Arabella+M.+-+POSITION+PAPER

Graffiti. Art or Vandalism? You’re sitting in the passenger seat of a car. You’ve never been to a big city before, and you don’t know what to expect. Its dark out and the city is light with lights. The driver make’s a left turn into an ally way and suddenly stops. The lights of the car had met a young boy dressed in rags. He stops what he is doing, drops the can, and runs away vanishing into the dark. Out of curiosity, you open the car door and walk towards where the boy had been standing. They wall that the boy had first faced is covered in letters and symbols, arranged in a new and colorful way, different from everything that you have experienced. The letters spell out “remember to….”, and then it stops. You stare at the creation for a few more minutes and then return to the car. When you close the door the driver begins to complain about how kids are ruining the city with their so called “art”. As you drive away you cant help but think, what caused the child to create this? What does he want people to remember? And why are people not happy with it even though it can be supported by our first amendment?

Throughout history, famous artists and street artists have used their talent to inform people of problems in society. Graffiti has been the most popular way for expressing these issues. Many believe that this is most popular among the people because you don't have to pay a great amount of money to create it. All you need for graffiti is spray-paint and a blank wall to create something huge that everyone will see. But some see graffiti not as an act of self-expression, but as an act of vandalism. Many believe when these citizens spray paint things on walls, they are ruining the architecture of a building and that what they have done is a corrupt thing and should be punished for it. There are others that think differently. Some believe that graffiti is one of the many creative ways of expressing yourself and some even supply these artist/citizens with places where they can express themselves and bring ideas and conflicts to light. All over the world graffiti is both frowned upon, and encouraged for many great reasons.

Graffiti: "writing or drawings scribbled, scratched, or sprayed, illicitly on a wall or other surface in a public place."

Throughout history, society has both frowned upon, and encouraged the creation of graffiti in public areas. Graffiti is most popularly used as a way to bring up problems in our country and raise awareness. One of the most popular issues that are expressed through graffiti is discrimination. Anywhere that there is graffiti you can usually find statements that support this idea. Over the years political issues continue to grow, and the people continue to express themselves. As the years go on, self-expression, and more specifically art its self, have been revolutionary. Styles of art are changing in order to break from the classic and "controlled" ways. Art now is anything that makes someone happy, not how realistic it is. Art is the "the application of human creative skill and imagination"(Google). It creates an escape from the real world, one that many believe we need in our lives.

The issue that this new form of self-expression has created is many people are not for it because they believe it’s a form of vandalism. This is mainly thought because in some cases graffiti can change the appearance of a new or historic building and it is expensive to remove these changes. Others believe that graffiti is the new trendy way to express yourself and that you can learn a lot about a culture by observing this form of art. The "revolution" that needs to take place is the acceptance of all art by society, and for everyone to have a voice. Art tells a story, and the art of graffiti is one that many refuse to listen to. Graffiti has helped make up our culture and given people the ability to express their creativity without having to spend money on buying medium. "Historic forms of graffiti have helped gain into the lifestyles of past cultures"(Wikipedia), and without it we wouldn’t have the same knowledge that we do today. Graffiti gives everyone the chance to express themselves and to have a voice in society today.

"According to Belton (2001), graffiti is a modern art form as an "underground" form of expression, but eventually was recognized by the art community and migrated to art galleries and museums. It was considered to be vandalism and rejected by the domient society, until the art world embraced it and made it more acceptable."(Whitehead, Jesse L).

"Graffiti is words of drawings, scratched or scribbled on a wall. It originates from the Greek term "graphein" (to write), and is the plural of the Italian word "graffito""(Whitehead, Jesse L). "Historic forms of graffiti have helped gain into the lifestyles of past cultures"(Wikipedia). Early examples of graffiti in America were first noticed in Philadelphia in the 1960's. It soon after was introduced to the people of New York City and quickly gained popularity. Because of the increase of popularity these "tags" of art had artist began to start making full-blown pieces on any place available space(mainly in the subways in New York City). "During the 1970's, artists and art critics began to view graffiti as independent aesthetic, an expression of art in urban culture" (Benton, quoted in Whitehead). Through the years graffiti has gained popularity and has become more of a profession, and these artists have earned the title of "street artists".

Today many hear about graffiti through the newspaper articles talking about the "graffiti war". This is a conflict between those who express themselves freely with no cares (left sided minds), and those who feel that they must have control of everything to be happy (right sided minds). The fight between these two groups has been going on for quite sometime but there doesn't seem to be a way to settle this conflict. The more "free" people believe that art is the best, or only way to express yourself in a manner in which you are relaxed and others can understand or wonder on what you feel. The more contained part of society believes that the best way to express yourself is through talking. This could work in certain situations, but not always because some have problems with self-expression. One example of this would be people that grow up being neglected throughout their childhood. Because of how they have been treated as a child they can be afraid to speak or say how they feel because of the fear of saying or doing something wrong and being punished for it. By using art these people can escape the fear of speaking their emotions, and cannot feel judged for it because its anonymous.

The definition of art is "the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination..."(Google). After knowing what the definition of art is you can’t help but think, well isn’t everything art? Many people believe that this is not exactly true. These people believe that what is classic and is popular in museums is "real" art. But others view the world in a more creative way, and believe that as long as someone likes it, its art. One popular discussion is whether or not graffiti, or street art is viewed as art in our society. Because of what I have learned throughout the years, I believe that graffiti absolutely is art.

There are several reasons why I believe that graffiti is art. One main reason is that it is self-expression. I believe that when an artist goes to make something that they want people to get something out of it, whether it’s a good or bad feeling. The artist wants to make the person feel something, and if you think about it that’s exactly what graffiti does. When you see graffiti on a side of a building you immediately react with some sort of feeling without even trying. I also believe that graffiti is art because it is a form of expressing yourself. Creating art is the best and most popular way of expressing yourself. You can let out everything that you are feeling and at least one other person will understand it or appreciate your work. Another reason as to why I believe graffiti is art is because I believe that all art tells a story. When you look at any graffiti long enough you can see the background of it. Just by looking at any graffiti you can get a feel of how the artist was feeling and thinking and you learn to understand the world and culture around you. Art defines the culture around it, and graffiti is one of the many forms of art that is a great contributor that helps describe our modern day.

The definition of vandalism is "action involving deliberate destruction or damage to a public or private property" (Google). Many believe that this is exactly what graffiti is. They believe that vandalism is an act of rebellion and destruction and that the people that create it are criminals. "Graffiti -spray-painted images often associated with gangs, but also including hate and non-threatening messages - accounts for 35 percent of vandalism cases, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, cost many communities thousands, sometimes millions, of dollars in cleanup costs." (Hart, Deanna). The price of removal of these creations is one of the main reasons of why graffiti is not always looked well upon in society.

"An estimated $6 billion was spent nationwide in 1994 alone on cleaning up and preventing more of the bright, sometimes threatening, scrawl" and this number continues to grow. One major reason as to why graffiti is viewed upon as a problem in society is because the act of creating graffiti is illegal. Taking a can of spray paint and finding a blank and unused wall and creating something to make a statement is illegal. In a way some would argue that by making vandalism illegal puts limits on our freedom of speech. This being illegal is like saying that freedom of speech is only okay if it’s said, and not publicly expressed in a way that it is there for a long period of time. It seems almost that by graffiti being illegal, the government is almost trying to put limits on our freedom of speech, and they don't want just anyone giving opinions. People make graffiti though because they feel as if they do not have a voice or that it is not powerful enough, and that there are issues that need to be expressed, or the knowledge of these problems need to be raised.

In a way, graffiti is trying to help our country. These pieces of art are trying to raise awareness on major issues in society such as war, & racism. These people are creating these "disruptions" because they believe that there is a major issue that is affecting our country, and that the leaders of our nation need to be informed of them. Graffiti is raising the issue of rebellion, and revolution. This form of art is trying to tell our government that issues are raising, problems are growing bigger, and revolution is slowly rising.

Vandalism is a world known topic in our world today. When you go into any big city you are bound to find at least one example of street art. One of the major issues that graffiti or street art carries is the fear it gives the rest of society of it "taking over". "If we allow graffiti to stay on the car, then it encourages others to vandalize and mark the cars with graffiti, said Lem Proctor of Washington Metro Area Transit Authority" (Reporter Kathleen Koch, CNN). This means that the majority of society fears that the creation of graffiti corrupts others by encouraging this "act of crime", also known as vandalism. They also believe that "the neighborhood begins to deteriorate, and then that invites first minor crime and then major crime" (Reporter Kathleen Koch, CNN). In an overall, these people are fearful that graffiti will take over their towns, and cities, and even lives by creating a place in which crime and corruption is among the people.

Even though society has good reasons as for believing that graffiti could "take over", there are also great reasons as to why they should think positively upon it. Luis Cardona, Executive Director of D.C. Barrios Unidos believes that "They are basically telling you, 'Hey, I need some help. I need you to pull me in, ..'", when referring to the modern day children who have started to take apart in the world of creating graffiti. This shows that their are major issues that are causing children to create graffiti, it has come tot the point in which people are not only creating it for fun, but they are creating it because they feel lost in the world, and they feel as if no one is there to listen. In the photo above it gives an example of graffiti that is trying to aware people of in issue. The graffiti on the door translates to "Destiny is erased". This is an example in which a government has fallen, and there is a problem, and someone used graffiti to raise this issues into the publics attention. These people feel as if they are unloved and are being ignored and through graffiti they are able to have a voice.

The message graffiti can send is also one negative in which people tend to dwell upon. The words in the photo above translate to "Abandon all hope, you who still believe in me. Portugal died, R.I.P"(Frank Bruni). A message like this is not one that a government wants to see or hear. Messages like this provoke rebellion and change or revolution, which is exactly what graffiti scare the government of. Graffiti as a form of self-expression challenges the government, by raising a problem to the people's attention to form rebellion. The definition of rebellion is "resistance to or defiance of any authority, control, or tradition"(dictionary.com). Through the rebellious act of graffiti a town can be effected significantly. It can cause a town to loose its "upper-class" sense due to the vandalism, which can cause a town to deteriorate and no longer be functional with all the crime being invited in. Graffiti does nothing but cause disruption to the peacefulness of a town. In places in which graffiti is, crime is often followed closely because of the sense or rebellion that is created. It is an act of rebellion and more importantly crime, and those who create it should be punished.

Graffiti is a form of breaking free from the rest of society, and expressing your emotions in a public and artistic way in which no one will judge you for. Society tends to focus on the negatives on something they don't understand, but if you understand street art, or just art in general, then it's not hard to see the positive things that come from graffiti. The messages that graffiti sends can be viewed as as an act of violence because it is vandalism and illegal, but if you think about it, it is the more peaceful way of raising awareness of an issue in society. When society is unhappy no one just wants to sit there and have to live with it, they want to fight back to fix the problems. People will become so desperate that they will create huge rebellions, in which people will protest and act violently in order to get what they want. With graffiti all you do is paint an image or message on the side of a wall for everyone to view peacefully. Graffiti is an act of rebellion, but it expresses the issues in a peaceful manner. It gives everyday people a voice, in which they can help change the world for the better.

One may question: What is art? Is everything art? What isn't art? Art, is "the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination..."(Google). And isn't that what graffiti is? Society has given the world the impression that graffiti in general is vandalism, and a crime nonetheless, and that the creators of it should be punished. These people focus on the amount of money spent to get rid of it, how it corrupts children, and the bad messages it can send. They don't even give it the chance to be accepted as a great new idea for people to express themselves. Graffiti gives the shy, and impoverished a voice. It allows people to send out a message to society with just a cheap can of spray paint, and it is for the most part anonymous so they don't feel judged. The first amendment gives our people the right of freedom of speech. It gives everyone a voice, and one that is to be listened to. Graffiti is not only just art, it is an element that defines our culture. By looking at the street art in any city it gives you the sense of what the life is like there. Without graffiti or street art what would our cities look like? Asking this is equivalent to asking: What would our lives be like if we did not accept change? Graffiti is different from the rest of the art world. It is a new and different way of expressing yourself in a manner that gives you no real credit, but you are able to still say and show what you want and be satisfied. "If we understand the diversity of graffiti in form, content, and construction, it is possible to see how graffiti is a unique method of expression used by an often-overlooked sub-culture in our global society."


 * // Annotated Bibliography: //**

Curiel, Jonathan, "Working for a Better Bay Area", //The San Francisco Chronicle//, []

The article is a primary source, this author writes articles for //The San Francisco Chronicle//. This Article talks about the problems associated with graffiti and gives you and the background idea of what most of society views this act as, and why they view it this way. I chose this source because the article came from a city newspaper so I knew it was credible, and because it gave helpful information that I was easily able to use in supporting my thoughts.

Jesse L Whitehead, "Graffiti: The Use of the Familiar”, Art Education, [|http://elibrary.bigchalk.com]

This article is a secondary source because the author has not actually created or been there when they are creating graffiti, he has studied art so he knows what is and isn’t, and should and shouldn’t, be considered art. This article gave me information on the history of graffiti, or street art, and gave me several opinions of what different people think of this form of self-expression. This article is credible because I found it on a credible site, and is written about the arts by a person who has studied them.

Deanna Hart, American City & County, "Cities' program aim to un-paint the town", [|http://elibrary.bigchalk.com]

This article is a secondary source. I know this because the author did not physically do the things mentioned, she received the information used in this article from interviews from people you had “real” reasons to have opinions. I used this website to give the opinion of what a government official person views graffiti as, and the problems that graffiti creates as vandalism. This source is credible because I found it on a credible site, and the article was published in a newspaper.

Koch, Kathleen, "Graffiti: Art or vandalism? U.S. cities fear is spread", //Washington CNN//, [|http://www.cnn.com]

This article is a secondary source because it is based off of opinions of others, and what they believe graffiti does. I used this article twice, first to show how much the removal of graffiti costs to remove, and what the price society has to pay to clean up a town. The second time to give an idea of what the costs is to remove graffiti. This article is credible because an author who has written for Washington CNN professionally wrote it, and it was published in the news.

Kabak, Benjamin, "The Graffiti Debate: Glorifying art or vandalism?”, 2nd Ave. Sagas, [|http://secondavenuesagas.com]

This article is a primary source. The author experienced what he talked about first hand and knew what graffiti making and the scenery of it are like. I used the information in this article to support my ideas on which graffiti is a form of self-expression, and it is apart of the culture and needs to be accepted is it. I know this source is credible because the site is based in an area in which the information from this article would all be true.

Bruni, Frank, "Portugal’s Pain, in Pictures", [|http://bruni.blogs.nytimes.com]

This photo is from a primary source. One of the publishers took the photos specifically for this article. I used this photo to help show what graffiti can do and that the creation of it raises awareness of an issue in which society needs to pay attention to the messaged this "tag" of art carries. I know that this source is credible because the New York Times published it, and they are a world known source.

Bruni, Frank, "Portugal’s Pain, in Pictures", [|http://bruni.blogs.nytimes.com]

This photo is from a primary source. One of the publishers took the photos specifically for this article. I used the picture from this link to give an example of why the government views graffiti negatively as a form of rebellion by advertising and raising awareness of issues the government has and or has not attempted to fix. I know that this source is credible because the New York Times published it, and they are a world known source. Bradley J. Bartolomeo, Additional Major in Anthropology, //"Cement or Canvas: Aerosol Art &The Changing Face of Graffiti in the 21st Century"//, []

The information from this article came from a secondary source. I used this link to give an emotional quite to back up my final extended power-paragraph in which I summarized my paper as a whole and what my position is. I know this source is credible because the author is well educated and he knew what he was talking about in the article and spent a long time putting research into it.