Is graffiti art or vandalism?
I feel it depends on what is being drawn and on what. Some graffiti is really beautiful, almost like paintings, it can express a message or a picture appealing to quite a number of people, it can actually embellish an area. Art is in the eye of the beholder, and this covers a very wide spectrum of people. Where I draw the line is when the graffiti is just a “quick scribble” with no universal (i.e. acceptable to quite a number of people) appeal or meaning, e.g. so-and-so WAZ ERE, or so-and-so loves so-and-so etc. – you know what I mean, close to what you find in public toilets… Vandalism is another issue though, as it means that the graffiti has caused damage to property, e.g. it’s not acceptable in language / pictures etc. and is also almost impossible to remove unless at some (sometimes great) cost. I can’t agree with this as being art. Art should have no intention to vandalise.
