Entry #6 Artist or Criminal?

How  do we decide what is considered art?  Who decides it?  What kind of art can be considered illegal or immoral?  Well, if this isn't just enough complicated questions, is the answer to all of them depending on who you ask?

This image is considered illegal in most cities.  Why?  Without permission to be put on property it is considered vandalism.  So it will be covered up with paint that matches the wall behind it, or with a color that is close to it.  The tax payers in the city are the ones who end up paying for that to be done.  So is it harmful for this image to up on this wall?  What about when its just not as nice looking? Should we take it down then?

A lot of people do not like the way graffiti looks.  The argument is that it brings down property values.  Cities are spending time and money in investigating who is making the graffiti and paying to cover it up as well that costs millions of dollars yearly.  Why do we feel the way we do about graffiti?

Because we were told to.  Today that viewpoint is starting to change and graffiti is going mainstream. Look familiar?

Today graffiti is making its way into the way we decorate our cities, the things we market and gives voices to movements.  This form of art has the power to speak to anyone, and what is true about graffiti that might not be about all art is that it is accessible to anyone in the public.  You do not require a entry fee to see this public art which gives it an edge that some people just are not ready for and some cities are not sure how to handle.  In some cities though, embracing graffiti has turned poor districts into thriving artistic neighborhoods.  As a native to Phoenix Arizona, I have seen the transformation myself to some of these poorer neighborhoods through the use of street art.

So is it really so dangerous?  What part of making art that is an individuals expression dangerous?  Let us reexamine this view of vandalism, and possibly instead consider what an urban landscape could be instead of just straight lines encapsulating our daily lives.  Maybe we need to see a message scrawled across a seat to make our minds think in new ways.  These messages might be out there just for you to enjoy like the person who made them.

So maybe the next time you see a spray painted wall as you walk by it you might stop to enjoy the free art.