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Art is a universal language that people from all cultures can enjoy, whether it be creating or collecting. People from all cultures surround themselves with beautiful works of art in their households and offices. Art is visual and often used to strike emotions and feelings, or to tell a story that everyone from any place can understand. Complex to simplistic subject matter is often used depending on the type of audience that will view the art work. Art can be powerful enough to impact a single viewer let alone society. But what if an artist snuck into a home and painted something bold, outlandish, colorful, or just plain beautiful on a wall, would this be viewed as art or simple vandalism? Even if it possessed all aspects of art just as gorgeous as anything one would buy at an auction by a favorite artist. Who does not enjoy looking at art? but when it is placed somewhere which it was not asked to be does this disqualify it as art all together or possibly even classifying it as graffiti or vandalism? The consensus view seems to be that it is vandalism when taggers place their pieces on buildings, subways, and trains.
Graffiti has much evolved since its early days of simple scribbles on cave walls. “The origins of graffiti go back to the beginnings of human, societal living. Graffiti has been found on uncovered, ancient, Egyptian monuments, and graffiti even was preserved on walls in Pompeii. Graffiti is the plural form of the Italian word grafficar. In plural, grafficar signifies drawings, markings, patterns, scribbles, or messages that are painted, written, or carved on a wall or surface. Grafficar also signifies "to scratch" in reference to different wall writings ranging from "cave paintings", bathroom scribbles, or any message that is scratched on walls” (Stowers artcrimes.com). These early marking of graffiti in Pompeii help tell us about their cultures and life back then. Today’s graffiti is defined as “…any unsolicited marking on a private or public property that is usually considered to be vandalism.”(Stowers)Much more complex not only visually but in all technicalities achieving its own vocabulary graffiti can be broken down to further understands its maturity as an art form. Tagging, bombing and piecing are the three styles of graffiti used. The most simplistic form of graffiti art, tagging can be used anywhere and is used everywhere. “…A tag is the writer's signature. There is an attempt to make it as stylized as possible. Written in one colour, it is done with curves and letter deformations. It is done with anything and on everything. More often it is done with felt tip marker pen but spray can tags enable bigger and bolder tags to be done”(graffiti.nsw.gov) Tagging being described as “Gangster style that New York writers adopted and renamed Broadway elegant”(The Art Of Getting Over 18). Which can be seen more often than not since it is not as time consuming as bombing or piecing and holds no real aesthetic value. The style Bombing is to do”… as much is done as possible as quickly as possible” (graffiti.nsw.gov). Using primarily spray paint the tagger or writer does a quick sketch nothing all too complex. Used when there is not much time or it is a high risk area. Usually spotted more in ally ways and on some trains, the look is overall rushed in composure and not very solid. Bombing is more of a preliminary stage for piecing. Piecing is the most complex of the three styles of graffiti. “Pieces are intended to be complete art works most often done with spray paint and either legal or illegal. A piece can be anything from the tag (the name of the graffitist) to a message directed at society” (graffiti.nsw.gov). They take from a few hours to days and weeks to complete. And they are using multiple principals of art talent and commitment to complete the writers pieces. Pieces are found in harder to reach places due to the amount of time it takes to complete a piece. Some artists even get commissioned to complete pieces for mural projects for schools and businesses. Writers and taggers are names used for graffiti artists, they use their art to get credibility so the bigger the better in their eyes. But not only writers use graffiti, gang members often use it to mark of territories that they control. Typically gangs will not go out of their way to do a complete piece. Usually gang members only use tags which are uncreative representing the name of the gang marking off territory. This can cause even more trouble for the typical tagger making authorities assume that their work is that of rival gang members. Authorities assume most graffiti artists are vandals because of this “Dondi White refused to be labeled a criminal or a vandal because he was neither. He was an enormously gifted artist” (Zephyr Dondi White 181).Since writers do not wish to be looked as criminals or gang members location is important to them. Having the taggers work in a popular often viewed space will get them more recognition as a accomplished artist. Of course the most popular areas are higher populated urban environments. It is a sort of contest that whom ever can get to the most complicated high risk areas becomes heroes among other artists. It all started out on walls, “teenagers began writing their names on neighborhood walls, but instead of their given names, they chose nicknames, creating a public identity for the street” (Subway art 14). This is how tagging expanded greatly from walls to subway systems. So instead of just places in the neighborhood, they could get more coverage and identity using the subway as canvas. “In the middle to late 1970's, writers started painting subway trains; thus the name, subway art. Train painting was instrumental to the development of graffiti art because the trains became the stage for the style wars which was a time when everyone who wanted to be recognized as the best artist or the "King" or "Queen" of a subway line got- up, i.e., painted trains as often as possible. If one's name was on a train in a colorful and unique style, it was guaranteed to be seen by many people; most importantly by the other writers, because the subway trains in New York City travel in circuits throughout different boroughs. To be a "King" or "Queen" one could not just get-up or simply paint his or her name in a thousand different places. On the contrary, style and artistic talent were and continue to be extremely important” (Stowers). As subway tagging progressed it soon spread to trains both subway and freight. Cargo cars soon advertised those who completed pieces on them going cross country. Transit authority aware of what goes on watch closely for taggers in train yards, prepared to alert police. The police maintain a zero tolerance policy against graffiti in most areas. It is not viewed as art but as vandalism and destruction of property. “The police department has created special squads of detectives who conduct raids in the yards and tunnels to catch writers” (subway art 99). Although multiple cities across the US have designated walls to graffiti artists to combat the illegal tagging and destruction of property, it never works properly to stop graffiti. Other than the police there are multiple community efforts to help control and stop graffiti artists before they strike. A common misconception that the public has is that the taggers are just out to destroy property and do not care anything but themselves.
Having an impact is just what the normal graffiti tagger hopes to achieve. So how can an art form that has grown from so little to a mass media culture be hated and shrugged off by so many when it holds such aesthetic value in the art world?
In a world that teaches us to be accepting and open-minded to new thoughts and ideas, one would think that graffiti would not be such an controversial issue. “The only problem with graffiti is that there is not enough of it” states a world renowned graffiti artist who goes by Banksy. Banksy has been delighting most of England with his art for many years. His style is simplistic yet complex making large stencil figures, using his political humor relaying his message to the streets of England. He has DaDa qualities being outlandish and crazy with subject matter. He has created a reproduction of Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, but in his rendition she is holding a rocket launcher. His art works often bring laughs and smiles from locals who do not seem to have much of a problem with his work. “His black and white stencils are beautiful, witty and gently subversive: policemen with smiley faces, rats with drills, monkeys with weapons of mass destruction (or, when the mood takes him, mass disruption) little girls cuddling up to missiles, police officers walking great flossy poodles, Samuel Jackson and John Travolta in Pulp Fiction firing bananas instead of guns, a beefeater daubing "Anarchy" on the walls. He signs his pieces in a chunky, swirling typeface. Sometimes there are just words, in the same chunky typeface - puns and ironies, statements and incitements. At traditional landmarks, he often signs "This is not a photo opportunity". On establishment buildings he may sign "By Order National Highways Agency This Wall Is A Designated Graffiti Area". (Come back a few days later, and people will have obediently tagged the wall.) “(guardian.co.uk) The U.K culture does not view his art as a major problem, although still technically illegal. His complex designs and use of aesthetic elements of art make seeing his pieces a visual delight and artistic expression. Graffiti is an act of making somewhere plain into something exciting. Not necessarily hurting anyone but giving people something to look at something to talk about. “The English graffiti scene has a tradition that predates the New York influence. Political messages proliferated in the sixties and in the mid seventies punk bands like The Clash and the Sex pistols tagged up around the clubs they played” (Spraycan art 58). Some businesses even commission Taggers to do murals on their buildings to appeal to the Hip-hop generation since graffiti is a big part of that growing culture. Shepard Fairley who started a million dollar business from his working with graffiti said this about starting out “Whether the reaction be positive or negative, the arts existence is worthy as long as it causes people to consider the details and meanings of their surroundings. In the name of fun and observation.” Graffiti does not hurt anything by being there, it gets a reaction out of society good or bad, this is better than feeling nothing at all. Graffiti much like a disease starts small and spreads out taking everything down with it. Those who see graffiti as vandalism and give it no credibility as art often believe this because of economic statistics and the principle that no one asked it to be put there. Not only is graffiti seen as an eyesore but it also causes damage to the surrounding economy. Allowing graffiti to remain is equivalent to the ‘broken window syndrome’-leaving one broken window un-repaired will attract breakage in others as well” (nograffiti.com) Those who oppose graffiti as art worry that property values, retail sales and future businesses are affected by graffiti. Each person is affected individually depending on their world view. “Graffiti is like blowing smoke in someone else's face. Like playing music loud when someone is trying to sleep. Like (in a lesser way) raping public space. It assumes that anybody or everybody gives you permission to show off wherever, whenever you want. It's rude. It might be good in some cases, but it's rude, when pushed in your face without any consideration” (dart.fine-art.com). Greatly offending some but often intriguing others, either way graffiti is still considered destruction of property. Any destruction of property hurts property values and according to the website for the National Association of Realtors, “properties located in neighborhoods where there is graffiti vandalism lost 15% of their value.” Prospective buyers of homes and businesses see graffiti as the beginning of urban decay and often do not want to deal with or live around the area. The U.S Department of Justice reports “graffiti contributes to lost revenue associated with reduced ridership on transit systems, reduced retail sales and declines in property value. In addition, graffiti generates the perception of blight and heightens fear of gang activity” (nograffiti.com). The goal for these areas often affected by graffiti is to clean it up as soon as possible. But combating graffiti is an effort with rising costs each year. Police in most major cities have special graffiti based task forces trained to combat graffiti. Some even use computerized systems. “Eugene’s Police and Public Works Departments have created a computer system for photographing and tracking graffiti. The computer base is capable of linking graffiti or tag designs to specific individuals, and can be used to identify trends and problems in geographic areas in order to focus graffiti-suppression efforts”(ci.eugene.or.us). Small communities also have community protection groups to combat vandalism, giving a special number to call if anyone is seen committing vandalism. “…the city can assist you in painting over vandalized property at no cost to you” (ci.eugene.or.us). The range of costs for combating graffiti varies from state to state and city to city but on average “graffiti cleanup alone costs taxpayers about $3-5 per person per year”(nograffiti.com). Ranging anywhere from$350,000 in Baltimore annually to $55 million in Los Angeles according to a 2002 survey of communities conducted by Public Technology. All of whom ignore any aesthetic value or time and commitment of this art, and focus on gang tags and minor costs. The major eyesores are the tags that are put up in a hurry, looking like gang signs and scribbles not being visually appealing at all. “Simple tagging ruins it for the rest of us” as stated By “Debut” a local graffiti artist, “When amateurs or just kids go around writing nonsense on bridges and walls it heightens alerts and police tend to watch those spots more closely, making it hard to accomplish anything in that area, like if I wanted to do something big there I can’t. What they do is just unnecessary.”(personal interview) While these minor tags do cause more trouble than they are worth a simple solution would be to just erase them. This way communities can save money on costs to cover all graffiti. Police can also crack down on gang activity, namely those responsible for any gang graffiti, the bombs, and pieces are more visually appealing, and add color to the surrounding area. A simple solution to a simple problem, taking care of gangs and immature writers could solve confusion and save tax dollars in the future. Even if in some areas tagging drives down the costs of housing, this is a plus for those who need low income housing and can not afford any better. Many graffiti artists see what they are doing exactly as what major corporations do everyday. Banksy once said “ I’m doing exactly what they (advertisers) do everyday, except nobody knows what I’m selling”(Banksy Banging your head against a brick wall). Advertisers do indeed pollute buildings, billboards, the ground and the sky with their annoying ads for soft drinks and new pants, usually using subject matter not related to what they are trying to sell. How is this different than what taggers and writers do. “ Advertising is designed to manipulate people, where as graffiti is a pure mode of self expression”(propaganda.com). Think of it as a free art gallery where you do not even have to get out of your car to go see it. Allowing pieces to be put up would make many urban areas a lot more colorful and artistically sophisticated. Giving people an edge up on their observational skills and opening their eyes to an ever growing art form and culture. Expanding horizons and bridging the gap between what is seen as graffiti and what is seen as art. Erasing taggers wonderfully created pieces should be the crime. “Imagine a city where graffiti wasn’t illegal, a city where everybody could draw where ever they liked. Where every street was awash with a million colours and little phrases. Where standing at a bus stop was never boring. A city that felt like a living breathing thing which belonged to everybody, not just the estate agents and barons of big business. Imagine a city like this and stop leaning against that wall-it’s wet” (Banksy)