Graffiti - Vanlalism or Art?

Graffiti, as described by Wikipedia, are images or letters applied without permission to publicly viewable surfaces. When graffiti painting is done without the property owner's consent, it can be considered vandalism, which is punishable by law. Graffiti is also considered a modern art form, and can be seen in galleries around the world.

Graffiti took off in the US during World War II with the phrase “Kilroy was here” created by American servicemen and appearing everywhere the American military traveled, both home and abroad.

Modern Graffiti as we know it today is said to have been born on the subway trains of New York City in the late 1960s and consisted of “Tags,” which were the artists signature scribbled in one color with the goal of tagging as many subway trains as possible.

After a time, space became sparse and writers need a way of distinguishing their tags from those of other writers. As the tags became bigger, bubblier and colors and shapes were added, a new form of graffiti was developed know as “Piece” graffiti, short for masterpiece.

A “Throw Up” falls somewhere between, typically a quick sketch with or without fill in color, it’s not quite a piece but more than a tag.

A piece today is the most elaborate and time consuming graffiti painting frequently integrating color transitions and 3-D and a variety of other effects.

Photos courtesy of Duncan Cummings

So is Graffiti vandalism that should be punished or art that should be celebrated? What do you think? Do you love it or hate it?

Cheers ~