When I think of graffiti, ‘artwork’, is not the first thing that pops into my head. And yet,
there are people who will pay thousands of dollars for just that - a canvas filled with the
imaginative scribbling of someone who is ‘expressing’ themselves. The question in todays day in
age is, what is considered artwork and what is considered graffiti? And is it a crime? Well, in her
article, “The History of American Graffiti: From Subway Car to Gallery,” writer Saskia De
Melker, discusses how graffiti entered our culture and today’s society. De Melker states that it
started back in the late 1960s, when a young man in high school was trying to get the attention
from a girl by “tagging” city walls. He felt that the only way his star-crossed lover would see
him for who he actually was, was through an oversized attention-seeking piece of artwork. This
might of worked for his wanna-be girlfriend, however it did not get the attention of other people
until the 1980s.
In the 1980s graffiti financially ‘took off’ as it started to be advertised as a form of
artwork. Ever since, galleries all over the world sell ‘graffiti-looking’ pieces for thousands of
dollars. While some may look at certain graffiti and think it is trash, others see art. To me, the
cliché “there’s no accounting for taste” comes to mind. Some of the work, in my opinion, is
amazing and some, not.
For years now many graffiti artists have become famous for their work. Banksy is one
such graffiti superstar. According to Time magazine “Banksy has vaulted from obscurity to
international renown” (Times 1997). He has created dozens of artwork from all over the world
that people are now willing to pay big money to acquire. One of his most expensive and famous
art pieces is Keep it Spotless, it sold for over $1,870,000!
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While most would say Banksy is a form of genius, others say what he does is
illegal. Even though his street art has been seen all over the world, and conveys
various messages about today’s society, if someone else were caught spray painting or
vandalizing a wall, it is likely that the judge would not see the work as art. Most likely
that ‘artist’ would be thrown in jail and fined.
The article online, “Graffiti” by Deborah Lamm Weisel, is a guide for cops
explaining everything there is to know about what graffiti is, the dangers of it, the types
of graffiti, motives of offenders and the characteristics/patterns of graffiti offenders. This
guide does not need to argue whether it is an art or crime, because police know it is a
crime. While most feel that graffiti is associated with gangs and the gang culture,
Deborah tries to convey that it can come from anyone and be anywhere, like Banksy.
But even the artistic graffiti paintings are illegal. She argues that when graffiti or street
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art springs up in one place, it attracts more ‘urban street art’ to the same area. “For
many people, graffiti’s presence suggests the government’s failure to protect citizens
and control lawbreakers.” Some look at graffiti and street art as a form of expression,
others like the police feel that it leads people to think poorly about the government and
their tax dollars at work. Ironically, street artists who are taxpayers themselves “argue
that they too have ownership over public spaces that have been unfairly taken over by
advertisers” (Alpaslan 2). Some advertising corporations pay for street artists to ‘graffiti’
certain areas, which causes a double standard. So graffiti artists have tough time
differentiating between art and crime.
Zeynep Alpaslan, the author of the article “Is Street Art a Crime”, argues whether
street art or ‘graffiti’ is considered in fact a crime or a mere expression of what one
feels. Even though police may think it is an offense against the law, Alpaslan uses
criminology to see whether “street art [is] under a type of crime, then examine it using
criminological perspective, with criminological and deviance theories.” Alpaslan tries to
distinguish contemporary public-space artwork from the territorial graffiti so much of us
know. John Fekner characterizes street art as “all art on the street that’s not graffiti”
(Lewisohn, 2008). Street artists seek public spaces to vandalize rather sell their work to
galleries, so they can reach countless people instead of the few that walk into the art
gallery. Alpaslan concludes after much research, that graffiti or street art can be
categorized as a “Blue-Collar crime: any crime committed by an individual from a lower
social class, Political: any behavior perceived as a threat, and/or Public-Order crime:
defined as a crime which involves acts that interfere with the operations of society.
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I feel as though it is all circumstantial. It all depends on the piece of graffiti or street art
and the person viewing it, to declare whether it is art or a crime. If the graffiti is legible
and sends a thought-provoking message to its viewer, I would consider it art. Otherwise,
it is just another form of gang related graffiti.
“The Difference Between Street Art and Graffiti” an article by Jill C. Weisberg,
tries to explain the differences in the matter. She talks about how a ‘graffiti’ artist
considers his or her work a piece of art as well as a street artist does...but does not do it
for everyone. The graffiti artist vandalizes for other graffiti artists. Whereas a street artist
will vandalize a wall or a piece for everyone to try and understand the meaning behind
it. A graffiti artist (not the street art kind) usually end up spraying a vulgar or political
message all over the city at any given time trying to convey their message to other
‘gangs.’ The street artist paints what they feel is a form of beauty trying to say a different
message with their art by a picture most of the time, not actually writing out their
message.
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