Graffiti Editorial

It’s in the news and in our cities. Even in places like Altoona you can see it as you walk down the street. The “it” in question is, of course, Graffiti. Should graffiti be treated as art and be respected and looked at thoughtfully? Or should it be treated as vandalism, to be knocked down and punishable wherever it should rear its ugly head? I believe it to be situational. For example, if a graffiti “writer” walks up to a random wall and starts putting up their “tag” then it may very well be vandalism because they’re not considering the feelings of whoever may own the wall. But if permission is granted then there should be no problem with it. The problem is that, because the topic is so controversial most people really do only see graffiti as destructive and malicious. They don’t, therefore, see the artistic side of the culture.
For instance, some may not realize just how much time and effort goes into one “piece”, a detailed design consisting of more than two colors. First one must actually create the design on paper which in itself can take hours at a time. After that you must get all the appropriate colors needed to create the “piece” and use them to express yourself through it. Not to mention the actual difficulty in controlling the spray paint, holding the can just far away or close enough to get the right line thickness and even once that’s achieved a graffiti writer still has to worry about drips.
Now I do agree that tagging someone’s personal property is disrespectful and should not be condoned, public property that isn’t owned by any one specific person should be at least negotiable. On such property it is not disrespecting anybody and no harm is done. Granted despite all of this it should still be based on whether or not the writer’s intended design is tasteful and brings life to the spot rather than a lewd comment or a hastily done gang sign. And upon mentioning that it should also not be treated as a competition or a territorial action, for it then loses its quality of being a form of expression and is twisted into a game of “I’m better than you!”. So I suppose what I’m saying is not that graffiti should be legalized, but regulated so a few exceptions are made.