Art is everywhere, often in a visual form such as a painting or a sculpture. Artists can show their emotions through art, just like graffiti does. It usually makes the surroundings appealing, but graffiti is often too identified with vandalism. Graffiti should be viewed as art because it helps to make our environment more beautiful, it provides a voice for people in society, yet it is also associated with vandalism.
First, graffiti helps to make our environment more beautiful, because it can decorate dull, ugly areas and it prevents people from writing horrible texts on buildings or walls. With appealing artworks on the streets, vandals would not get provoked to write racist phrases or pee against the walls. This way, graffiti prevents the walls from falling even further. These days, authorities not only accept street art but also embrace the graffiti as part of their cities’ unique culture (Young, 2018). This shows that graffiti makes the cities unique and a more beautiful place.
Second, graffiti provides a voice for people whenever there is injustice in society. Through art, artists can show their ideas and feelings. Famous artists like Van Gogh, Picasso, and Munch all used their art to work through their pain, emotions, and it was a way to survive the world (Foundmyself, 2019). The same applies to artists who use graffiti, like Banksy. His work is criticism on controversial social matters, like violence, loneliness, and homelessness. He communicates his ideas to the public without anyone’s approval (Burach, 2018). Banksy gives us a voice and makes us think about social matters. This shows that graffiti and artworks on canvas both are forms of expressions and voices in society.
On the other hand, graffiti is associated with vandalism. According to the law, it is illegal to doodle on someone else’s property without their approval in the United States (Kim, 2018). Graffiti that is linked to drugs, violence, and gangs is not considered to be art. However, when it is done in a beautiful way it is seen as art because the public enjoyed the view of it (Kirshnakumar, 2017). In multiple cities, artists want to cooperate with councils on legal graffiti walls. For example, Bristol’s mayor has asked some street artists to agree to work openly with the city council to create a network of legal walls where they can create their pieces without fear of pursuit (Morris, 2018). ‘Artist Benoit Bennett hoped that a network of legal walls would mean an end to the cat-and-mouse game artist often play with the police and increase the quality of the work’ (Morris, 2018). This shows that graffiti needs to be encouraged to combat vandalism and make artworks worth to look at.
In conclusion, graffiti is art. It helps to make certain parts of a city look more attractive. Through art, artists show opinions and feelings about society or the government. Even though it is still illegal in many places and identified with vandalism, the government can reduce it by giving artists free walls and pay more attention to beautiful art forms to stimulate the creativity around their cities.
Reference
Burach, R. (2018, February 2). Graffiti is art, not vandalism. Retrieved on January 7, 2020, from https://temple-news.com/graffiti-is-art-not-vandalism/
Foundmyself. (2019, 6 augustus). Famous Artists Who Used Their Work As Therapy – Art marketing tips, inspiration and resources. Geraadpleegd op 15 januari 2020, van https://www.foundmyself.com/blog/the-power-of-art-famous-artists-who-used-their-work-as-therapy/
Kim, G. (2018, June 4). Can Graffiti Ever be Considered Art? Retrieved on January 7, 2020, from https://ylhsthewrangler.com/15619/features/can-graffiti-ever-be-considered-art/
Kirshnakumar, A. (2017, March 1). Is graffiti an art or a crime? Retrieved on January 7, 2020, from https://www.voicemag.uk/blog/350/is-graffiti-an-art-or-a-crime
Morris, S. (2018, February 22). Bristol street artists work with city on legal graffiti walls. Retrieved on January 14, 2020, van https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/jan/22/bristol-street-artists-banksy-city-legal-graffiti-walls-public-art
Young, O. (2018, Augustus 2). 20 Cities Around The World With The Best And Edgiest Street Art. Retrieved on January 10, 2020, from https://www.thetravel.com/20-cities-around-the-world-with-the-best-and-edgiest-street-art/