Introduction
Dear Lady Pink,
Congratulations on your outstanding graffiti talent, which has thrived for many years. I am writing to you on behalf of the city administration. My intention is to clarify the purpose behind graffiti art. I would like to explain why some of the artists seem to cross the line in terms of their performances and engage in tangible vandalism. This letter is addressed to any of the talented graffiti artists who wish to explore their talents and earn a living. As you know, many graffiti artists do not even benefit from their work, and the majority of graffiti sculptures are associated with crime. I am willing to change it in order to stop depriving artists of the right to thrive using their talent. Nevertheless, there should be a thorough, consistent understanding of the topic for graffiti artists to make perfect use of their abilities to improve their well-being.
I think we should come to an ultimate agreement as to what can be considered vandalism because we should protect the important public and private property from destruction. This letter is a peace treaty which explains the reasons why graffiti art can be considered vandalism.
Getting to the Point
Graffiti is a special form of visual communication where an artist or a group of artists paints a public space to pass a specified message without the owner’s permission. Although most of the painting is associated with street gangs intending to give a letter to the public, some of it is done by authentic artists. Some advantages of graffiti are that it helps bring art to the public and brightens the streets. Graffiti can further be considered culturally significant as the minorities in a nation can use it to pass a message to the government and one another. Vandalism is the process of deliberately destroying private or public property. An example of vandalism is experienced when a person swallows the wall of a building when it has unethical paintings. Despite its positive impacts on the community, graffiti can be considered a blight. Graffiti is vandalism because it wastes tax payer’s money to clean it and depreciates the property where the graffiti is drawn.
Why Connect Graffiti to Vandalism?
Most graffiti artists operate with impunity and believe they can draw public and private places without implication. The artists need to comply with the ethical standards practiced in the visual communication profession. Since they are not regulated, they may end up presenting information that is not appropriate for some age groups. Although it appears entertaining when artists decorate the city walls with data, I believe you understand that the message passed by graffiti performers may need to be revised to protect certain audiences from exposure. Ultimately, most graffiti art is destroyed immediately after being created (Richardson 12). Honestly, I feel bad about that, but I also know that graffiti does not have editorial policies, unlike other art forms, which are regulated and have to pass through editors before release.
I understand that graffiti artists like you hardly seek permission from the property owners before painting it. If you did, it would most likely hinder the purpose of graffiti art. Nevertheless, it can be considered wreckage because when it is done without consulting the owner, it will most likely have to be destroyed. The owner will incur unplanned costs to destroy the walls while removing the graffiti. Please realize that it indirectly leads to the destruction of property; hence, the city administration considers it vandalism.
The problem here is that it is not just my personal opinion. A research article by Kruzhkova et al. proved that neighborhoods with graffiti are deemed unsafe, and citizens feel unsafe in an attempt to restore safety in the district (35). Knowing that graffiti is perceived to infringe on a community’s peaceful coexistence, efforts to destroy graffiti result in the destruction of property in the discourse. Most graffiti works are not found in museums or galleries but only in public places, which are, in most cases, illegal. The art depicts creativity and the ability to convey a strong message to society (Colombini, par. 4). Our local artists must develop an ethical framework to regulate their messages and make it legal where they would get the right permits and permission before presenting their talents.
Although people may argue that graffiti artists should practice their talents without interference, the patterns of their activities resemble destruction. Vandalism cannot be termed as senseless damage to property because an organized group of people does it for a specific reason. Graffiti practice is similar to other activities of planned destruction because members of graffiti groups perform the art away from the public’s glance. Artists always do it at night, and people wake up to a decorated wall, which is both exciting and disappointing at the same time (Obolenskaya 23). In order to bypass disappointment, the artist would first seek permission from the building owners. It is imperative to note that the art is regarded as destructive because the cost of preventing graffiti and removing it from walls is costly to the members of the community.
Conclusion
Graffiti art is common in urban centers where it is printed on walls and other surfaces without the owners’ permission. I wholeheartedly stand behind art being an expression of special talents, but we cannot reward the destruction of property. Not everyone agrees with the messages graffiti artists tend to share, but I truly hope you will agree with mine. Human talent is too priceless, and it must be put to positive use. There is no point for us to destroy property and keep going back and forth in our argument. I suggest we find common ground and help local graffiti artists acquire their respective licenses to practice ethical drawings that contain important yet pre-approved messages to society.
Works Cited
Colombini, Alain. “The Duality of Graffiti: Is It Vandalism or Art?” CeROArt, 2018, Web.
Kruzhkova, O. V., et al. “Functions of Vandalism in Youth Behaviour: From Personality to Society.” The Education and Science Journal, vol. 20, no. 10, 2018, pp. 95-120.
Obolenskaya, Alena. “Investigation of Vandal Behavior of the Social Situation in the Territory in the Period of Destruction.” KnE Life Sciences, 2018, pp. 672-679.
Richardson, Paula. “Where Vandalism Becomes Art.” Interaction, vol. 47, no. 4, 2019, pp. 50-51.