Is Graffiti an Art or a Crime ?
Chaimae Wardei
Prof. SeeperSad
ENG 101
12-2-12
Is Graffiti an Art or a Crime?
Through the years, people have expressed themselves in different ways and manners. Some have chosen photography, drawings or sculpture. Others came up with new ways like graffiti which is a new form of urban expression that made controversial reactions. I believe that some graffiti is an artistic performance because of its expressive nature, beautiful display, and creative ways. The rest of it reveals a criminal behavior since it uses others’ properties without permission or consideration, harms the urban landscape, and sends negative messages. The major differences between both perceptions are the aim of the taggers and location of the tags.
On the one hand, taggers have produced beautiful and expressive pieces that people appreciated. During a class trip to 5 Pointz, an outdoor art exhibit space in Long Island City, New York, where graffiti is permitted and regulated. I stood for few minutes in front of a tag of ghostly skulls surrounded by flames (The Picture). The skulls had an expression on their skinless faces that made me feel like hearing the sound of those portrayed people as if they were screaming out in pain with the sound of evil laughter in the background. This mixture of its beauty and livelihood made me and my classmates enjoy the experience. In addition, after admiring the excellence of the tags, I thought that those taggers must be very talented and creative to come up with such beautiful artworks, especially on those large surfaces and hard-to-reach places, bearing in mind that they’re only using spray paint. It makes you wonder how they could make all those fading colors and shades, and transform bare walls into three dimensional objects. They certainly are very creative and highly skilled. Before leaving the site, I noticed that there was a transportation corporation that actually had graffiti artists tag its wall with
Prof. SeeperSad
ENG 101
12-2-12
Is Graffiti an Art or a Crime?
Through the years, people have expressed themselves in different ways and manners. Some have chosen photography, drawings or sculpture. Others came up with new ways like graffiti which is a new form of urban expression that made controversial reactions. I believe that some graffiti is an artistic performance because of its expressive nature, beautiful display, and creative ways. The rest of it reveals a criminal behavior since it uses others’ properties without permission or consideration, harms the urban landscape, and sends negative messages. The major differences between both perceptions are the aim of the taggers and location of the tags.
On the one hand, taggers have produced beautiful and expressive pieces that people appreciated. During a class trip to 5 Pointz, an outdoor art exhibit space in Long Island City, New York, where graffiti is permitted and regulated. I stood for few minutes in front of a tag of ghostly skulls surrounded by flames (The Picture). The skulls had an expression on their skinless faces that made me feel like hearing the sound of those portrayed people as if they were screaming out in pain with the sound of evil laughter in the background. This mixture of its beauty and livelihood made me and my classmates enjoy the experience. In addition, after admiring the excellence of the tags, I thought that those taggers must be very talented and creative to come up with such beautiful artworks, especially on those large surfaces and hard-to-reach places, bearing in mind that they’re only using spray paint. It makes you wonder how they could make all those fading colors and shades, and transform bare walls into three dimensional objects. They certainly are very creative and highly skilled. Before leaving the site, I noticed that there was a transportation corporation that actually had graffiti artists tag its wall with
Cited: McCann, Colum. “Let the Great World Spin”. New York: Random House, 2009. Print The Picture. “Ghostly Skulls and Bird”. April 2011. 5 Pointz. Web