Graffiti: Art or Vandalism?

People see graffiti in many different ways, just the same as painted or drawn pieces of art work. Some people may like it, others hate it, but everyone will have their own opinion and that is what makes art so interesting – no two pictures are identical and everyone interprets the image or piece of work differently.

Whilst many people may despise the ‘mess’ that is known as graffiti, it does take a lot of creativity, as well as talent. I am not talking about the names or silly messages that may get painted onto buildings, but the images and the style that are used on more creative pieces of graffiti art.

It is now possible to specialise in ‘graffiti art’ which shows that it does take a lot of talent. People may say that it’s a ‘mess’ and so on, but all it is someone trying to express their emotions and talent. I know that we have all looked at a graffiti tag and thought to ourselves…’what a mess’, however I am sure that most people have also looked at a graffiti tag and thought ‘Wow’. Graffiti expresses people’s emotions and fascinates me personally because so many people view it differently.

Now we come to the point that graffiti is illegal, however it doesn’t have to be. There are places where graffiti artists can go and paint freely to express themselves. Surely soon graffiti will be properly recognised as an art form? It takes a lot of talent and most of the people I know wouldn’t be able to do it, yet they criticize it and say that it doesn’t look too impressive. Maybe we just wish we could paint something like that?

It is a very difficult debate because ‘art’ means many different things to many different people and that’s why art is studied and created all around the world. Art is a fascination for people worldwide. Everyone has their opinions on the same drawing and no two opinions will be a like. It amazes me that one picture can draw out so many different emotions from so many different people. I think that everyone will be ‘touched’ by a certain piece of art during their lifetime. Even if they don’t know it, because art has a special way of bringing out your emotions and feelings.

I used to know many art enthusiasts and I used to wonder what their obsession was – I didn’t see art how they did. My best friend used to be amazed that I didn’t get as excited as her over different pieces of art. A few years later I came across a painting which truly made me stop and think. Then I realised how amazing art was, and how it could make people feel different emotions just by looking at a picture.

Art is an amazing thing – in any shape or form and takes a huge amount of creativity and talent, so don’t always be so fast as to judge what you see painted on a wall or in a museum!

Posted in: Debates