Art is something of great value in our society. Perhaps at first, one might ask: Does art matter? What is art in any case? Some people might say that art is a developed skill concerning different practices around imagination and creativity since there is the existence of the art of poetry and art of painting, but also the art of medicine.
When talking about art, a very controversial topic is encountered, which is street art, mostly, referring to graffiti, since for some people it has a deep meaning and has strong value, for others it is offensive and it is recognized as vandalism. All of this remains in the hands of those whose life has changed along with the way in which they appreciate the beauty within art, thus somehow changing their perspective on life, but it also remains in the hands of those who believe that graffiti is a way of insinuating something against society, likewise including all material or aesthetic criteria that appeal to the perfection and beauty of the work.
There are different controversies about whether graffiti is art or a form of vandalism, considering that it can sometimes be considered as destruction of property. “Commercial buildings are the most frequent targets–especially those in visible areas where all can view the taggers’ work.” (McCrea)
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It is curious that the sponsorship signs are more panelized since they themselves provide the bases to get more views about their work, helping street artists to find a place that grabs people’s attention, thus taking advantage of the position it leaves them to demonstrate their art and the message that they want to make known to the public. This being one of the main reasons these places are the most targeted by artists.
A work of art can influence many meanings and inspire multiple interpretations, depending on who the audience is. ‘The graffiti artists pursue with passion their responsibility for the collective ownership of the public walls.’ (Rabine) Since most street artists don’t aim to damage the properties they make their art on, the most formal thing they can do is get permission from the owners of the place and explain that sometimes a little color can benefit these monetarily and publicly.
A common question in the art world is ‘What or who determines the values of a work of art’. The most common answer is that any variety of art can be considered art by those who have studied its perspective. The fine arts can be considered a subjective value. Art critics in the past used to determine who and what was considered part of the form of art.
In the last two decades, this has changed thanks to the creation of new technology, now there are more ways to see it as such, causing a limitation in the way that art critics do their work. In today’s society, there are ways to show opportunities for new interesting artists to promote their artwork and collectors. Various companies use artists to create propaganda to promote their products.
The more effectively artists promote their art, the greater the demands will command. For those who consider graffiti vandalism has got this idea behind this type of art wrong. When a company uses artworks to promote their product is just that, a way to promote but ‘ If a company decides to use an image of graffiti it no longer makes it graffiti. It is just a way for large companies to attract a specific market.'(Centaur Communications Limited) Graffiti has a good influence on the whole marketing and investing industry since this type of art grabs public attention.
Artists who are focused more than anything on this branch of art, being what is graffiti, must have a vast knowledge about it so that they are able to create different pieces and not consider them as a waste of materials when finished. “Here we do not have enough [spray paint] colors, only the basic ones. That teaches you a lot because, with the experience of managing what you have, you can do better…” (”These walls belong to everybody’ The graffiti art movement in Dakar.’)
Although graffiti can be considered a hobby that anyone can get into, for this you need some basic education, a little experience at least in general art and imagination to be able to use any of the few or many materials that are on hand to work and thus create a piece that can be considered a work of art. All this mainly affects the monetary aspects of people who want to be part of this hobby since despite the fact that some brands have a low demand unlike others, the prices of these materials are still high thanks to the quality of the product by the fact that they are created mainly for professional use giving high expectations before, during and at the end of use.
The classification of graffiti made by people is important since, according to different laws, graffiti is mainly considered as vandalism, because artists scribble graffiti on other people’s properties without their consent, ruining the public image of these places, giving a reason to the United States to mark it as illegal activity, since a large amount of public taxes is used to remove graffiti from these areas, instead of using them to improve the different hospitals, schools, and neighborhoods that might need it of said territory, affecting the general development of the community itself, taking these acts and being recognized by the public as a waste of money and having a correlation of graffiti with gangs within the community, letting gangs use this technique of art to mark their territory and intimidate other rivals.
Classifying graffiti as art is important because it can help change the way people view this illegal act as a form of expression and thus become compared to a painting located inside a gallery. Supporting this cause is a study in Brazil related to adults who had a poor education, leaving them with little, almost no knowledge about how to read and write, suggesting that graffiti can be transformed into an educational resource for the community.
‘All participants suggested that graffiti has become an important resource in the community, helping members engage in critical perspectives of both the immediate and distal worlds around them.’ (International Literacy Association) People have been looking at this situation from a different perspective, thus finding a difference between a tagger and a graffiti artist, letting it be known that the illegal art comes from taggers that are mostly teenagers who scribble senselessly on the walls without consent but with the aim of not letting a final message to be seen relating it with drugs, violence and gangs, while graffiti artists have the goal of creating, expressing and implying a thought out art piece that may be important at that moment since graffiti is a form of expression just like any other type of art.
Graffiti artists sometimes create pieces as murals and people do not consider them graffiti as such as it is a ‘mural’, not a doodle. Doodles and tagger-created markings usually confuse people, because if graffiti is done correctly using previous experience, it becomes a work of art that can tell a story depending on what is done about.
Nowadays more artists consider themselves part of the group of graffiti artists since, they have decided to expand their media and use their previous knowledge as an aid during this process of graphic creation; This art form that is graffiti has had an increase in its recognition thanks to the fact that more people enjoy it more as an art form in itself and not just vandalism. The artist normally uses this medium as a platform where they can express a comment about society, benefiting it since it helps people to have a voice and a way to express and demonstrate their opinions.
In conclusion, graffiti should be categorized as a form of art, it is important to know why many people consider it vandalism but it is also important to know how graffiti can be used in a good way and understand why it should be considered as art. Generally, artists express their thoughts through different techniques, but graffiti brings the attention of the public since it is an understandable argument. The laws towards graffiti should be regulated so graffiti can officially be categorized as art because if graffiti is used to send the right message and have the right placement it will eventually change the way people view this form of art.
