Graffiti as an Artform

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Graffiti as an Artform

The value of any message or work of art, whether it is hanging on the wall of a gallery or a subway, lies on the intensity of the artist’s or vandal’s beliefs. Graffiti is an uncertain issue in respect to its virtue. While the voice of the individual must never be lost in a society of shouts growing larger and louder every second; graffiti is such a public medium that its integrity must be of great concern. Graffiti is a vast wasteland of indefinite opinions. Foremost graffiti is illegal and a form of vandalism, it invades peoples privacy and destroys their property. However, graffiti can be a means by which one may permanently express one’s self. It has the potential to convey a powerful, relevant message. Therefore the merit of graffiti is dependant on the circumstances present, how it affects society, and the purpose for which it is created.

Graffiti serves several different purposes; it is a marker serving as proof of identity for some individuals, for others it is a form of vulgar recreation. The wall of one building may serve as a public record, a confessional and an art gallery at the same time. The most dejected application of graffiti is illustrated in the story of a High School student, Katy Lyle, who was emotionally traumatized by the presence of disgraceful, fictional writing transcribed on the wall of the boy’s bathroom pertaining to her sex life. This case clearly shows the damaging effects of graffiti as the crude remarks ripped her social life apart. The writing was completely void of worth, its intentions were to simply single out and destroy the individual to which it pertained. A similar incident occurred at Brown University as a list of notorious rapists was w...

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...e P. “Old Graffiti Adds New Chapter To Ellis Island Story”

The Buffalo News 26 Mar. 1989: A-16

Beaty, Jonathan. “Zap! You’ve Been Tagged!”

Time 10 Sept. 1990: 43

Chirag, Matt. “An Apocryphal History of Graffiti”

73 (xxx): 7 pp. Online Internet. 3 Nov. 1996

Garmire, Elsa & Lui, Catherine. “Paint Removal Using Lasers”

Applied Optics 20 July 1995: 4409

Hertzel, Laurie. “A Nice Girl Tortured By Vicious Graffiti”

The Buffalo News 30 Jan. 1993: C-9

Lindlaw, Scott. “Slaying of Vandal Strains Ties in Graffiti-Weary Community”

The Buffalo News 19 Feb. 1995: A-10

Reese, K.M. “Chemistry Teacher Patents Antigraffiti Coating”

Chemistry & Environment Journal 10, July 1995: 64

Starr, Mark. “The Writing On The Wall”

Newsweek 26 Nov. 1990: 84

Warner, Gene. “Vandal Defaces Poignant Mural On City’s East Side”

The Buffalo News x xxx x: x

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