Graffiti: Is it an art?

[Earth_First]

Poll question: Graffiti: Is it an art?

First of all: let's make some clearly defined parameters on what is NOT graffiti. What it is NOT is your initials. Placing your initials someplace is called tagging. Tagging is clearly done by certain individuals in the interest of seeing your "tag" everywhere. Because of such interest, many items and objects that are normally off-limits to most graffiti artists are defaced, thus giving the entire art-form and word in general a bad connotation. Graffiti is also not many other things, but I will leave them out in order to create a dialog on the subject.

So what say you? Is graffiti an art? Or is it just vandalism?

[In_The_Wind]

1. Graffiti can be beautiful in the right place.

[Earth_First]

2. I agree.

It can be quite aesthetically pleasing if properly placed and professionally completed.

[In_The_Wind]

3. There are so many abandoned buildings alongside the highway in NYC.

One year they painted scenes on the boarded up holes where windows used to be. It didn't change reality but it made the drive less depressing for the commuters.

[Heidi]

4. I love graffiti.

Not far from where we live, someone has tagged _in English_: "Can't stop a revolution." I smile every time I see that.

[genie_weenie]

5. Ah, How man clamours for a certain definition of Art!

Dada and the Dutch Masters? Both art? Both as important? Both as skilled? Both meaningful?

Who determines?

edit: to include my answer was yes it is clearly art...

[TallahasseeGrannie]

6. I teach art

and often teach graffiti but I refer to it as "art in public places."

Helps with the parents. Street graffiti has morphed into mural art.

I don't care for tagging, because it costs a lot of public money to clean up.