Graffiti an Art or Deviant Act?

Graffiti as art is one of those "in the eye of the beholder" type questions.


Graffiti art is an art form. The reasons, including aesthetic criteria, as to why it is an art form far outweigh the criticism of illegality, incoherence, and nonstandard presentation. However graffiti art overcomes these concerns and thereby can be considered as an art form.Graffiti art originated in the late 1960's, and it has been developing ever since. However, it is not readily accepted as being art like those works that are found in a gallery or a museum. Most of the opposition to graffiti art is due to its location and bold, unexpected, and unconventional presentation, but its presentation and often-illegal location does not necessarily disqualify it as art.In sociology Graffiti is still an argumentative topic, wither it is a form of Art or a deviant behavior. Societies throughout history and to the twenty-first century continue to hold mixed feelings toward graffiti. According to Grove’s Dictionary of Art, the term “graffiti” derives from the Greek word “graphein” meaning, “to write.” However the term has also been defined as any inscriptions (drawings or words) scratched or scrawled on public surfaces.The Canadian Oxford English Dictionary defines deviance as “the behaviour or characteristics of a deviant,” a person who “departs from the expected rules of conduct” and strays from normal, social standards.


Graffiti as a Form of Deviance
The hip-hop subculture holds a strong place in reality. In effect, the situation has grown to cause much concern to everyday citizens. Graffiti can be seen as a threat to the quality of life in a community because millions of taxpayers ’dollars are spent on its removal;in fact public funds can be entirely swept up by graffiti eradication.
The act has become an illegal offense because it implies the act of damaging property
without authorized permission. The public sees graffiti as an act of deviance because it decreases the value property, detracts from the beauty of neighbourhoods and hurts tourism. Unattended pieces of graffiti give off the visual impression of an “uncaring and indifferent society.

Graffiti as an Art Form


Since the start of modern graffiti in New York in the late 1960s, there has been much debate over its legitimacy as an art form. Many see graffiti as a gang related and merit-less, while others hail graffiti as a legitimate art form of the utmost importance. In this argument of graffiti as an art form, one must make the clear distinction between tags or scrawling and spray-paint murals.Aspects of the art world have even accepted graffiti as art, having had many gallery showings (Powers, 1996). In 2004, the Cultural Olympiad held a festival of graffiti art,Chromopolis, in Greece. Chromopolis invited sixteen graffiti artists from seven different countries to “paint” on public walls in ten Greek cities. In addition to the art galleries featuring graffiti, auctions have occurred specifically for the purposes of selling the works of graffiti artists.The fact that society views graffiti as subversive has to do, in large part, with its appeal and the identity of the graffiti subculture. Graffiti can be seen as an art form for the lower class to rise up and have a voice; it is about the reclamation of public space and the denouncing of ownership.








Sources:

http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:3sCNcl4XsqIJ:www.sustain.ubc.ca/pdfs/seeds_05/winter/graffitti/A%2520Sociological%2520Analysis%2520of%2520Graffiti.pdf+graffiti+as+deviant&hl=en&gl=qa&pid=bl srcid=ADGEEShOUcGIoK892qLDginHXg4htueEpFgl_JgJ1_Ip8GojYgZBTh9DeUH26CHCV40rJplz9EnxPYsP9r_lEtnHvpQWCmUMt15CQoCSLzm-_bmn-ZboT02179mJ20LN1bj911yMqeUH&sig=AHIEtbTHwvFAR6t7wzPZYxG-L_8dEdKmpA

http://www.graffiti.org/faq/stowers.html