Graffiti: To be Art, or not to be? Whenever you take a stroll through downtown, anywhere, old buildings and alleyways are stricken with spray painted works. The Merriam-Webster dictionary states that art is “something that is created with imagination and skill and that is beautiful or that expresses important ideas or feelings”. The painted works draw your attention and can create feelings of peace, danger, wistfulness, merriment, sadness, or even anger. No matter what you may feel about the body of work, you are left with a feeling and memory of such work that stays with you for a life time. As you look deeper into each piece of art work you realize it calls to something, within us humans, which has been there since the dawn of man. We, as
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I enjoy driving by spray painted depictions of Martin Luther King, local landscapes, and renderings of past events. The artwork is more than just scribbles on a wall but a visual statement of their beliefs and view point of their era. Graffiti created in dangerous private places are more than just kids writing their names but artists that are creating pieces that are grander, more elaborate, than the cave men paintings. I had never thought about drawings done by cavemen as graffiti, until I read articles that linked the two. Graffiti artists aren’t criminals they just use a different canvas than common painters. These artists put themselves in danger to create their works of art, I respect them for their struggle to bring their artwork to life. It amazes me how long it took cities to acknowledge graffiti as an art form rather than a stain on the city landscape, as well as part of the culture. I applaud cities embracing this style of art and capitalizing on it by showcasing pieces around the city. Graffiti has gone from a frowned upon activity to bringing in tourists who crave a different artistic venue. People would not decorate their homes with photographs of well-known murals, done by graffiti artists, if it was not
I enjoy driving by spray painted depictions of Martin Luther King, local landscapes, and renderings of past events. The artwork is more than just scribbles on a wall but a visual statement of their beliefs and view point of their era. Graffiti created in dangerous private places are more than just kids writing their names but artists that are creating pieces that are grander, more elaborate, than the cave men paintings. I had never thought about drawings done by cavemen as graffiti, until I read articles that linked the two. Graffiti artists aren’t criminals they just use a different canvas than common painters. These artists put themselves in danger to create their works of art, I respect them for their struggle to bring their artwork to life. It amazes me how long it took cities to acknowledge graffiti as an art form rather than a stain on the city landscape, as well as part of the culture. I applaud cities embracing this style of art and capitalizing on it by showcasing pieces around the city. Graffiti has gone from a frowned upon activity to bringing in tourists who crave a different artistic venue. People would not decorate their homes with photographs of well-known murals, done by graffiti artists, if it was not