Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
An essay on why graffiti is not good
An essay on why graffiti is not good
An essay on why graffiti is not good
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: An essay on why graffiti is not good
Modern street art and graffiti are undeniably tied together. Graffiti could be considered the forefather of street art in many ways- it has paved the way for the development of modern street art. Yet, while both are still hotly debated topics, street art is seen in a more positive light while graffiti is still considered to be a negative term. Graffiti is associated with the vandalism that the government desperately wanted to erase. Graffiti has played a huge role in the development of street art that we all know today. Conklin notes this in her paper. She describes graffiti as an exclusive world that only those inside the group are privy to. However, to Conklin, street art is made accessible to all in that it is not necessarily exclusive and that anyone can understand street art, as it is supposed to be a way to communicate with their community. The very form of street art and graffiti differ from one another, as do their messages and end point. Graffiti is a tag of sorts- it relies mainly on text and is used to announce an individual. While some graffiti artists, like the Mission School did plan out their works, graffiti is more about the actual form of rebellion and establishing oneself than it is about the message that it is trying to get across. If it was more inclusive, it would be understandable to people outside to graffiti culture. Street art, on the other hand, takes its surroundings into consideration. Conklin herself notes that the term "street art" was supposed to be in an attempt to portray the work and other similar works in a more positive light. It should be noted, however, that street artists and graffiti artists have often clashed over a difference in opinions. Graffiti began to appear in cities like New York an... ... middle of paper ... ...reet Art, Ideology, and Public Space.” NYUClasses, Portland State University. 2012. PDF file. 6 May 2014 DeNotto, Michael. "Street art and graffiti." College & Research Libraries News Association of College & Research Libraries. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 May 2014. EZ. "Street Art vs.Graffiti." New York Graffiti., 14 Apr. 2007. Web. 6 May 2014. Farrelly, Elizabeth. "It's attitude that separates street art from graffiti The Sydney Morning Herald. N.p., 27 Mar. 2014. Web. 6 May 2014. Fuertes-Knight, Jo. "King Robbo Exclusive Interview: My Graffiti War With Banksy - Sabotage Times." Sabotage Times King Robbo Exclusive Interview My Graffiti War With Banksy Comments. N.p., 3 Oct. 2013. Web. 6 May 2014. "King Robbo Graffiti Artist Biography." Stencil Revolution RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 May 2014. Thompson, Margo. American graffiti. New York: Parkstone International, 2009. Print.
The difference in the approach between Margaret Kilgallen and Julian Schnabel can clearly be seen on the canvas. Ms. Kilgallen preferred to paint images that were flat yet striking; she favored street art over the main stream types of fine art. Street art is considered graffiti by a large number of people, since it is frequently placed without the property owner’s knowledge.
In Style Wars, one sees how social marginalization affected graffiti writers in 1970s and 1980s New York. Firstly, Style Wars chronicles how the city government employed racist policing and propaganda to criminalize writers of color. Secondly, the documentary shows that newspapers and TV networks unequally privileged writers of higher socioeconomic status through front-page and prime-time coverage. Thirdly, the film depicts graffiti writers who conformed to masculine norms as disproportionately visible throughout the city. Although many writers featured in Style Wars minimized barriers against making art, legal racism, classist media coverage, and interpersonal masculinity limited recognition for certain writers.
“This world is but a canvas to our imagination” (Thoreau). The world is quite literally a canvas for graffiti artists, and these two opinion editorials cover the desire for this medium of art to be appreciated and showcased. Eric Felisbret wrote “Legal Venues Celebrate Graffiti as an Art Form” which was published on July 16, 2014 in the New York Times. Felisbret’s article was about creating more legal venues to showcase graffiti. Kathy Grayson wrote “L.A. Graffiti Exhibition, ‘Art in the Streets,’ belongs in N.Y.C.,” which was published on June 26, 2011 in the New York Daily News. Grayson wrote her article to persuade readers that “Art in the Streets” belongs in New York. The articles were simultaneously the same and very different in their content. Even though the specific messages were diverse the purpose was to persuade the discourse community, who value law, education, and their community, into having graffiti displayed as art. These two
Castleman, Craig. "The Politics of Graffiti." Rpt. in That’s the Joint!: The Hip-Hop Studies Reader. Ed. Murray Forman and Mark Anthony Neal. New York, NY: Routledge, 2004. 21-30. Print.
Street art is a classic example of how art can express a 'zeitgeist', art as immediate expression of feeling and rage. Rage against the meta-narrative, rage against lack of opportunity and rage against the dead hand of conformist art leaving mediocrity as a handprint. Both Banksy and Basquiat form part of this virtually neo-anarchist emergent art discourse. Basquiat used challenging social commentary to “springboard to deeper truths abo...
Infused with the emergence of the hip hop culture, the graffiti revolution primarily took place in New York City in the 1970s to the 1980s. Graffiti art has historically been viewed as a form of vandalism, a curious enigma viewed by the governing class, and a general menace to society especially in large urban populations such as cities. Within the 1970s to the 1980s the urban youth began extensively spray-painting subway cars, trains, and walls, giving a voice to the disenfranchised, anti-authoritarian rebels who were seeking an identity to be seen and heard by the city that was now discrediting them. This type style of graffiti-inspired art is still present within the many art communities around the world, ever transforming and altering in
A graffiti artist style of art is what they are identified by. Some graffiti artists “simply wanted to add an element of art to a wall or an entire city” (Ganz 18), but other graffiti artist paint a message that depicts the world around them. Their paintings represent a protest with the government or with the way society views a situation that is going on. “It is a visible and powerful form of protest that promotes change and social justice by allowing oppressed groups to express their viewpoints about human rights that are abused” (Farmer and Milo 410). In other words they are saying that graffiti art allows oppressed
...essing ones opinion in the form of vandalism, was an interesting topic to cover because I had already had interests in studying some street artists. Overall, the three major street artists covered in this paper, Blek le Rat, Banksy, and Dolk, all have work that I enjoy researching and I can identify these artists at my top three favorite artists of all time, although they do have their own unique differences.
Graffiti is an artform, and graffiti writers are artists. Graffiti is not bound to the aesthetic or conventional practices of art. It is an artform in which the artists motive disregards arguments on legality and enables the artist to take control. Graffiti is the act of scribbling, drawing, or spray painting illicitly in a public space in order to display a name or “ tag “. It is graffiti in the way of writing a name that is stylized and done illegally.
Within the last few years, graffiti has been deemed an acceptable and tasteful genre of art. Long gone are the days where the spray can belonged exclusively to the local delinquent. From the past to present, there has been a shift in how street art is recognized by the general public and the government. Laws and policies are being put into place that both defend and threaten the promulgation of this creative medium. By both protecting and prohibiting, the government displays an inconsistent and confusing relationship with street art. When art is so subjective, it can become challenging to delineate the fine line between vandalism and creativity. This essay will discuss the changing public perception of graffiti, the trademark and copyright battles between graffiti artists and property owners, the categorization of street art as an artform, and the beneficial aspects of commissioned street murals.
As a “new” art student, I have learned not how to be an artist but how to be a viewer. In the past I did not appreciate art that was not aesthetically beautiful to me. I would judge art in a very narrow type of way. I only enjoyed art that I considered to be pleasing. I now have a different view and as the viewer I have a greater understanding of what is “beautiful”. I keep an open mind and an open interpretation of what an artist is trying to portray. I have never found myself to be the one who enjoys creating art, however, with this class I learned to appreciate art and it has opened up a new lens for me. I have enjoyed learning about different types of art and different artists. For this paper I have decided to research the meaning of Street
No matter what people say about it, Graffiti is a form of self-expression. It is important to realize the amount of talent and work required to create a piece of graffiti. The scale of such a piece can be small found on a corner to massive one taking up an entire wall. However, there are varying
Graffiti today is developing into one of the finest and one of the most successful voices of modern art. Graffiti has been alive since the time people used to paint in caves. Modern graffiti actually made an impact in the late 1960s. This art has been struggling for a very extensive time to be considered as such, even though government regarded it as a criminal act. The fact of the matter is that in the past it has been an interpretation of anger against the establishment. Most people haven’t acted on writing graffiti in obedience of the law, while others take it into action to show discontent by making more graffiti. This practice has become more of a symbol that can express better the feelings of the practitioner. As graffiti started taking
Graffiti is a form of art that people use to express themselves and to convey various messages to people in a particular community. In the movie "Graffiti Verite':. One of the graffiti artist explained that his purpose in doing graffiti is that it allows him to "express his anger' on the wall. Another kid by the name of "Jipsie" said that graffiti is a "form of growth". There were several different explanations that artists shared as well as several different reasons why they like graffiti. The common theme among the graffiti artist and taggers was that graffiti is simply a form of self-expression (Bryan). At the end of the film one tagger made a comment and said, "graffiti is not vandalism, but it is a beautiful crime". This comment did not make sense to me. Committing a crime, a hideous act, is not a beautiful thing to do by any means. Graffiti does not mean people can go around and draw and spray paint on other peoples property. Regardless of what types of graffiti are being expressed by the tagger, this type of self expression is considered vandalism when people decide to draw, destroy, or violate any persons property without consent. As a result of taggers committing the crime of vandalism, property owners, concerned citizens, and law enforcement officers spend too much time, money, and energy trying to put an end to the unlawful act of vandalism.
The majority of people if asked, would not be able make any distinction between street art and graffiti art. Though in reality they are actually quite different; Graffiti writing and street art are often confused with one another. They both display their work out in the open instead of in a gallery. Though, graffiti artists display their work publicly, they are really only concerned with relating to other graffiti artists; rather than the general public. On the other hand, street artists just want to catch the attention of the general public by making a statement with their art. Although street art and graffiti art seem very similar, upon closer examination the differences in technique, function, culture, and intent are revealed (Weisburg.)