Graffiti: Art of the 20th Century or Vandalism
When discussing the topic of graffiti, the main question most people have is whether graffiti is art or vandalism. Before we can answer this, there are many more questions that must be answered. What is art? What is graffiti? What is vandalism? Is there a point at which graffiti becomes vandalism, and if so, who decides where? Only after these questions have been answered, can anyone accurately decide whether it is art or vandalism! What is art? Merriam-Webster's dictionary defines it as: art (as painting, sculpture, or music) concerned primarily with the creation of beautiful objects. Within just these three broad categories of art, there are many more subcategories in each. Additionally, there are other categories of art, such as architectural, photographic, and digital art. The main problem with art is the broadness of its scope and the general belief that it is in the eyes of the beholder, which allows for a lot of discrepancy from one individual to another. Robert J. Belton best describes this in the following passage: Any brief definition of art would oversimplify the matter, but we can say that all the definitions offered over the centuries include some notion of human agency, whether through manual skills (
Because of this complexity, writers have developed a variety of ways to characterize the art impulse. Graffiti advocates would have you believe that if my own property was never damaged the graffiti should be none of my business. The main difference between vandalism and art or graffiti is that vandalism isn't as controversial or debatable. It is not strictly denied the status of genuine art because of a lack of form or other base aesthetic elements. Having said that, we are still left with a class of objects, ideas and activities that are held to be separate or special in some way. as in the art of sailing or painting or photography), intellectual manipulation (as in the art of politics), or public or personal expression (as in the art of conversation). Smith, a reserve police officer with twelve years law enforcement experience who served on a graffiti abatement task force, makes the following points in regards to whether graffiti is vandalism:Before the graffiti advocates or Art Crimes can say, "Graffiti isn't so bad," they must visit communities covered with the scrawlings of misguided gangs and taggers. Graffiti near my home or anywhere in my town or my nation makes me a victim and therefor[sic] my business. Is that considered graffiti as well? What about the graffiti artist who paints grand murals on the sides of buildings that are fifty-feet high and fifty-feet wide? One would have to think that such a task would require some degree of artistic talent. They must speak with graffiti victims and the abatement volunteers that clean up the damage. Recall that the word is etymologically related to artificial -- i.
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