this was classed as art not graffiti, but over the years this has developed into peoples own interpretations of drawing on walls or building’s, and can sometimes be an eye sore and be classed as vandalism.
When someone does graffiti on a wall it makes the street or city look shabby and can make visitors concerned about the place because this could indicate that there are gangs in that area.
When can street art make a place more elegant? Usually art work on a building has been authorised and has clear guide lines around what is acceptable and what is not acceptable. In some of the poorer places kids tend to do graffiti on walls, so the council have allocated specific areas where it is acceptable to do their graffiti. This is a way on controlling the areas that have graffiti and could even be a way of reducing vandalism in those areas.
Art is usually more uniformed displays with either a message or meaning. It is not usually offensive and is usually by well-known artists. Art work tends to have trends and isn’t usually classed as vandalism.
People will have differing opinions as to whether drawing on a building is classed as art or vandalism, the above is only my opinion and is often the cause of great debate as some people will take offense to art on buildings whilst others will admire and appreciate such work.
My own personal opinion is that in the right place with the right content then drawing on buildings is art, but in the wrong places with the wrong content where a property is defaced then this is vandalism.
Theo
31 May 2018
Is graffiti art or vandalism?
Street art is colourful illustrations sprayed or painted on walls, trains and other public spaces. They might be done by the street artist to show their emotions and feelings and to express themselves.
Some people say that street art originated from America and their infamous street artists such as Taki 183, from New York City, and Cornbread, from Philadelphia. However, you could argue that street art originated from the cavemen who painted the walls of caves in France or the Ancient Egyptians who famously painted on walls. Some people say these are art not graffiti but we don’t know who did them or if they had permission to paint them all.
Street art can come in many forms from tagging to murals, from one word to a whole wall. There are pros and cons to street art in the UK. Street art can be viewed as art if it is allowed to happen and this will be seen as a pro because: it might show a message, feelings, be funny, artistic or it can support a cause. Other pros are that it can make an area look cool and bring a vast audience, such as Banksy’s work does. Street art can become a part of the local culture – like the PIES graffiti in Merseyside.
On the other hand, street art can make an area look tatty and the graffiti might be misunderstood; it could upset children by being scary and be a bad example to them. Some people could be offended by it which would make them hate it even more. The vandals may paint on private property and then the victims would need to pay for the cleaning.
I think graffiti is art with all the colourful wonders you can paint, the funny things people create and the true messages in the art. But, I think it is vandalism if people just mindlessly scrawl it, like a tag. What do you think? Is graffiti art or vandalism?
Alex Woodcock
2 June 2018
Is Graffiti Art Or Vandalism?
There are many varied opinions on this subject, however, I believe that graffiti can be classified as both art and vandalism.
The dictionary definition of graffiti or street art: writing or drawings scribbled, scratched or sprayed illegally on a wall or other surface in a public place. There are a few different types of graffiti which can be classed as both vandalism and art such as a tag, which is the easiest and simplest style of graffiti; it includes only one colour and the artist’s name or something that identifies them. It is considered disrespectful to write a tag over another’s artists’ tag. A tag can be located next to a piece of art work or just on its own. Another type of graffiti is a piece - short for a masterpiece – it is a picture that has been painted by hand. It contains at least three colours and it will take longer to paint. When an artist paints a piece where graffiti is illegal it is a great risk and gains respect from other artists as it is harder to complete. These can both be vandalism if done in an illegal place.
In some areas where graffiti is prohibited, it can make people feel uneasy as the streets are grimy and seem to be more threatening. However, in certain areas, including Hosier Lane, Melbourne, Australia, which allows all kinds of street art and even seems to encourage it, and Venice, California, United States, which is world famous for being an open and creative space for street artists, graffiti is permitted and the artists are free to spray paint, write or draw in that area. This is because it has become frequent that graffiti appears on the streets and the government and some organisations wish to change this by creating areas that allow artists the express themselves through graffiti.
The fact that there are places that allow street art will encourage others to create more spaces that give the same opportunity. In those places, there are walls and ditches where artists can do their work, which is occasionally original or most likely a trend and not intended to be offensive. Many famous graffiti artists complete their work in places like this and it has more meaning than most street graffiti.
Hopefully, if this continues we will not have people vandalising the streets since there will be areas that permit graffiti.
As I stated before, there are many varied opinions on this subject and that is only my view of the situation. Everyone has opposing opinions, and it has caused much debate in the past, but I also believe that the graffiti had to be in the right place with the right message, the opposite can cause people to take offense other than recognising the artists’ work and be thought of being vandalism no matter where.