Graffiti Is Art: Essay

Graffiti is something that is not taken into account from the positive point of view of society caused by people who could not identify their classification of art and whether it can be categorized as an art form. However, it has the power and value in a form of communication although it is an act that is not fully accepted by public authorities. Graffiti means a form of images painted in the building and often done without permission as a means of communicating with the public. Graffiti consists of many styles and types. Among them are tag, blockbuster, wild style, heaven, and many others. Graffiti artists will usually need some stencils, spray paints, brushes, gloss, and pens in order to complete the artwork within the right amount of time (Libcom.org, 2006).

As for the topic required for an individual research essay, 'Rage, The Flower Thrower' by Banksy is chosen as a piece of art. (Editors, 2014) Who is Banksy? He is an anonymous England-based street artist and is to be said as a vandal as well as a political activist. He was born on 1974 in Bristol, England, United Kingdom. Although he has been arrested countless times as he is believed to commit a crime for his graffiti artworks, his identity remains unknown even after years. Many speculations have been made after him so he is known among one the famous street artists due to the many stories, issues, and artworks that have been produced in most places. He began his artworks in the early 1990s in the gang of DryBreadZ Crew. He began using stencils and became widely recognized through his signature style as Banksy. Banksy is known for his artworks that portray striking images along with slogans. The artwork often conveys messages that are mostly related to political issues, hypocrisy, capitalism, and greed. He is also good at installing artwork through his famous piece, a live elephant painted with Victorian wallpaper pattern which means to enforce animal rights.

According to (Richardson, 2015), his artwork portrays a man dressed in something associated with traditional riot gear, with a bandana to cover his face and the cap back-to-front. He is in the motion of throwing his weapon but instead holding a bunch of flowers that depicts as a weapon. The implied meaning of the artwork produced by him is, that Banksy promotes peace instead of war so that is why he install this message in a high-conflict area which is Jerusalem. He is also telling that peace comes with hard work. The flowers that he is holding symbolize peace, life, and love as well as paying tribute to lost lives following the conflict that hit in connection with religion which happened to be in 2005. In the year of 2005, a gay parade in Jerusalem has been attacked by protestors causing the death of three people and the injury of big amount of people. Due to Banksy's personality of a pacifist and anti-war, this artwork has inspired many people who were involved in the incident in avoiding any violence happening within a short amount of time. Banksy has created an important image for everyone and aims to unite all people with different beliefs with different ways of understanding. However, most of them disagree with pacifism, hence it caused the artwork to involve controversial issues but some believe that he did a great job in stating his opinion that the attack is some sort of violence and it needs to be stopped.

Graffiti nowadays are being accepted by most youth in the world due to the interest in seeing something different and interesting to be uploaded on Social Media such as Instagram and Twitter and some are also looking for inspiration through graffiti artworks to conduct research for assignment requirements etc. It would be a violation of the law when graffiti artists did not get permission to paint on buildings but there are many ways to make it possible. Still, some people are still holding on to images of vandalized bus stops, alleyways along with damage to public property but that is not it because everything that is being portrayed is an art itself, and it is not just some normal paintings on the walls that bring no meanings. Graffiti has been found during ancient times such as on Egyptian monuments and walls in Pompeii. Graffiti signifies drawings, messages, or patterns that are painted or written on any buildings and walls. (Maric, 2014) How street art can be categorized under an art form, is due to the study that proves by the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st, the artworks from the artists have evolved into complex forms that involve many aspects of art. From graffiti and the stencils used to producing some sort of videos about art, it is believed that it has made its way into contemporary art. The earliest graffiti that started showing up in most places was in the 1920s and 1930s. Indirectly, it was a significant turning point in how street art was introduced, that somehow gained the attention of many art enthusiasts and was clarified as a form of true artistic expression. Since then, it has evolved into various forms of artistic expression that are eligible to be displayed to the public and even in art galleries and art markets. Although until now, it is a part of illegal thing to do, it has earned a place in the hearts of those who are passionate about art.

Street art today is a thriving art form with various techniques and patterns used. In addition, it is also often associated with the cultures and identities of certain religions, states, and many more. It becomes a popular culture nowadays and contributes much to mass media which in turn produces profits through the participation of youth in events, festivals, and programs which indirectly, can provide opportunities for the people, especially youth to demonstrate hidden talent within themselves so that they can generate creative works. Street art to be said has traveled a long way to become what it is today. It brings together all talented artists and artworks as street art and graffiti are evolving. Graffiti art cannot be done in a spontaneous way, in fact, it involves a great combination of imagination, planning, and effort. Although it might not be presented with permission and can be considered unsolicited art, that does not disqualify it as art. It requires several techniques of art which makes it unique and different than other artworks, hence, graffiti art should be valued and appreciated since it may have sentimental value, and whenever it is being created, it is done with heart and passion.

In addition, graffiti often influenced the present political and social issues leading graffiti artists to paint on the walls as a form of protest. Through current issues that occur around, people tend to invent creative ideas that relate to specific incidents or events due to any kind of expression they want to express. In other words, art can be identified in various forms, so it depicts qualities such as creativity, expression, and freedom so that they will be able to create artworks that are beyond their convention. Graffiti artists believed that they feel freedom by putting work on the street as they are satisfied as can convey the message to raise public awareness. Moreover, in addition to delivering such messages to protestors in Jerusalem, the artwork reminds people to feel alive, get inspired, and get motivated and it can make people think deeply. It requires a lot of creativity within oneself to have the guts to paint on the walls and interact within the public space. Therefore, graffiti artists are among the skilled ones and have a broad knowledge of art and other elements such as the use of lines, colors, perspectives, and many others (Cullen, 2016).

According to (Jefferson, 2018), although at first, Banksy was said to be conducting vandalism and that he was doing it against the law, as time passes, he received positive feedback from many people. He then is said to be a good example of how popular the artworks on the walls can be and to be considered as a form of art. Other than that, graffiti is an art and not vandalism due to it shows how passionate and talented the artists can be when it comes to painting and having it displayed. It can be used in different types of ways such as by carving, using spray paint, stencil on a surface and it is a way of building a creative imagination that may influence others which may lead to innovation and attracts large crowds.

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Graffiti has encountered many problems and issues for it to be clarified as an art. Graffiti is said to have caused various crises that caused the government to spend a lot of money on preventing graffiti in important places by cleaning it up and organizing various programs to spread awareness to reduce illegal graffiti artwork. According to (Richardson D., 1997), street graffitists usually come from middle-class families and do not have proper education, but there are some of them that make graffiti a protest sign because of the barriers to doing something that they are interested in. Moreover, the other challenges that need to be faced are that they are easy to get things for graffiti and think that they should be stolen instead of borrowed. Most street graffitists often face the thoughts of the public who say most of their works are boring and ridiculous, and that is the common thing that they need to face such as receiving more negative feedback instead of positive ones.

Graffiti is also said to be a symbol that government fails to protect citizens and properties to follow the lawbreakers. Graffiti has also resulted in lost revenue in public places resulting in an estimated $12 billion wasted annually in the United States for cleaning up the graffiti. Most people cannot accept graffiti as art until now due to some of them are not sure whether it can be considered a form of art or vandalism since there are no strong facts saying that graffiti is an art and that is why there are people who disagree to clarify it as art. Graffiti is also known around the world as crime and disorder problems such as public loitering, shoplifting materials, gang violence, and property destruction. There are different types of graffiti identified by (Weisel, 2002), such as gang graffiti which convey threats of violence, conventional graffiti which involves spontaneous acts, and ideological graffiti which often relates to political and religious issues. Each different type of graffiti gang is said to have different motives that may include anger and dissatisfaction, and most of the graffiti arises when they are bored, attempting failure in which case it can contribute to hateful messages or inculcate people to commit crimes or protestations.

As for Banksy’s artwork, he has been through various issues regarding all his artworks since most of them have the elements of mocking and making fun of public figures. Banksy's artworks are being painted on private buildings where at first it is said to be removed as it may affect the reputation of certain parties. However, Banksy still does not take legal action to rely on copyright and laws to prevent his artwork from being discarded. This is because Banksy painted his artwork illegally and he is a man who strongly believes that the copyright law is useless and is meant to be for losers. Banksy may be sued for allegedly acting against the law, but due to his anonymity, certain parties cannot detect his actual identity and did not able to get detailed and valid information about him. Furthermore, certain parties do not take reckless action against Banksy because they find it useless to take action against a street graffitist who is known over the world. However, the government is paying more attention to copyright laws to avoid getting any of them involved in trouble. He encountered the issue where he was disliked by the Palestinians due to the incident that happened in 2005 of a graffiti 'Rage, The Flower Thrower' due to the misunderstanding that happened regarding the artwork because the wall was illegal according to international law and it turns Palestine into an open prison. On the contrary, his artwork is meant on promoting peace instead of war. Banksy is said to develop his own revolution against the officials and everyone has been influenced by Banksy and get inspired by his work (Bonadio, 2017).

Despite all the problems and issues, graffiti is still considered an art form and should be accepted by society so that it gives the street graffitists the confidence and inspire them to generate more creative ideas in producing artworks legally and meet all the requirements which in turn will result in them to have a special place in society as a true artist instead of vandals.

(Lisa K Waldner, 2013) When talking about graffiti, we can relate to the street graffitists doing it for the purpose of something related to politics. There are political conflicts that happen around the world that may include ethnic, religious, cultural, and beliefs. Street graffitists such as Banksy who engage themselves in political graffiti often have a strong potential in delivering political messages as a form of expression for politicians. To a study being conducted, the action of graffiti can be a form of political activism. It aims to convey specific messages to audiences aiming to create awareness. For an instance, the graffiti in Gaza symbolizes a protestation by Israeli forces against Palestinians. Graffiti acts may be political but it also depends on the message to be delivered. Message from graffiti related to political issues can provide awareness to some individuals, for example, to stop the war, promote peace and freedom, and many more. Street graffitists like Banksy are often involved in politics as it may be an alternative way of expressing their creative works with a high hope that the combination of creative skills and powerful messages will result in a high quality of artwork that is acceptable to others. Graffiti with a political theme potentially foster political consciousness but it really depends on how the artists interpret the message in a form of images and writings. Therefore, political graffiti should be given attention as a method to deliver certain messages that may attract viewers as they see it.

Street graffitists or even verified artists strongly believe that the primary purpose of art is a form of expression and communication. This is the way they express their emotions, beliefs, or political views that will cause people to have a strong emotional reaction when looking at it. It does not necessarily just generate positive emotions, in fact, it can generate a mix of feelings such as anger, scared, sadness, confusion, and others as they create artworks that have a strong connection with feelings. For the artwork of “Rage, The Flower Thrower”, Banksy wanted to express his emotion of anger as he is known as an anti-war and pacifist. Therefore, the use of color black and a mix of various colors for the bouquet of flowers indicates a strong message to protestors.

The artwork of graffiti also has an aspect of formalism which focuses more on formal qualities such as elements and principles that are used in creating the artwork. Formal design qualities involve colors, lines, texture, and many others aim to create harmony and unity. The qualities of the artwork depend entirely on the use of elements that create certain responses from viewers. It will create an aesthetic response due to a formalist perspective. For the artwork, Banksy only uses black color by using spray paint but adds a mix of colors for the bouquet of flowers which formed a perfect figure of a man that indicates strong messages behind it.

Art can take on many forms, it can be said most things surrounding us can be considered art. Everyone understands the message behind every art differently and develops different emotions and opinions. Although graffiti is said to be inadequate to be categorized as art, the development of new styles and symbols is said to have influenced people as people nowadays mostly get easily attracted to things that are said to be negative. The involvement and attraction of the public ultimately have the potential to make negative things positive. Graffiti cannot be considered vandalism as it has the potential to make an area from a dull to an attractive environment. Graffiti is art caused by the use of art elements as symbol expressions to art that produce different emotions.