The Role Of Graffiti In Literature

People express themselves in a variety of different ways; whether it is through clothing, music, dance, writing or art, these forms of self-expression allow individuals to convey feelings to others. Specifically, the use of writing and art to express one’s self has been prevalent in society for centuries and is commonly conducted through graffiti. Its origins lie with our ancestors who lived during the ice age; cavemen. Modern sociologists and archeologists suggest that prehistoric graffiti represents “the births of both art and homo sapiens, as evidence for communication, visual representation, and beauty in early human cultures. This apparent familiarity has meant that modern graffiti has long been linked to its ancient antecedents” (Baird, …show more content…
She discusses how graffiti writers are “referred to as vandals, thugs and criminals in the mass media” (Dickinson, 29). The illegality of the marking of public spaces has caused graffiti writers and artists to be viewed in a negative light; anti-graffiti laws and policies have created the link between graffiti as crime and have caused graffiti writers to be viewed as criminals (McAuliffe and Iveson, 131). Cleaning efforts are enforced in communities to remove graffiti, which reinforces the belief of graffiti writers as criminals since their work is not accepted by the government. Despite its content, graffiti as a whole is viewed as negative by outsiders of the graffiti community because it is considered a …show more content…
This form of art is viewed in a positive light because it is aesthetically pleasing and it has the ability to be understood by its audience. However, the existence of graffiti that is used to communicate among members of the graffiti community overpopulates street art and causes society to view graffiti as a whole as negative. These forms of graffiti are illegible by the general public and are viewed as threats because the message behind them is uncertain and they may send negative messages. In a recent study conducted by the Economic Research Centre (ERC), the insecurity felt by outsiders of the graffiti community was described. “Given the limitations of current approaches to graffiti as a form of vandalism, we propose an alternative view of graffiti as a form of media. This is not a new perspective. Graffiti has previously been understood as a form of communication that is used to transmit information, messages and the like between ‘senders’ and ‘receivers’” (Thompson, 2012). The lack of understanding of these messages causes people to become uncomfortable and not want to visit areas that contain graffiti due to their unfamiliarity with their surroundings and the true messages behind the