Graffiti: Street Art or Destructive Menace?

The problem with this question is that its answer changes with your perspective. From the standpoint of a landowner or public works manager, graffiti is the work of people with little to do and even less respect for the property of others. For graffiti artists they are making their mark in a very public way, promoting art in underserved communities or bringing something beautiful to a blighted area.

Further, not all graffitists are created equal. Some are simply taggers; their “art” is nothing more than a gang sign or personal nickname scrawled across a park bench, the side of a subway car or on the wall of a privately owned building.

However, some graffitists are true artists. For example, Banksy is a well-respected artist who operates primarily in London. His work has also been found in several locations across America, including Boston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. There’s even a documentary film about him. Most other graffitists exist somewhere on the spectrum between Banksy and the taggers, between artist and menace.

However, all graffitists do have one thing in common: if they are not operating with the express permission of the city or landowner whose property they are currently defacing to express themselves, what they are doing is in fact illegal. Graffiti is a form of vandalism which under its broadest definition includes all manner of damaging property that does not belong to you, including breaking windows, arson, slashing tires, tee-peeing houses, and keying cars. All of which seem completely juvenile to anyone over say 18 years old (and even to some under that age limit).

In some cases, the cost of repairing and repainting property after repeated graffiti attacks has become so costly that some graffiti victims are seeking out the assistance of local artists to help combat graffiti through collaborative programming. Cities and owners commission murals on heavily tagged walls and hope that other graffitists, who view themselves as artists, won’t deface the work of another artist. They also bring street artists into local schools to speak about the importance of caring for public spaces and the differences between “artistic expression and vandalism.”

Cities are also tired of the repair costs associated with graffiti and vandalism; they’re taking a harsh line on the crime, setting up graffiti abatement task forces, which operate across agency lines and gather police, public works, parks and recreation departments to collaborate and find comprehensive solutions to the problem.  Cities are also increasing punishments for repeat offenders and banning the sale of graffiti paraphernalia (i.e. spray paint and other materials) to people under age 18.

With such creative and comprehensive programs, maybe a balance can be struck between artist and landowner where both can benefit. Time will tell if the collaboration can survive.