How Do You Feel About Graffiti?

@MKAlubs (455)
United States
August 28, 2016 9:09am CST
The photo shows some graffiti underneath a bridge in my town. If you only travel by car you'll never know the graffiti is there. I discovered it because I walked down to the river to see how high the river was. Due to recent rains the river is running high right now. I figure the graffiti was placed there at a time when the river was running very low and there was dry ground for the graffiti artist to stand on. Is 'graffiti artist' the correct term? Can graffiti be considered art? Can some art be considered graffiti? I suppose it's all subjective. Is there a lot of graffiti in your community? Is it illegal? Have you ever seen graffiti that you found to be beautiful? Have you ever done any graffiti yourself? Can graffiti be a valid societal expression? What is your opinion of graffiti?
7 people like this
7 responses
@CinnamonGrl (7083)
• Santa Fe, New Mexico
28 Aug 16
I haven't seen beautiful graffiti in my little town. I do think some of the people doing the big city graffiti are true artists. However, they should be placing their art where it's wanted not where nobody's asked for it. Maybe I'm just getting old and cranky, lol.
3 people like this
@MKAlubs (455)
• United States
28 Aug 16
Old and cranky is allowed.... or at least I hope it is because I am certainly guilty of that, too. There actually isn't a whole lot of graffiti in my town. I've noticed, though, that there is an incredible amount of graffiti on the railway cars of trains that come through town.
@JohnRoberts (109857)
• Los Angeles, California
28 Aug 16
There are walls etc that have been given over specifically for graffiti art. And I mean art and not obscene or incoherent or gang markings.
1 person likes this
@MKAlubs (455)
• United States
28 Aug 16
@JohnRoberts - Good point. I remember reading some article a couple of years ago about a town (I think it was in New Jersey) that had a graffiti problem. The business leaders got together and decided to challenge those painting graffiti everywhere to a contest. They provided several walls on old buildings and warehouses and such and asked the graffiti artists to register to paint murals on the walls. They invited the public to vote on which mural was the best and the winner got $10,000. They then hired the best graffiti artists to paint murals throughout the old decaying industrial part of town. It gave life to that part of town and provided some beauty amidst the decay. It proved to be quite revitalizing plus some of the artists went on to have actual careers in art.
@sabtraversa (12897)
• Italy
28 Aug 16
Art a mean we can use to express ourselves, of course some of these creations can be awfully bad. It pisses me off when guys tag their nicknames on the walls important buildings. Or when they just write some stupid quote. However graffiti art is a good thing when it is well done and appears on forsaken places, it gives some color to the grey urban area. Not many graffiti here are worth being seen though. And yes, it's illegal. At least it is on public or private walls.
2 people like this
@eagletrek2 (5499)
• Kingston, New York
27 Apr 18
A lot of the graffiti How a lot of good work but they are in A wrong spot. Some of the people have Talent to make this kind of work They could of be making money in the art world With this kind of talent..i think people who Own pressure washing business like the Graffiti, it give them more business.
@marlina (154166)
• Canada
28 Aug 16
I hate graffiti and think that people should be arrested for touching properties that do no belong to them.
1 person likes this
29 Aug 16
For me ,it is vandalism.
@JohnRoberts (109857)
• Los Angeles, California
28 Aug 16
The graffiti in your photo is not art but ugly trash. Most graffiti is just that and there's a difference from a mural on a building side.
1 person likes this
• Zhengzhou, China
28 Aug 16
I have seen beautiful graffiti in my school, drawed by students of art clubs. Our school has a really long wall, I think the wall with graffiti is more beautiful than nothing. But, as for walls in city, in my mind, I don't think it's a good behavior.