Is Graffiti Art?

**daoist** · 11-03-2009 05:05 PM

Graffiti is an art, all the way from that tag which most outside observers view as trash, to the elaborate pieces on walls. Art is expression. Even though something may look ugly, it is still art because the creator shows his personality and view of the world onto an object. The fact that people think a tag or a throw up is ugly or disgusting in itself has proved that it is art, if you think that art needs to necessarily look good to be called art, you have no idea what the hell you are talking about and need to get the fuck out of here.

If you go down the street and see a throwup on a building it evokes a response , and so does a piece.

They do it differently, but they are ultimately the same.

**S!K3_NAW** · 11-05-2009 12:39 PM

tagging is caligraphy and pieces are are actual art set to the mind it takes time and devotion you have to get creative and you need heart otherwise its a waste of time

**inker555** · 11-06-2009 12:56 AM

You might think its art but if you get caught doing it on someones building then you go straight to jail, no pass go. Thats the way its been working in New Orleans anyway. I bet youd be hard pressed to find a cop or judge that considers it art.

**CoronaOne** · 11-06-2009 08:56 AM

well....im no art critic but....idk wtf im talking about.....lol

**CoronaOne** · 11-06-2009 08:57 AM

It can be both....i guess......

**Inlyn08** · 11-06-2009 09:12 AM

Art can be anything..
So yes, Graff is art. If people can make "Art" from god damn macaroni pieces..
Then someone getting down and laying their work on a surface be it a highway, wall.. tunnel.. you name it.

It's art.
In my opinion. And mostly.. there is some "Fame" linked in with it, but.. I know when I see some burners I give them credit for the time spent and how clean it came out.
The "Forbidden Art."

**massacreman** · 11-07-2009 05:09 AM

i always tell people graffiti is the art of vandalism

**inker555** · 11-08-2009 09:34 AM

massacreman, Very well said. Lately I have been seeing more and more tags in restrooms such as burger kings and other places. People lately have had enough and they are willing to do something about it. In new orleans anyway.

**CrAzOnEr!** · 11-08-2009 09:38 AM

it take me hours to come up with a piece to tag.

**inker555** · 11-12-2009 11:09 PM

So a few here said if you got caught by the cops you would continue to do grafitti. Howabout if you got caught by a building owner and really got your ass kicked really bad. Would you still do it? And take the chance of getting your stupid ass kicked again and again?

**Mean Mr.Mustard** · 11-13-2009 06:25 AM

could anything called BOMBING be art?

**fromthegrave** · 11-13-2009 07:19 AM

if its illegal its not art, its vandalism=graffiti
if it is legal it is art= aerosol art

edit: stylized thought out vandalism*

**Inlyn08** · 11-13-2009 07:23 AM

Legality doesn't necessarily make something "Art."
It's based solely on the fact that it's Graff. There have been places that have had "Phantom Painters" that no one directly stated it being anything outside "Art." They in turn, left it there as a testament to the artist. People view Graff as offensive, gang related.. and a bunch of other shit that isn't the case.

I still say it's art, because it requires artistic abilitiy.. creativity.. amongst other things to be able to actually make something that doesn't look like you dipped your nuts in a paint bucket and smeared them on a wall.

I don't know..

**<[(Smokers187¤GS¤WM)]>** · 02-01-2010 12:13 PM

I agree wit geebuz throw ups n handstylez aren't really art but 2 me, as a graffiti writer, I think some may be buetiful even some toyish stuff sumtimes surprises me kuz they have sum sort of flavor that makes me appreciate lettering

And in the other cases pieces can go either way kuz some can be effin good that rock my sox but I dnt consider them art but like 3D n shit, that's like the only thing I consider art even tho I can't do it, I respect it enuff 2 understand that thatz the only form of art...oh and sum really good characterz so I ddnt really vote kuz I dnt no wat 2 say 4 sure haha piece

**<[(Smokers187¤GS¤WM)]>** · 02-01-2010 12:23 PM

Skrew it I say no

Oh ya n it duznt matter if its legal or not, kuz if u look @ like Augor, Saber, n ppl from MSK that get down illegally n the stuff they fo is amazing pieces of work because they interact wit the stuff they write on especially Augs I give mad props 2 him but @ the end of the day its still GRAFFITI!!! Its not called illegal art I'm kinda talkin outta my ass here but duznt graffiti mean like defacing sumones property or sumthin like that sorry I dnt feel like lookin it up but ya n even if it is legal it can still suck ass so its not art n even if it is good its still not art kuz the intention 2 write thoz letterz is 2 desteoy shit or jusyt get rep it was never really "I wana be an artist wit this" even if u said it n everything that duznt meant its wat u intended.

**jerm_haf** · 02-01-2010 01:14 PM

It is art. It's illegal and there's no way around that, but its still art. And like all forms of art, there's art that people like and art that people dont like. Sure there's toys who go out and throw something up that gives graffiti artists a bad name, but there's also the rest of the artists who can do something that'll make you stop and look in amazement. The intention for graffiti isnt always destruction either. For example, Banksy. He uses his graffiti to send a message to the world. Artists like 123Klan have actually used their graffiti as a way to get famous. They're graphic designers in France and work internationally, getting paid to do graffiti for the sake of promotion

**<[(Smokers187¤GS¤WM)]>** · 02-01-2010 02:08 PM

Ya but thoz ppl are GRAPHIC DESIGNERS not graffiti artist I mean sure they can go out n do a piece or a throw up or watever but their job title is graphic designer so they do it 4 money n b4 they were "famous" I bet they wernt really thinkin about money kuz they were probly just kids tryin 2 get some rep and/or destroy shit

And banksy ya he gets a message across but he could have just kept it in a art show or sumthin he didn't have 2 go out n paint it on some public/private property but he's a "graffiti artist" so he does it illegaly because his writer instincts ya know wat I mean?

**Spark391** · 02-01-2010 02:29 PM

I think that graffiti is art and vandalism. Both of them.. All graffiti isn't art and all graffiti isn't 100% vandalism. As in any other craft there are masters, in graffiti - masters of style. Those guys i consider artists. But a random ass toy with a sloppy style isn't a artist. Or if you wish to call him that way, he's a very fucking bad artist. It takes a really long jurney to master something, so I think that it's total bs, if some toys come out and write "art aint a crime" type of crap, you aint greating no damn art lil boy. One guy hit up my whole neighbourhood with "art aint a crime, underlined.. 2008" like wtfs.

And yes I think that most artistic graffiti is illegal. In some cases the environment is that thing that makes that stuff be art.. It isn't just canvases/ legal pretty pieces that should be called art.. If you go to a street, you might see a fucking dope handstyle/ throwup, that's just done in seconds that I would consider art. If that writer has got some serious skills, then it looks powerful as hell. It has just that "BOOOOM" effect, in your face, and there's nothing you can do about it.. every letter in that tag has a life, has a flow, has some power. If you would take away that stuff that I like to call raw shit, from graffiti, I think it would be a lot more boring. Sure I dig burners, pieces, murals, canvas work etc. everything, if it has got some STYLE.. but it's definetely harder to push your stuff as powerful on a limited surface (canvase in this case)

Look where it started, and look where it has gone now.. people all over the world rock some really crazy ass stuff.

I would also like to say that, the term "art" is very personal.. I think that that word hasn't have a clear definition. It's one of those topics where philosophers can go nuts and talk about it for hours and hours I think lol:d

Ofcourse I think writers don't start writing in the name of "creating art" .. It's just writing, bombing, developing your style. It isn't a thing like "I want to be taken serious by those art critiques" .. no one dosen't care what other people outside of that community will think about it, even oppinions by other people in that art world. Graffiti is an art form from writers to other writers..