Illegal Art

Art is a medium that has no limits.

The techniques, interpretations, and functions associated with this realm come and go and change every day—however what it will always hold true to at the core of its existence, is that it is a free expression.

 It can capture emotions and ideas that mankind could never form into words and cements them into cultures and history for centuries to come.

So why, are some forms of art frowned upon? Why is it that when a great painter sits down to contemplate the beauty of a landscape, paintbrush in hand, he is seen as genius but when a street artist decides to enhance the public’s viewing experience and provides a mural or message he or she is viewed as not an artist, like the painter, but an offender?

There are several reasons behind this mindset. The first is simple. Many members of society view street art and graffiti as a defacing of private and or public property. They wish to see art hanging on a wall, printed in a magazine or posted on a blog. In the eyes of much of society, to walk down the street and suddenly see a building livened with color or decorated with design is to recognize it as a nuisance. They will rarely be awed by its beauty or struck by its difficulty and effort.

But why is this?

Again the answer is quite simple and comes in two parts. The first is comfort. The majority of human beings do not thrive well during change. They prefer to remain in control of their surroundings and become caught off guard and sore to the idea of individuals, in this case graffiti artists, dictating the appearance of their residence and work areas.

The second reason is due to the association that comes along with graffiti—and that is gangs and violence. This type of graffiti is generally used to ‘mark turf,’ or display signs of violence or threats of that to come. Of course this type of graffiti is relevant and possesses a greater problem than simply artistic taggers however this is only one branch of the graffiti world.

There are so many artists who take to the streets and adopt the public setting as their canvas in order to deepen the thinking of the society in which they take part and express to the greater public the world in which they find their joy and creativity.