Art Censorship: Why Graffiti Should Be Considered an Accepted from of Art
Art Censorship: Why Graffiti Should Be Considered an Accepted Form of Art
Imagine almost 50 years ago an art form was invented that changed the whole dynamic of art. Graffiti became the most talked about topic during the 1960s. Young artists used graffiti as a way to express themselves. It was also used by political activists and gangs to make statements. Graffiti was a way to spread messages; not only that, it was a competition. Artists were on the come-up and took every opportunity to demonstrate their talent. Tagging, the signing of an artist’s name or a representation of themselves, was one of the most popular uses of graffiti. The artists would tag as many subways and trains as possible. They were paving their way to fame and wouldn’t stop until everyone knew who they were. After tagging became more competitive, artists started becoming more creative with their writing. Instead of just writing their name, they started forming illustrations around it. Graffiti had been taken to another level. After a while, the law started to work on more severe penalties for graffiti. Paint was locked in cages and unable to be sold to minors. Security in cities had gotten tighter and many writers had gotten frustrated, while others refused to give up. Eventually, law enforcement became stricter than ever before which minimized the number of artists who still felt the need to express their ideas through graffiti. At that point, city administrators and others who were heavily involved in communities where graffiti was a recurring act of self expression no longer accepted it as “art” (History Part One). Without realizing that graffiti was a form of art and instead just a cruel act of violence, it was banned. People didn’t realize that those who created graffiti were in fact artists. They were talented and just wanted to show off their skills. Taking over subways and trains might not have been the right way to go about expressing their art, but that most definitely did not
Imagine almost 50 years ago an art form was invented that changed the whole dynamic of art. Graffiti became the most talked about topic during the 1960s. Young artists used graffiti as a way to express themselves. It was also used by political activists and gangs to make statements. Graffiti was a way to spread messages; not only that, it was a competition. Artists were on the come-up and took every opportunity to demonstrate their talent. Tagging, the signing of an artist’s name or a representation of themselves, was one of the most popular uses of graffiti. The artists would tag as many subways and trains as possible. They were paving their way to fame and wouldn’t stop until everyone knew who they were. After tagging became more competitive, artists started becoming more creative with their writing. Instead of just writing their name, they started forming illustrations around it. Graffiti had been taken to another level. After a while, the law started to work on more severe penalties for graffiti. Paint was locked in cages and unable to be sold to minors. Security in cities had gotten tighter and many writers had gotten frustrated, while others refused to give up. Eventually, law enforcement became stricter than ever before which minimized the number of artists who still felt the need to express their ideas through graffiti. At that point, city administrators and others who were heavily involved in communities where graffiti was a recurring act of self expression no longer accepted it as “art” (History Part One). Without realizing that graffiti was a form of art and instead just a cruel act of violence, it was banned. People didn’t realize that those who created graffiti were in fact artists. They were talented and just wanted to show off their skills. Taking over subways and trains might not have been the right way to go about expressing their art, but that most definitely did not