What's appearing on our streets.......vandalism or art?

<<Emily, thank you for NOT getting it>>

 

thanks for talking down to me like that, will, i really appreciate it

 

 

i am glad that this topic has sparked a lot of responses and i respect everyones opinion on it and would expect the same respect from everyone else

Emily, as you talked down to us by implying only the people who

agreed with you could understand.

>Richard, re-read what Ed said - ...it can be in certain isolated cases...

 

Brad, I did read that. Some people object to graffiti because of the art defacement aspect.

It follows logically that where architecture isn't art -- presumably dull, cookie-cutter

buildings -- graffiti on it isn't defacing art. Other people object to defacement on general

grounds.

 

I'm not trying to convince everyone graffiti is right. I don't believe it's right. I think there

are examples which are interesting and worth photographing. It's illegal. Legalising it

would rob graffiti of its point.

>Do we want to get into the discussion about the nature of art?

>Many supposedly great artists have done work on commission, for

>example the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Does that invalidate their art?

>We may have to talk about fine art rather commercial art or craft.

 

in fact the vast majority of art up until the mid 20th century was done on commission and paid for.

Rembrand worked almost purely on commission, Bach and Schubert were employed. Shakespeare wrote his plays on commission from theaters and the Royal family.

 

Grafitti is vandalism, pure and simple.

The few who use the medium as a form of art do so only in designated areas and usually either on order or at the least with permission from the owners of the property.

They also aren't done with their work in 2-3 minutes, they take hours or days.

Nike protest

While fretting about "Graffiti is anti-social behaviour, and draws its power from being subversive." the real subversive behavior by power hungry bureucrats and politicians, many of which are just as mentally unbalanced as the taggers, goes unchecked and undiscussed, perhaps because their misbehavior is not manifested in photographs or smeared 2D hobglob; but when it becomes graphically interesting, as an example Lord Profumo and Miss Keeler, things suddenly can become quite interesting. My interest always is, what was the "tagger" mentality doing BEFORE spray paint became so readily available??????? (Stealing mopeds??)