Graffiti as Art

Graffiti as Art

Graffiti, attractive as some of it may be, it is vandalism. It is vandalism to write on people’s property without their permission. However a lot of the graffiti on our streets is very nice to look at. Walking through the laneways of the city, or along the side of a railway line can be like walking through an art gallery. There are different types of graffiti, such as ‘tagging’, which is where someone just writes their initials or logo on a window, or wall. This is what most people think about when they think of graffiti. It is ugly, it has no point, and it ruins the appearance of our cities.

The ‘stencil’ graffiti, and graffiti art are the kinds of graffiti we ought to be encouraging in our towns and cities. It is a great form of decoration to help liven up and create interest in what would be boring brick walls and it gives areas a happier feel to them. This form of graffiti is also a way for people to express themselves and show the world about issues they think are being ignored and need to have attention brought to them. But of course, it would be a disaster if people walking on the streets, freely made their mark on what ever they wanted. This is why we need dedicated ‘graffiti zones’. We need zones where graffiti is tolerated so people can express themselves freely without breaking the law.

For many people, graffiti is also a way to express themselves, and vent anger, if people aren’t allowed to vent this anger it will build up inside them, and be taken out in other ways, most possibly