Graffiti Art: Expression and Vandalism

Self-expression is generally regarded as a good thing. But some variations have significant drawbacks. For example, fiery words inciting a riot or causing a crowd to stampede wildly, committing an illegal act or offense against public standards in order to prove a point or advertise an issue, putting yourself or others at unnecessary risk to thumb your nose at authority figures, all these pursuits may be claimed as justified by artists, those well-known proponents of self-expression, while more reticent folks profess shock and dismay in response. These remarks are relevant to a consideration of graffiti art, a mostly urban activity that has grown beyond tagging of New York subway cars to appear in typographical, pictorial, and sloganeering forms on public walls and accessible vacant surfaces around the world, from Brooklyn to Santa Barbara, from Athens to Beijing, from Paris to Melbourne.

So prevalent is street art in the modern city that many officials have enacted ordinances penalizing the activity, whether the actual act of spray-painting a wall or the attempt to purchase cans of cheap spray paint by youngsters under the age of 18. But the topic remains controversial, even where the activity has been deemed criminal and whether the artists involved, once caught, have been fined or given jail sentences. Some places with anti-vandalism laws targeting graffiti actually have co-existing local arts organizations or community groups sponsoring graffiti art exhibitions and youth-oriented competitions.

This autumn a show in a Paris museum, the Fondation Cartier, attempts to present an illustrated history of the genre, while also noting graffiti's significant influence on fashion and music. Other recent exhibitions in London and New York have indicated a growing acceptance of graffiti as a noteworthy contemporary phenomenon, a grassroots movement with emotional resonance, exciting content, and real creativity. Not surprisingly, some formerly anonymous taggers have embraced the commercial gallery ethos or have signed endorsements with global producers of consumer items. Successful artist-celebrities like the late Jean-Michel Basquiat or Keith Haring, former street art virtuosos, may bear some some responsibility here.

The vandalism issue is likely to forever dog this art form. Even a terrific and colorful design, if it is painted in a high traffic venue and not on a wall in a welcoming neighborhood, is likely to cause problems. City workers may be asked to destroy or white-out the creation, with the costs passed on to taxpayers. Sometimes property owners, in cities like San Francisco or Spokane, are fined if they don't cover over new graffiti expressions in a timely manner, a few days or so.

A handful of graffiti practitioners have opted for more environmentally friendly approaches to showing off their artistry. The more affluent may use LASER technology, a method of painting on available public walls with high-intensity light for a short stint, a night-time performance apt to work better in cities without an overabundance of neon signage and close placements of street lighting. Popular in Canada is yarn-bombing, or affixing a knitted artwork to a piece of street furniture--a pole, a bicycle stand, a bench, or a hapless statute. Mud stenciling is another potential outlet for artists with a point to make but without vested interests in producing permanent works or irritating fellow citizens.

In some cases graffiti art is a peer-group activity, even necessary for gang members. But for others, a certain gifted subset unlikely to have other outlets for artistic expression, graffiti is a way to say something, beautify an empty or ugly space, describe the world, and communicate beyond the crowd. Observers may see art or innovation or, alternatively, they may perceive disfigurement and urban blight. Which is uglier: a grimy windowless building or an overlapping collage of words and icons, numbers and designs, stencils and illustrations?

Eliza Williams, "Born In The Streets", Creative Review/CR Blog
Adriane Quinlan, "Writing on the Wall", Time Magazine
Pia Hallenberg Christensen, "Graffiti is constant battle for police, parks department, volunteers", The Spokesman-Review
Rebecca Appel, "Graffiti Spills Off of the Streets", New York Times/Globespotters Blog
Maria Cramer, "Likely prison sentence for graffiti artist stokes debate", Boston Globe
"Graffiti blurs line between art and vandalism", Gale-AccessMyLibrary/South China Morning Post