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[The Rain King]

So I've got a friend who has been getting more and more into graffiti.

He started out just sketching stuff about a year ago, then moved onto canvasses and now he's "painting" large "pieces" every weekend - as seen here http://youtu.be/Lq7uqXwTnRA.

I always give him a hard time, calling him a vandal - not a painter or writer as he likes to refer to himself. Or laughing at his "crew" who have the most cringeable names. (It's all in good jest)

The thing is, though, he's pretty good and some of his stuff is kind of impressive.

So, how do you feel? Is graffiti cool, criminal vandalism or both?

 

[Andrew Korenchkin]

Depends on why you do it, how you do, and whether or not it is done on the right wall.

 

[Kurita]

Depends on the content and where it's done. If it looks like trash in a random place it's just vandalism imo

 

[Frog-fu]

Both if it's without permission but nicely done, and plain vandalism if there is neither permission given nor any artistic value to it. If there is permission, it's just art.

 

[hey_it's_that_dog]

Usually both. The amount of skill on display doesn't somehow override the fact that it's on someone else's property. If they don't want it there, it's vandalism, no matter what it looks like.

 

[stufte]

It depends.

Some kid scrawling FUCK on a door isn't art.

A graffiti mural commissioned on the side of the wall is.

Then there is the beautiful graffiti that isn't commissioned and is done illegally. Still art, even if it's not legal.

 

[Einbroch]

Eh, if it's not yours to paint on, don't paint on it without permission.

I know in my hometown there was a huge concrete wall that the town painted over every month or two where they encouraged people to do this stuff. Was cool seeing some of the nicer ones.

But if it's not yours, it's incredibly rude and disrespectful, even if it looks great.

 

[Toa TAK]

It's both.

 

[Darklord]

Vandalism

Art

 

[Squalor]

I don't care how beautiful it is, if the property isn't yours and you don't have permission, don't fucking paint on it.

I don't understand why that should be so difficult to understand.

 

[MudoSkills]

If it's shit, vandalism, if I like it, art.

You get a lot of talented graffiti artists. Good work is still good work if it happens to be on a wall.

 

[Shaanyboi]

Art as long as it has some actual skill and isn't some douchebag writing a random swear word or his name. Or if it's his name, atleast put some fucking effort into it.

I appreciate good graffiti.

 

[Platy]

It is art.

And sometimes can be vandalism TOO.

 

[genjiZERO]

Like others have said, it really depends on how and where it's done.

I will say, as a basal matter, that it's a little tiring that so much graffiti (no matter how good) basically all looks the same.

 

[Unit 33]

There's an odd spectrum to it.
At one end you get your basic tagging which is quite an exclusive affair, like kind of a paint-based pissing contest.
At the other end you get your Shepherd Fairies and Banksys who break into commercial art and aim for mass communication and… money making.


I think with any art it just depends on context and message.

 

[Wings 嫩翼翻せ]

It depends.

Some kid scrawling FUCK on a door isn't art.

A graffiti mural commissioned on the side of the wall is.

Then there is the beautiful graffiti that isn't commissioned and is done illegally. Still art, even if it's not legal.

Nicely put.

 

[Camp Lo]

It CAN be art. It can also be vandalism. /shrug I've seen some incredibly beautiful pieces before. I've also seen 'fuk' written in black spray paint. Each piece is different.

Yeah, that's pretty much my stance on it. I've seen some incredible work and then you get the FUK

 

[Loxley]

It's interesting to note that some owners actually leave up stuff like the mural above your post, because it discourages other people from tagging. It's too beautiful to ruin.

Yep, this has happened with Banksy's stencils - half of the time whomever owns the property he leaves them on will actually keep them up. It's sort of like a privilege to have the guy graffiti your wall.

 

[Iksenpets]

Both. If da Vinci showed up and painted the Mona Lisa on the hood of your car one day, it would be just as good a piece of art, but he also would've just vandalized your car. It's the same thing.

 

[jph139]

The best art is always illegal.

 

[mantidor]

Both.

It could be argued it is always vandalism. When you are allowed to paint it just become a wall painting, a mural. Graffiti as an art form has a rebellious aspect about it. I personally think majors that designate "zones" for graffiti do not understand what graffiti is about.

 

[block tower]

it's art. just because it is done by defacing property doesn't make it any less of an art. nothing is better than going to different cities to see what people have thrown up. i love riding the train wgen i go to NYC, DC or Pittsburgh just to catch the graffiti on the train cars along the way.

 

[Haly]

Both. It's considered vandalism by law, no matter how good it looks, unless you're doing it on your own property. It's art, no matter how tacky or unskilled it is, because art is broad and wide.

It being art doesn't somehow negate it being an act of vandalism.

 

[besada]

Often both. I love graffiti art. I collect custom vinyl dunnys, almost all of whom are designed by graffiti artists. So I can have some of their work, with its wild beauty, in my home.

 

[sappyday]

Both in most cases. Usually you start out with shit that looks like vandalism but people get better and that's when it becomes more like art. Usually just straight text comes from gangs marking their territory and not street artist. Some street artists used to be my idol back when I was a tagger but I realized that I could never become as good as them so I quit.

 

[Camp Lo]

Often both. I love graffiti art. I collect custom vinyl dunnys, almost all of whom are designed by graffiti artists. So I can have some of their work, with its wild beauty, in my home.

That's amazing.

 

[Dead]

It's at its best when it is both

 

[Abounder]

It's vandalism, art, and pollution with all of those damn spray paint cans that are used plus the cleaning supplies.

 

[mantidor]

Both. It's considered vandalism by law, no matter how good it looks, unless you're doing it on your own property.

Sometimes even your own property is off limits if we are talking about the exterior of your house. There are usually regulations by the local government in most cities that I know of. You can't just paint your front porch in neon yellow because you felt like it.

 

[Rygar 8 Bit]

im a sucker for graffiti that uses the environment around it

 

[Zen_Arcade]

It can be either, or both

 

[Noaloha]

It's always art to at least one individual and always vandalism to at least one other, different, individual. Otherwise, I'd argue that it's not graffiti.

 

[Blood Red Sky]

Banksy painted a piece on a youth centre here in Bristol a few months ago and the organisers interpreted as a donation, took it down and sold it.

Fair enough, but still kinda strange. They said it was like winning the lottery.

 

[besada]

A Dunny, in case you aren't familiar with them:

 

[Plywood]

Art!

That said, I'm not as fond of tags personally.

 

[daviyoung]

Some kid scrawling FUCK on a door isn't art.

yes it is

 

[Verdre]

Banksy painted a piece on a youth centre here in Bristol a few months ago and the organisers interpreted as a donation, took it down and sold it.

Fair enough, but still kinda strange. They said it was like winning the lottery.

That's actually brilliant

 

[batteryLeakage]

 

[kabel]

yes it is

Yep. Still better than a 4chan screenshot.

 

[Goldmund]

I consider the vandalism part of what makes graffiti artistic.

 

[JordanN]

I consider the vandalism part of what makes graffiti artistic.

If someone threw paint at random people on the street, would you call it art?

 

[daviyoung]

If someone threw paint at random people on the street, would you call it art?

why not? people have done crazier things in the name of art

and graffiti is one of the four elements, so it probably transcends art

 

[CarpeDeezNutz]

Some great pieces so far. Besada, do you find your collectibles from Juxtapoz magazine? That's where I have always seen them.

 

[Sebastiano]

So much this !

 

[Alcotholic]

Vandalism is destruction of property, wanted or not. If there was permission, then it's not vandalism.

 

[Goldmund]

If someone threw paint at random people on the street, would you call it art?

If someone applied color to a canvas, would you call it art?

You can't define art this way because being both incredibly dynamic and incredibly specific constitutes the notion.

 

[Abounder]

Recently done: capitalism on a soviet monument:

 

[jadedm17]

Depends on why you do it, how you do, and whether or not it is done on the right wall.

One and done, great job gaf.

Randomly tagging walls is vandalism.

 

[number47]

why not? people have done crazier things in the name of art

and graffiti is one of the four elements, so it probably transcends art

Just wondering. What are the other three. Graffiti is a type of art. The style,from what I remember,respects hard to reach and good tags. Vandalism is vandalism. Wanna tag a wall. Put some paper on it first. Not everyone wants to see your shit.

 

[Famassu]

If it's something like SHIT or GAY sprayed on a wall. No, that is not art and people should stop doing that.

But any kind of pictures, yes, they are art (even if it's not very good) and I don't mind if people do it illegally on ugly grey concrete walls etc.