Why Is Graffiti Considered Art?
In order to explain or debate graffiti as art, it’s almost necessary to debate the definition of art itself, since in order to talk about how something like graffiti fits inside that definition, you have to know what that definition is.
First, then, let’s consider the definition of art as it applies to aesthetics. Art does not have to be beautiful, but it does have to have a certain appearance that causes the viewer to think. A visual appeal is found in most art, even if it’s the appeal of revulsion; whether or not art is beautiful, it shows a skill of expression that makes the viewer want to look, listen, or read.
Graffiti, then, constitutes art in the sense that it creates a visual aesthetic that tends to draw people in. Graffiti artists often use symbols known only amongst themselves to label and tag their work, and these symbols are both intriguing and mysterious to the general public.
Many graffiti artists are just plain visually gifted – the artistic talent expressed in some graffiti pieces is absolutely astounding, and is made all the more impressive by the fact that it’s done using tools as imprecise as spray paint cans, and often done illegally, and thus “on the fly,” with the artists having to work quickly under precarious conditions.
There’s something impressive about making a visual impact with all of these factors working against you, and the fact that graffiti artists manage to do it speaks to their skill on an artistic level.
Graffiti Art: Making a Statement
Of course, visual appeal isn’t all that makes a piece of art what it is. The other major factor of art is the fact that, by creating it, the artist is attempting to communicate something. Whether it’s as simple as a statement of beauty, or as intense as a political outcry, art is intended to get a message across from the artist to the audience.
In a sense, nobody does this as well as graffiti artists. The subversive act of painting graffiti illegally in the first place is a statement within itself, and the works are meant to communicate things, too. Graffiti artists use symbols, words, letters, pictures, murals, and tags to express what they have to say both to each other and to the public at large.
Whether the message gets across to the audience, whether the viewer understands what’s being said, is not always the point: the point is the act of expression itself, which nobody can deny is taking place in graffiti art.
The point of art is communication: in some ways, graffiti does this better than other, more accepted, art forms.
Does it Matter that it is Illegal?
The fact that graffiti is illegal really has no impact on its status as an art form – provided, that is, you define “art” as something with aesthetic interest that communicates a message. If you define art otherwise, perhaps graffiti falls outside of those boundaries.
It’s really up to each individual to decide. But art, by its very nature, can’t really be contained, and attempting to say that only those paintings that appear on canvas, or those drawings that are done on paper, “count” as art is a limiting point of view. It’s much more freeing and interesting to consider art in whatever form it happens to appear, and to judge it not on the method of delivery, but on how effectively it gets its point across and interests the viewer.
Why is graffiti considered art? Because it communicates a message, draws the viewer in (whether he enjoys the work or not), and requires some skill to perform. In some ways, graffiti is one of the ultimate arts, because it does what art does best: challenges the status quo and forces people to think.