Graffiti: Vandalism or Art?

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I've just been to Berlin and I think it can be both considering the examples I've seen. Even crappy art can be interesting when you know the story behind it though.
 
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.

the fact that everyone can see your shit is part of what makes it art, the fact that you're writing over someone else's property or tagging yourself to a particular time and place is an individual's message and an expression, key aspects of art

of course property owners will see it as vandalism

breakdancing, mc-ing and djing are the other elements
of hip-hop
 
the fact that everyone can see your shit is part of what makes it art, the fact that you're writing over someone else's property or tagging yourself to a particular time and place is an individual's message and an expression, key aspects of art

breakdancing, mc-ing and djing are the other elements
of hip-hop
Lol. No. That doesn't make something art at all.that's harassment.and on someone's else property. You're just sayin you respect nothing
 
Some great pieces so far. Besada, do you find your collectibles from Juxtapoz magazine? That's where I have always seen them.

Nah, I pick them up mostly at a shop in downtown Dallas, near the Angelica. They send me emails about new product, and I visit like a junkie. I mostly collect Dunnys and Bearbricks, and usually the three inch ones, but I also collect 8" Dunnys. Some day I'll find a reasonably priced 20".

Or this:
http://www.kidrobot.com/ShopAll/DesignerToys/ArtToys/ARTGIANTS4ftDunnybyTristanEaton.html
 
Vandalism
Graffiti-11-600x398.jpg


Art
street-art-melbourne-6.jpg

Was going to make the same post pretty much.
 
Some great pieces in this thread. Thanks.
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.

There's a certain etiquette amongst his/rival crews. Apparently if you're covering another piece you must cover all of it.

it's art, and the billboards are vandalism.

I love this answer.
 
Lol. No. That doesn't make something art at all.that's harassment.and on someone's else property. You're just sayin you respect nothing
It can still be a former of creative expression. Tags IMO sit on the line of art and not - art because a tag can be expressive and a statement on the tagged object, not-art because some are so barely expressive that they fail to even rise to the level of ordering food at a restaurant, and thus I would categorize them in some other way.
 
It can clearly be both. It can even be both at the same time
 
Graffiti is art when used on an approved canvas. When it's done on someone's property without their consent, it's vandalism any way you slice it.

I don't see how anyone can think otherwise.
 
Both of those terms are easily defined. Clearly the answer is "sometimes both, sometimes just art." Not sure what room there is for discussion.
 
It's street art, and is possibly the most counter culture and anti establishment medium that i can think of. Legal graffiti... that's cool but honestly? Tame as hell.
 
Depends on how it's painted. If you did it as a signature for a stupid name or gang, then it's vandalism. If it's a picture of something, then it's art.
 
Vandalism and art all day. I used to have too much fun with it. Even on those quick throwies there's a lot of hidden gems, letters and characters, technique, crisp one line letters, hell sometimes a one line piece.

20101130-throwie5.jpg


Handstyles are just an evolution of cursive and a super quick way to leave a mark.

llllllllllllllll.jpg


While not my favorite examples the above two pieces are all of my favorite parts of graffiti. It takes anywhere from 10 to 120 seconds to put either of those anywhere you please. Murals are rad and have their place but I guess I like the quick and dirty side of things.
 
Vandalism and art all day. I used to have to much fun with it. Even on those quick throwies there's a lot of hidden gems, letter and characters, technique, crisp one line letters, hell sometimes a one line piece.

20101130-throwie5.jpg


Handstyles are just an evolution of cursive and a super quick way to leave a mark.

llllllllllllllll.jpg


While not my favorite examples the above two pieces are all of my favorite parts of graffiti. It takes anywhere from 10 to 120 seconds to put either of those anywhere you please. Murals are rad and have their place but I guess I like the quick and dirty side of things.

Handstyles can be hard at times. But I agree with you. http://www.50mmlosangeles.com/gallery.php is a great site for this.
 
Philidelphia handstyles.

KAD_005_4-wide-web1.jpg


I can read most anything, but these will always escape me. I love em but I don't understand em. It's a graffiti cultural phenomenon that is really relegated to the streets of Philly. Although it somehow made it's way to South America (I forget which country) and is now the predominate handstyle there.
 
Removing myself from this thread because it's got me excited about graffiti again. And I don't need that hassle. Already paid those dues.

But, don't forget that way back in the day we used to scribble pictures of animals and people on walls of caves. It's human instinct to tell a story.
 
Recently done: capitalism on a soviet monument:

..isn't that a war memorial?

Fuck that, completely disrespectful.

I like it graffiti art when it's well done and creative and tastefully done like a lot of stuff posted in this thread is. But there's some things you just shouldn't use as a canvas, like religious buildings, tombstones and memorials.
 
Sometimes I wonder how people even reach the places to do that in the first place. Like there's some hardcore Spider-Man shit going on at some point.
 
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