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Ka Yin Lau

Ms. Stefanie

English 8

24 May 2019

Graffiti Art

Imagine you have a dog. This new member of your family ​spends most of his time

running around playing with anything that he can bite. He ruined your school project and no

matter what you do, there is no way to stop him. You spent lots of time and money on

repairing the furniture and redoing your project. But this is what your puppy likes: playing

around and biting. In this case, the graffiti artist is the puppy and the government is “you.”

The graffiti artist just keeps creating artwork while the government removes his paintings.

But the government has no way to stop them. What will you do now? Did you think of

buying the puppy a toy for him to bite and chase around? Why waste the money or time on

cleaning and banning the graffiti art ​instead​ of giving them what they need? I think that the

government should provide a public space or area for the graffiti and street artists to draw and

create their art pieces.

If you ​often​ go drive around the old city in Chiang Mai, you will probably find plenty

of interesting graffiti artwork all around the town. ​First​, many people do not like how some

artists draw symbols or pictures on private properties. Lots of them think this is what graffiti

is. ​But there are actually two types of artists and drawings. There is tagging and graffiti (Kim,

2018).​ Tagging is when people draw a nickname or symbol illegally, while graffiti is when

the artist draws art and sends an important message to society. Many graffiti have deep

meaning and messages hidden inside them. Some graffiti is even legally drawn and has
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become a unique culture. The people should not mix the two types together because even

though they look and feel like they are similar, they impact society differently.

When you see a colourful painting and drawing, do you feel happier and more

excited? A graffiti artist said, ​“Art in the street makes people happy; it makes their day and

their commute more interesting. It adds character to what would otherwise just be grey and

boring” (10 reasons, 2018).​ Sometimes just a few little pieces of artwork can bring a city

back to life. In some places, graffiti have even become a tourist attraction and people go to

those walls and building just to take photos. But sometimes even though the painting looks

colorful and dreamy, the meaning inside can be deep and harsh. ​because there can be so many

meanings in graffiti, ​huge amounts​ of people enjoy it and think this is a form of art (kim,

2018).

Next​, this might be the biggest impact graffiti gallery has in society. ​Ever since the

exterior of the Denver lumberyard became a “permission wall” for the street artists to draw,

the owner of this lumberyard has made some changes in the area (McGhee, 2011). ​In the

article, the author talked about the different artists that contributed in this project. ​“Joseph

Marchitti, 24, who did some illegal tagging when he was younger, jumped at the opportunity

to create legal artwork at the former lumberyard ” (McGhee, 2011).​ Like this example​, most

graffiti artists probably do not want to do illegal things but that is their only choice. ​But​ if

there is a chance for these artists to draw legally, the probability of illegal tagging and

vandalism will decrease, causing less trouble.

People think graffiti is causing some teens or young adults to start doing illegal

activity and other more serious problems. Some might even think that the area is unsafe when

there is graffiti (Kephart,2018). ​ This problem can be related back to the first reason, tagging

and graffiti. Some people confuse the two of them together, which causes them to think in a
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different perspective.​ According to an article on graffiti, the author, Grace Kim, pointed out

that she “understand[s] why some may think that graffiti is considered vandalism, but I

believe with the right restriction and rules it can be categorized as art. All in all, with the right

message and the right placement of graffiti, many will come to an conclusion that graffiti is a

form of art ” (kim, 2018).​ Like what this quote said, some graffiti is not legal and the picture

or drawing didn’t actually give people the feeling of art. But if government controls where

the artist can paint, like giving them an area, graffiti can soon become an art for people to

feel.

In some places, the government and people are already taking action to help stop

vandalism and support more graffiti. In places like Buenos aires, the capital of Argentina, the

government made all of the public space and area into a canvas for the graffiti artists

(McClintic, 2015). This gives the artist a space to create artwork anywhere they want in the

city and express their emotions. An author of ​Silver City Daily Press​ pointed out, “Buenos

Aires originally made graffiti legal because it was so rampant throughout the city that it was

impossible to control” (McClintic, 2015). Since the government can’t take any control of the

street artists, the government gives them the freedom of drawing anywhere and creating a

new modern culture to the city.

There are some social enterprises that started taking some action. A group of people

from the Denver have provided a place for the artist to paint (McGhee, 2011). Different

artists have been there to make graffiti art. People also go there to look at the interesting

graffiti art with different style.). One of the artists that helped paint the wall used to do illegal

painting but he is happy that there is a place for him to paint legally.
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Street artists are passionate in drawing artwork that can help them to express their

feelings. But some people do not appreciate their hard work and don’t give them a chance to

present their work. Even though some of the artwork is illegal, graffiti artists put so much

effort and people do not see the beauty of the work. I hope the government and others can

think about giving the street artists a chance and enjoy their artwork.
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Reference list

10 Reasons To LOVE Street Art. (2016, August 19). ​Graffiti Kings. ​Retrieved from

https://graffitikings.co.uk/10-reasons-love-street-art/

Kim, G. (2018, June 4). Can graffiti ever be considered art? ​The Wrangler.​ Retrieved from

https://ylhsthewrangler.com/15619/features/can-graffiti-ever-be-considered-art/

Kephert, T. (2018, April 06). 5 ways graffiti vandals damage your community. ​Rural

Messenger. ​Retrieved from

https://www.ruralmessenger.com/kansas-news/family/5-ways-graffiti-vandals-damage

-your-community/

McClintic, S. (2015, September 4). Graffiti event gives artists legal concrete canvas. ​Silver

​ etrieved from
City Daily Press. R

http://www.scdailypress.com/site/2015/10/04/graffiti-event-gives-artists-legal-concret

e-canvas/

McGhee, T. (2016, May 04). "Permission walls" help create a canvas for managing graffiti.

Denver Post. ​Retrieved from

https://www.denverpost.com/2011/02/09/permission-walls-help-create-a-canvas-for-

managing-graffiti/