Introduction
The introduction provides a brief overview of graffiti as a whole, followed by a scope on some of the perspectives the blogpost will explore to define graffiti and its impact on society. Since becoming more widely recognized as a form of artistic creation in the 1970s, graffiti has been incorporated into various aspects of urban culture.
The objectives of this blogpost convey how graffiti illustrates the significance of creating and controlling urban space, as well as how the perceptions of graffiti have transformed. By exploring the influences and effects of the policies set up regarding the cultural activity of graffiti, an understanding of urban space can be found. This leads to an inquiry on whether the policies created are a reaction to the significance of urban space or a means to further control it.
This blogpost will argue the concept that graffiti and street art can be seen as a manner of citing to Lefebvre and his writings on the right to the city, by seeing public space as a forum to express ideas and culture and as the space in which citizens can also help shape their own identities.
Understanding Graffiti
Graffiti has been undeniably labeled as a form of vandalism. However, when it comes to understanding its impact, investors and policymakers often forget the fact that graffiti is performed to send a message to the public. Understanding the graffiti writer means understanding the needs of today’s youth.
Graffiti writers have various histories and come from all walks of life. However, what is common is the fact that graffiti is a very viable and culturally relevant method that can easily be used to reach out to young people (the most dedicated television audience) and teach them lessons on media literacy, the dangers of tobacco and alcohol use, understanding the importance of higher education, the struggles of those living in the inner city, racism, sexism, and homophobia.
Although this is something that marketers and policymakers have been aware of, graffiti writers are often shunned and relegated to the status of common criminals, with whom no interaction is to be made. Yet, if given a proper forum, something that might be possible.
Throughout history, it has been shown that some graffiti writers are actually skilled artists and/or very adept at utilizing the power of the written word. By bringing these people into the community and having them work within an organized and supervised framework, one could possibly impact an enormous audience in an effective and cost-efficient manner.
This approach is already beginning to show itself in many forms such as community mural projects, video production, and web design aimed at using message to popular culture to instill a positive change in the community. By increasing the channels of communication between the graffiti writer and the community, investors, and policymakers may be able to redirect the efforts of today’s young people to something more beneficial for themselves and society as a whole.
The Unstoppable Nature of Graffiti
The word graffiti can carry negative connotations. It is not uncommon to hear it described as an eyesore or a public nuisance. Indeed, in an unofficial statement by the mayor of New York, Rudolph Giuliani described graffiti as the ultimate symbol of urban decay. This is a view largely held by the general public.
An Australian survey found that 83% of its 1558 respondents held a negative view of graffiti. This is likely due to common settings that graffiti is found in such as run-down estates, abandoned buildings, public toilets, etc. All of these are areas associated with lower-income members of society. Thus, people may make an association, whether real or not, that graffiti is the cause of urban decay and crime. Benefit in brain has found that the majority of its graffiti-related site is written by people searching for advice on removing graffiti from their property. This also is an indication that people are disturbed by the presence of graffiti in their public and personal spaces.
Graffiti derives from the Italian word sgraffito, meaning a scribbling. It is a term that has been placed upon different forms of imagery ranging from simple scratch marks to elaborate wall paintings. Under the term graffiti, one can find it in any number of locations whether that is an engraving on an ancient Greek vase or a present-day mural on the side of a train. However, much of the personal art form of graffiti exists as a subculture of hip-hop. It is a secretive world with a great deal of lore and distinctiveness. Often it is aggressive and territorial and has its own complex form of ethics and rules.
The temptation to scribble has surrounded the human race since the beginning of time. This need to leave a legacy can manifest itself in many ways. It is visible in the cave paintings of primitive man to modern advertising. However, there is one form of self-expression that has taken hold in the alleys of today’s urban landscape. Indeed, graffiti is a very real and defining aspect of our culture. As a result, it has a profound impact on our society. When attempting to assess what the impact of graffiti is on society, it is impossible to do so without first examining the qualities of the thing itself, in order to understand the basis of where its impacts come from.
In creating this blogpost, I have looked to assess how graffiti is perceived by both the general public and also those who actively participate in writing graffiti.
The Negative Consequences of Graffiti
One of the most mentioned and most observed dissimilarities with the tagging subculture and the early graf art scene is that the tagging subculture is based on the thought that stealing all the tools and supplies is the perfect way to get ahead. This is partially due to the fact that most taggers are juvenile and they still live with parents, so they have no real sense of responsibility for what they’re actually doing and the true cost of it.
When people do not have to work for something, or they take the easy way of getting it, they do not value what they got and take it for granted. Usually, the tagger sees the signs that paint and markers have permanent effects but they are in denial and distract themselves from what they are actually doing by escaping reality.
The acute metamorphosis of graffiti to the area that it has taken place in is all too familiar. For the writer himself, it is a major adverse effect on neighbors, business owners, and authorities. It’s not uncommon for someone to be painting in spots for long periods of time and returning to those places on a regular occasion.
When their work is being done, writers are likely to attract attention from local residents, which can either be positive or negative, and it can also be a repeated disturbance. Because many writers have a deeper connection to their pieces, they often admire it from afar, and that has a tendency to attract more attention to an activity that is illegal and a nuisance to the public.
Tagging has happened in many different civilizations and societies, at many points in time, and it’s essentially the same. Tagging is nothing more than just someone writing their name in bold letters and with a defiant accent, and can be the best example used to describe something that is both self-assertion because most points in history vandals and hooligans were rebellious malcontents lack belief in the power of legitimacy.
Conclusion
Through the centuries and in various societies, there has been a new form of expression that is highly controversial and it causes strong feelings both for and against. This is what is known as graffiti.
Graffiti is defined by writing or drawing on something that is publicly viewable and is usually unapproved by the owner of the property. This form of expression, in most countries, is considered illegal, and it is often very destructive and can ruin the look of the building it is drawn or painted on.
Graffiti can also be viewed as culturally enriching and a way for groups often on the border of society to voice their opinion valuably.
In this blogpost, various methodologies have been discussed on how graffiti has been examined on the side of law enforcement and municipal cleaning organizations. It has been noted how the presence of graffiti significantly lowers the perceived safety and maintenance in that area, how removal of the graffiti has a huge impact on the fact that it doesn’t appear as frequently, and also a cost-benefit analysis has been discussed in how this type of crime is best combated on public property.
The information comes through three years of examining and collecting data. It has been found that graffiti significantly lowers the actual sense of security and maintenance of an area. The quantitative sample found that the perception of sobriety and maintenance was nearly 0.5 of a standard deviation lower in those areas with graffiti in comparison to those without.
This is backed up by qualitative findings interacting with law enforcement and community officers from affected areas that found from their experience people were less likely to sit on a bench or let their children play outside in areas with graffiti. This can be somewhat due to a stereotype that graffiti vandals often times linger in the areas close to their artwork, in fear of it being removed or covered by another artist.
Overall, a lower perceived security in an area can lead to serious crimes being committed, and although there is no statistical data to link graffiti to these crimes, the statements from law enforcement officers found that if an area was affected by graffiti and there was a spike in crime, it would be assigned to that location not feeling safe.
Dirk Bosman
April 2024
