What are your views on "Graffiti"?

[Fragma]

I would like to know what peoples views are on Graffiti as an illegal art form.

Please don't discuss anything to do with Legal graffiti as I'm not interested in that..

Also don't refer to artists that do stencils etc... like Banksy for example..
I want to know your views on Graffiti not street art.

/Discuss

[Korg]

It is a good thought........

[Eve]

I support the legalisation of graffiti by city councils. Street art is an example of how graffiti in public places has been legalised.

Graffiti which enlivens previously unused spaces should be encouraged. Elsewhere, it damages private and public property. As an outlet for creative remaking of space, it should absolutely be encouraged by progressive city councillors.

[Fragma]

Legalize it & it will no longer be graffiti... Graffiti writers don't want it to be legal. I know this from talking to hundreds of writers across the UK.

I think people need to realise the reasons that people actually do this illegally..
It's not just a bit of fun, something to do to pass the time etc..
For most writers, graffiti is a lifestyle choice. I know people that have been in prisons & have had thousands of pounds worth of fines for graffiti but they still do it.. Not because they want to be rebellious or because they want to annoy everybody, but because they feel doing graffiti is the only way they can express themselves properly.. It's the only way they can get noticed..

There are all these advertisements that are slammed into our faces everywhere we go, yet people just accept it..

Also,
@Eve
You said Street art is an example of legalized graffiti...
Graffiti and street art are 2 totally different styles of art.
Street art includes stencils, wheat-pasting, stickers, prints etc..
Graffiti involves using spray cans & a steady hand to either create your piece by following a prepared sketch, or free styling it from memory & experience.

[Heli0s]

I love graffiti, illegal and legal. I love the way it looks, the unique style every artist has, and the message some of the artists try to get across. So don't think I'm anti-graffiti when I say, of course it's illegal when somebody tags up a train cart or the side of a building or the wall separator on a highway. It's considered vandalism because you're defacing public property. Everything belongs to somebody and a person can't just start tagging it up if it doesn't belong to him/her.

[0h D 3 A R]

I'm a newbie into Graffiti, but I love it.
I've began to do throwup's on bathroom walls and gym bleachers at my school.
I don't do it because its cool, I do it because it gives me a thrill and I can make it into whatever I want.
Its a great hobby, my parents even support me behind it, my dad especially, he's an artist and he encourages me to keep drawing.

[Eve]

Legalize it & it will no longer be graffiti... Graffiti writers don't want it to be legal. I know this from talking to hundreds of writers across the UK.

I think people need to realise the reasons that people actually do this illegally..
It's not just a bit of fun, something to do to pass the time etc..
For most writers, graffiti is a lifestyle choice. I know people that have been in prisons & have had thousands of pounds worth of fines for graffiti but they still do it.. Not because they want to be rebellious or because they want to annoy everybody, but because they feel doing graffiti is the only way they can express themselves properly.. It's the only way they can get noticed..

There are all these advertisements that are slammed into our faces everywhere we go, yet people just accept it..

Graffiti subculture involves a contrarian position against the system and illegality is desired because of it. I understand that to legalise it defeats the purpose and the meaning of graffiti. The tension between graffiti artists who desire illegal expression and city councillors who desire a compromise is an ongoing disagreement.

Also,
@Eve
You said Street art is an example of legalized graffiti...
Graffiti and street art are 2 totally different styles of art.
Street art includes stencils, wheat-pasting, stickers, prints etc..
Graffiti involves using spray cans & a steady hand to either create your piece by following a prepared sketch, or free styling it from memory & experience.

There are graffiti artists who challenge what graffiti styles mean. I have seen stenciled art which is illegal and spray-can art which is legal. There are also styles which incorporate stencils, prepared sketches and freestyle. Like other forms or art -- fine art, photography, sculptures -- there is a history and meaning to how these styles evolved. Many art forms push the boundaries of style and propriety. The illegality of graffiti is not unlike the illegality of youth nudity in art, for example.

[ShuTdown]

Yeah, I love graffiti too, I have few graffiti arts on walls in my school