Graffiti In New York City

Graffiti has been used many times in history to preserve and show political and religious ideas of the past. Street artists are preserving the history that is deemed “illegal” at this time. Graffiti itself is history, and it tells stories as well as preserving cities and adding a creative aspect to everyday life. The “...first forms of scripture and storytelling … were through drawings on walls. Stories passed through generations… were preserved on rocks or walls.” (Lloyd, Alexis). Now street artists are simply doing the same, whether it’s murals, tags, or people just messing around; They are preserving the unique cultures that we have today, or trying to make a name for themselves through art, or portray a political message. 85% of graffiti is just tags. (Akbar, Airfa). People's names or words made to look interesting. People trying to preserve their name through art. And this is considered a crime. Splashing your political views on a building through a mural to some people is offensive and the fact that this is illegal is a violation of the 1st amendment. Making graffiti or street art illegal is limiting an expression of people's ideas and religion.

Graffiti has been around for more than half a decade and practiced worldwide. However there is debate between whether it is a form of art or vandalism. Graffiti artists’ debate that many do not understand the reason most graffiti artist take the risk of incarceration, fines, injuries, and in some cases death to paint a wall. A graffiti artist can have the simple desire to become recognized, or to create a piece that speaks to their audience as a form of self expression. Because graffiti is associated with gangs and acts of destruction to some many cannot see the history and importance graffiti can have on a worldwide scale. Due to the fact that graffiti is usually produced illegally, meaning it is

Another reason why people engage in graffiti is to shape their identities. They wish to leave a mark in a permanent environment exclaiming to the rest of the world that they exist, that even though their voices may be lost before politicians, parent, and peers they are real and the spraypaint is proof of this. This form of graffiti is easily passed off as mere vandalism and considered an annoyance to our society but when viewed with more compassion, it becomes clearer how important of an outlet this form of graffiti is. Especially for today’s youth (a generation that often feels insignificant) it is psychologically important for them to have solid, material evidence of their own existence. Correlated with identity-based graffiti is another type called tagging. Tagging refers to types of graffiti that “range from stylized signature [tags] to mural-size [pieces] that elaborately blend fanciful script, cartoon characters and messages with the artist’s street name” (Beaty 43). This is a questionable form of expression for it does not actually exhibit a need for acknowledgment but rather a recreational engagement, an act of boldly testing the boundaries of the law in

Graffiti has always been stigmatized as vandalism. Throughout history, unwanted markings on buildings has been seen as unlawful, crude, and unartistic. From the stone ages to the rise of gang graffiti in the 1970s, the word graffiti has had this negative connotation attached to it. Now, in the 21st century, people still associate graffiti with vandalism and negativity despite our growth as a society. The line between vandalism and art has been burred for some time, but in today’s society, graffiti is not simply petty acts of vandalism, but art and should be treated as such. People who think graffiti is only vandalism even in today’s modern society need to realize that modern graffiti is no longer tied to gang violence and is actual quite similar to modern advertising techniques. Also, if graffiti is legalized it would stop the government from wasting tax dollars to remove the graffiti and protect the artist’s creative freedom and first amendment rights.

There are many associations with graffiti writing, Hip-hop being the first. Though the emergence of graffiti can be attributed to street gangs; which, they used to mark their territories (Chronopoulos 2011, pg. 79), graffiti began to merge with hip-hop culture in the 70s (Chronopoulos 2011, pg. 82). Ultimately, this combination promoted the public domination over public spaces in New York City through the use

While society may view graffiti as a negative aspect in communities even if it isn’t harmful, it also receives praise from many people. In “The Making of Space, Race, and Place” Dickinson stated that “Graffiti writers would be referred to as vandals, thugs, and criminals in the mass media, and their own voices would be largely shut out” (29). This is not completely true because even though graffiti writers are considered “vandals” and “criminals”, people are still treating them as people they can invest in. Graffiti writers are actually being acknowledged and paid to write. For example, “High profile graffiti writers and crews form relationships with spray paint companies through ad hoc and more enduring paint contracts, can be sponsored to attend invitational events and are often the subject of articles in the graffiti magazines that have grown with the subculture” (McAuliffe and

In the summer of 2013, a graffiti artist by the name of 'Lady Pink' had police barge into her house in Queens and arrest her husband for vandalism. They took her art supplies, photo archives, and many of her prized possessions. She had to sit there, helpless, watching police take away her things. In today's world right now, expressing yourself creatively is one of the most important things you can do to help figure out who you are. A part of creative expression is art. Art makes people happy. Graffiti falls into the art category. For some people, graffiti is what they do to express themselves. Graffiti is art and shouldn't be illegal. Expressing yourself creatively shouldn't be a crime.

Since the late 1980s, various public and private-sector actors in the United States who do not write graffiti have practiced anonymity and sought fame to suppress and promote graffiti. Most non-writing public-sector actors have cracked down on graffiti as a criminal act that blights urban surfaces, while, in response, many non-writing private-sector actors have promoted graffiti as a profitable consumer good and art form. In the public sector, police officers and politicians in New York and then Chicago and Denver have prosecuted graffiti as the illegal vandalism of property walls and other surfaces; over time, police officers have learned to adapt plainclothes dress to patrol environments, capture writers, and destroy graffiti. In the private

The policy investigated throughout this project concerns graffiti. Graffiti is seen as a negative gesture towards communities as it signals the presence of gang activity and intimidation. The populace believes that graffiti causes neighborhoods to look unclean and disrespected, allowing others to think it is

While waiting for on a train, the mobile art museum known as graffiti passes you. Graffiti has been integrated into the everyday life regardless of city size or laws. By definition, graffiti is any type of writing or drawing scribbled, scratched or sprayed onto a surface in public. Freehanded graffiti has evolved into a premeditated version known as street art. Graffiti and street art allows artists worldwide to express themselves in their entirety. However, these forms of art are considered vandalism because the majority of graffiti is painted on buildings without permission. This causes debate on who owns public space, expressionism, and consent.

From the early humans who painted on cave walls to the angst-ridden teenager getting their kicks from spray painting profanities on the side of a small business, human beings seem to have an intrinsic desire to paint images on the walls that surround them. This has led to many individuals painting on walls without permission. Although the walls cannot speak, city officials and the owners of businesses can and when they do, “Graffiti” is usually one of the words used to describe the images produced. However, although often overlooked, a line does exist between graffiti and street art. Christine Graff writes “Graffiti is defined as ‘writing or drawings scribbled, scratched, or sprayed illicitly on a wall or other surface in a public

The graffiti scene in Connecticut is growing as more walls are being sprayed painted with graffiti art and tags.

There is a lack of supporting evidence about graffiti information such as why people engage in vandalism and how it impacts on communities and so on. This article is useful for my research topic because this book’s focus is on street artists and legal street art. There was a lot of information about street

We seem to come into contact with a form art every day. It is all around us and sometimes we don’t even notice. One of those art forms is street art, better known by the name graffiti. Graffiti can be recognized for having a bad connotation associated with it, for example some people view it as offensive, vulgar, a nuisance or a form of vandalism. For some people graffiti is a way of life, a culture per se. There are many ways that culture can be defined for example culture can contain the use of symbols, it can be learned and shared, it has values and purpose. Graffiti as a culture contains all of these things and in this paper I will be looking at some comparisons and contrasts of graffiti culture in America from when it started and its evolution to mainstream artistic culture.

The origin and history of graffiti is not what one might expect. Believed to have been created by a Philadelphia high school student named Cornbread in 1967, it was a bold effort to catch the attention of a girl (De Melker). In this same time period, graffiti sprung up in New York as well. It was “one among many forms of social protest” during