Argument 1
Some have strong belief that art should be only allowed to draw on canvas. They believe that it is totally unacceptable to draw on someone else’s property without permission. In an article written by Arifa Kabar and Paul Vallely, one of the interviewees named Hardy states “the trouble is that it is has been sprayed all over other people's property without their consent and that is simply vandalism”. Truly, in my point of view, nine out of ten graffiti on public space look unpleasant and ugly, so a number of people called as “City decay”. They assume this is the main reason of ruining landscape and surroundings. I firmly believe that public transportations are not appropriate way to do graffiti as everyone uses them. Yet, the number of reported graffiti cases doesn’t seem to be reducing and it has been increasing sharply day by day.
On the other hand, what if Picasso draws on wall of building, I wonder
whether it is concerned as art or vandalism. To me, there is no certain way of
judging an art form; everyone has its own opinion on it. Moreover, it is an
inevitable fact that some artists have more talents than some of the world’s
greatest renowned artists such as Bansky and Ben Eineand. A CNN article
written by Jareen Iman, Swann outlined
"Street art to me is a person showing his talent; many artists go
undiscovered, they take chances when and where they do it". At Toronto, a building
owner defended the wall
which is covered with graffiti to remain while Graffiti Panel strongly
disagreed with his opinion. On top of this, some clean-up members of the
sorority changed their minds after seeing some small stenciled images
of Buddha and Jimi Hendrix on light posts. They don’t think they should have to
remove them because they are not offensive.
Argument 2
Every city in the word has spent a lot of money on clean-up. These fees
generally come from tax-payers and I certainly believe that they are not happy
with the way of spending their money on it. Ironically, there are no national
statistics kept about graffiti, but people can assume how much it normally
costs by reading this blog and need
lots of human resources in order to get rid of the graffiti.
There is no doubt that some graffiti are very eye-catching and amazing so they attract walkers from young to old. Such graffiti are drawn beyond people’s imaginations and they deliver creative thinking and express ideas to viewers within a short glance. In present, numerous people continuously visit Melbourne to see laneways covered with graffiti. Here is the list of street art in Melbourne recommended by BBC Travel. On top of this, an annual event called
"Graffiti Gone Global" held the first weekend of December in Miami, Florida. I was completely taken aback after seeing the displayed graffiti on the walls in this event and I realized that there are a lot of creative and genius graffiti artists exist than I expected.
Argument 3
I have no doubt that a large proportion of children have experienced
drawing graffiti on walls at their young age even though their parents are not
allowed them to do. According to Graffiti Control Program,
adolescents are very vulnerable to get involved in graffiti vandalism
for many reasons such as peer recognition, lack of artistic and recreational
alternatives, the element of danger and lack of appropriate parental
supervision and discipline. Therefore, once they are exposed to such
environments, there are more possibilities to get wrong concept of graffiti. As
a result, they ruining hundreds and thousands dollars on
properties.
Fortunately, graffiti can be used for encouraging youth in positive ways. For instance, some cities have been running programs which painting abandoned buildings with graffiti artists and minors in order to turn them into beautiful and attractive buildings. The purpose of providing it is not only for beautifying landscape but also gives proper education of art. For instance, The mural program at Access Gallery provides kids to generate creative energies and help develop the community further working with graffiti artists who have disabilities. McLeese (as cited in Rodgers, 2012) reported "The opportunity to learn about graffiti might entice the youth to join the program, but once they are there, they are exposed to a wide variety of different opportunities".
In conclusion, graffiti is one of the
biggest problems in a society and both sides of opinions are very reasonable.
However, instead of thinking graffiti as city decay, we have to change our
minds towards it and start to think about positive sides in order to make a
harmony between society and graffiti artists.
Now, what do you think when you hear the word "graffiti"?
Did you change your mind ?
References
Anikka Maya Weerasinghe. (2010, July 20). “DAVID CAMERON ENDORSES CRIMINAL GRAFFITI VANDAL?” A CONVERSATION WITH
BEN ELNE. Retrieved from http://artthreat.net/2010/07/ben-eine/
Banksy couldn’t beat this: The graffiti artists paining homes in Gambia.
(2013, March 25). METRO. Retrieved
from http://metro.co.uk/2013/03/25/banksy-couldnt-beat-this-the-graffiti-artists-painting-homes-in-gambia-3559114/
Ben Groundwater. (2013, August 4). Bristol’s
most famous son. Retrieved from http://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/uk-europe/8521932/Bristols-most-famous-son
CNN. (2012, August 5). From graffiti
to galleries: Street vs. public art. Retrieved from http://edition.cnn.com/2012/08/03/living/ireport-street-art-public-art
Graffiti Control Program. (n.d). Retrieved from
http://www.sandiego.gov/graffiti/about/problem.shtml
http://www.sandiego.gov/graffiti/about/problem.shtml
Graffiti: Street art –
or crime? The INDEPENDENT. (2008, July 16). Retrieved from
Humber. (2012, November 7). Graffiti: is it art or vandalism? THE ART NEWSPAPER.
Retrieved from http://www.theartnewspaper.com/articles/Graffiti-is-it-art-or-vandalism/28040
Kids invited to help graffiti project. (2011, Ocotober 19). The LINCOLNITE. Retrieved from http://thelincolnite.co.uk/2011/10/kids-invited-to-help-graffiti-project/
Nehal Patel. (n.d.). Graffiti in
Austin: Crime or Art?
Retrieved from http://whatisart320.wordpress.com/
Patrick Rodgers. (2012, April 2). Getting
Up: Improving Youth Outcomes with Graffiti in Denver. Retrieved from http://jjie.org/getting-up-improving-youth-outcomes-graffiti-denver/78331/
Rhode Island cracks down on graffiti. 12WRPI.com
EYE witness News. (2013, April 9). Retrieved from http://www.wpri.com/dpp/news/local_news/providence/Rhode-Island-cracks-down-on-graffiti
Steven Martinez. (2012, October 29). Graffiti
Gone Global. Retrieved from http://loweredlifestyle.com/graffiti-gone-global/
The artful dodgers of Melbourne’s graffiti revolution. (2012, January 27).
BBC. Retrieved from http://owll.massey.ac.nz/referencing/referencing-other-material-in-apa.php
Teenagers caused over €32,000 of damage with graffiti court hears. (2013,
March 20). THE IRISH TIMES. Retrieved
from http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/teenagers-caused-over-32-000-of-damage-with-graffiti-court-hears-1.1332529
Hi Rachel I actually think there are some aspects in your social issue which I support. So it's interesting to see how people convey graffiti in general. Reading through your Introduction the first thing that came to mind with graffiti, was actually vandalism, and this isn't my reflection on art but the consequences that vandalism has with society. The cost's for tax payers, to fork out for cleaning and restoring property, is an issue I strongly support.
ReplyDeleteYou mention the youth involved "adolescents are very vulnerable to get involved in graffiti vandalism for many reasons..." this is a problem we can curb by creating more artistic opportunities in recognising this form of art, just like you said. Also the permission that these artists should get before applying "graffiti" to private property, because other wise it becomes plain out right vandalism, in my opinion. Regardless if it were an amazing art peice, because then law comes into the equation and at the end of the day it's vadalism.
I also think that with graffiti puplic opinion varies on how they percieve graffiti as an art form. Once permission is obtained. In public spaces I support graffiti as an art form, it works here in Auckland. Presumably in Ponsonby and Grey Lynn where I reside. I think the graffiti on the electric booths on the roadsides actually make use of the space. Most notably the graffiti on the Berlin Wall comes to mind, it's an expression of an individual and it relates intensly with their political ideals. Regardless of who they were, these were ordinary citizens. Wether your an artist or not, I found the form of communicating through art, as a medium, (graffiti) quite strong. Hence why I support graffiti in this stance.
Hi Rachel, you bring up most of my thoughts on this issue.
ReplyDeleteI strongly believe there is a time and place for everything, and as an artist I can both appreciate and foresee the implications of Graffiti art.
Yes, I call it art because, like beauty, its in the eye of the beholder. Therefore presenting the two sides of "City Decay" (or eyesore) and "Artistic license" (creative imagery) but like you, I don't think it belongs on the walls without permission.
Also the 2 types of graffiti, Graffiti art and Graffiti vandalism. One shows or depicts a message or image using spray cans as a medium (Such as the new K-road graffiti art celebration that happened not so long ago) and the other is etched initials or spray canned bus stops for the sole purpose for damaging property.
Thus the latter causes the masses of tax payers to fork out like (as pointed out above) and would have more use elsewhere. Such as funding and running the programs you rightfully suggested!
I do support graffiti as an art form, but only if it has the permission to be there. Otherwise, beautiful or not, it's still vandalism.
Well written and clearly done. Nice work!
Hello! When I hear the word Graffiti I automatically think art. Who is the higher power that can really define what ART is. What we see on canvases nowadays is a few plats of paint that a child can make and that sells for millions! But graffiti is seen as a nuisance and vandalism. I really don't understand that logic. I've got extensive knowledge of the Bansky vs Robbo graffiti war and I must say that such a raw form of self expression is liberating. There is no holding back for street artists. Some graffiti artists are really talented and deserve to have their say. Sure, they can spray or paint on canvas, but then whose to say people will look at it?
ReplyDeleteHi Rachel
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion I think if it's done legally meaning with permission of the place owner it can be called Art same places need same splash of color to make it look fun rather then looking sad and fade , same Graffiti truly beautiful .
Hey I really enjoyed reading your argument! You seem to be quite passionate about the subject which really shows and adds a very convincing tone to the blog. I've always noted the huge difference between some kid who sags his paints writing a pointless word, or made up word, on some family's fence - compared to someone making a political statement or spending hours on a piece to express themselves visually. This obviously makes it quite hard for laws and things to differentiate between the two as it would be quite a grey area. I think you made a really good point about What if picasso painted on a wall? It seems people opinions on graffiti have relaxed a lot in general since artists like Banksy and Shepard Fairey have risen to prominence. But is that necessarily fair on up and coming artists who aren't known so won't be given the same sort of leniency. Really good arguments though, I really enjoyed reading through it. A cool quote I like to remember is from one of Banksy's books I think, "Any advert in a public space that gives you no choice whether you see it or not is yours. It’s yours to take, re-arrange and re-use. You can do whatever you like with it. Asking for permission is like asking to keep a rock someone just threw at your head. You owe the companies nothing. Less than nothing, you especially don’t owe them any courtesy. They owe you. They have re-arranged the world to put themselves in front of you. They never asked for your permission, don’t even start asking for theirs." :)
ReplyDeleteHmmm, interesting topic. It was great to see both sides of the argument shown here. However, I still thing of tagging when I think of graffiti, which is a shame because real beautiful artworks of graffiti should be the first thing I think of. It is disappointing to know there are those people out there who just want to vandalize other people's property just because they want to show they can.
ReplyDeleteAn important thing that graffiti artists should learn to make sure of is whether they are allowed to paint all over a wall of a building, and that that is where the majority of the problem lies; because ratepayers have to fork out unreasonable amounts to cover the cost of removing it even though it is not a typical eyesore, but because the owner of said wall or building was not asked. Then again it would be hard for someone to ask a person if they could graffiti a wall, because of what the common thought on graffiti is.
In my hometown all of the generators around town are graffitied over with amazing images (the newest one is of a tiger) which I find to be acceptable. This is an example of getting permission, because the council allowed this.
I think that it depends on the type of graffiti to decide what is graffiti art, and what is just unwanted scribble, and also whether it is ok to paint all over a wall.
Great topic, it was very enjoyable to read.
Hi Rachel ,i have also seen that graffiti which you posted on your introduction.
ReplyDeletei reckon some of the graffiti we see around our society is really amazing but some of them is have been done at the wrong place which makes us concern them as a negative thing. They should have a space or wall for some really talented people to share their amazing work with others!