Does Graffiti Fall Under, Vandalism Or Art?

STAGE 2 CREATIVE ARTS - INVESTIGATION

Graffiti vandalism or art?

When we look over the history of graffiti the same question is often raised is graffiti a form of art or is it vandalism cause by the criminals or the youths of the age.

The definition of art is ‘the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination’.

The definition of vandalism is ‘an action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property.’

Which does graffiti fall under, vandalism or art? In this investigation I will be looking at the history of the origins of graffiti to try and help myself understand if it is vandalism or art. In-depth research will take place to gather enough information about the topic to be able to make my conclusion.

However there is a story that states that graffiti was started by one man in the 1960s. The man’s name was Taki he lived on 183rd street in Washington Heights. Taki was a messenger who travelled around New York daily, he travelled with a permeant marker and wrote his name “Taki 183” wherever he went, this was his tag, and it stated his name and the number of the house he lived in. He was interviewed and published in the New York Times; it soon became apparent that you could become recognize by tagging your name across the city. People became completive and it was soon a competition of who could get their tag in the most places. Shortly the police started getting involved after it became obvious that it wasn’t going away. It was because of the police involvement that permeant markers started getting replaced with spray cans as they were able to create a bigger tag in a shorter amount of time. It was at this crucial stage where graffiting went from being a name to a piece of art. Spray cans meant that the artist or “writer” as they called themselves were able to introduce colour and special

Everyone artist has different techniques that allows each of them to build and learn from each other. There are no rights or wrongs to this art form, there are no mistakes, because what they create has never been done before. Graffiti isn’t just one style, there are many to choose from, this is the reason why so many people enjoy it.

The government has dedicated areas in each state where it is legal to graffiti the walls in hopes of decreasing the amount of graffiti that is done on houses and private establishments. This gives artistes the chance to become well known in their community by being able to have the chance to show their artwork without the fear of being arrested. `