Graffiti Art
Graffiti art is expressive painting with a personal touch or signature, called a tag. Graffiti art emerged in the 1970’s in the subways of New York City. It is generally a deliberate inscription on someone else’s property. Such property includes buildings, bridges, billboards, vehicles, and train cars.
Is graffiti art or a criminal act of vandalism? That question is up for debate. The answer depends on who you ask. They law and those who have had property tagged by such graffiti artists definitely believe it is a crime. Those doing the art believe it is simply an expression of their right to freedom.
Graffiti artists are often stereotyped as high school drop outs who can’t properly read or write. However, they have simply developed their own language, referred to as slang that they incorporate in their graffiti. Graffiti artists are very smart when it comes to encrypting important messages into their work. While it means nothing to most of us, the message says something to those in that world. Many task forces throughout the United States have special units that work to decode such writings. The Brooklyn Museum has graffiti art on display, classified as a modern art form.
