Over the past several years, graffiti was considered an unacceptable art, which was not acceptable in any form, and governments were striving to destroy it. However, for some people, graffiti is a part of life and their personal understanding of culture. For instance, in some parts of the world, graffiti is considered the cultural heritage of a nation, and this type of art is not judged by states (Sitas 823). A study of the history of graffiti presents a broad cultural concept that helps the art survive and begin restoring the original idea of this activity.
Nowadays, the definition of art is presented as vandal action which destroys the appearance of any city. Some people see beauty in this art, and some take all possible measures to minimize the number of graffiti in their cities. This type of art has existed since dawn civilization, but in developing cities, its negative pressure appeared in the 1980s (Ross 1). Graffiti refers to words, figures and images, and after many years, this concept has hardly changed, causing the expansion in drawing technologies. One of the first places where graffiti originated is Pompeii, and it was an important part of the culture. Many people of ancient times carried a different from the modern understanding meaning of graffiti, and pictures drawn or scraped on walls had social, political, lyrical, and even environmental messages (Benefiel 81). Streets in Pompeii had a variety of graffiti that survived to modern times. However, the original motive disappeared, and this art was considered vandalism.
According to Bloch & Phillips, psychologists and sociologists believe that graffiti is how people of different backgrounds express themselves and their emotions. Some street pictures show current social problems that ordinary citizens are trying to raise to catch governments’ attention (3). Graffiti and its contexts might vary depending on location, which makes a huge part of professional psychologists think controversially about the positive idea of the subculture. For example, Americans pay less attention to the messages of graffiti, and some states are trying to legalese this type of art, while many European countries are strict with graffiti, and they believe that this vandal action destroys the appearance of the authentic European streets. Drawing graffiti takes little time, and law enforcement agencies do not cope with punishing violators. Graffiti got the concept of a subculture, which also refers to culture and creates a more specific type of society. This subculture is different from any other subculture or culture because it is not acceptable for a huge number of people, who raise the world’s debates about the legalization or prohibition of this action.
In comparison with the subculture, culture brings together a larger number of like-minded people and raises global topics. Subculture unites smaller groups of people separated by age, gender, social status. Moreover, subculture usually defines freak people and bonds them in extraordinary companies. Even though graffiti used to be a culture in the past, it can still be defined as cultural action for a smaller group of people. If culture is interesting to people, it will take different forms but will be able to exist. Graffiti is not an exception to this rule, and the cultural value of this action will survive in the nearest future.
Many countries perceive graffiti differently, and when some believe it is an art, others describe it as vandalism. For instance, according to Sitas, in South Africa, graffiti is one of the most important parts of youth development and education (824). In many African countries, including South Africa, graffiti is legalized and even illustrates the growth of the culture. Africans always express their feeling in different forms like graffiti, and states usually accept it. Africans became one of the first who concluded that the mood of a nation depends on the fulfillment of the nation’s desires. Moreover, culture during ancient times was created by non-ordinary people, and now freaks have more opportunities to form an additional culture or subculture.
Also, culturally modern graffiti is accepted in Berlin, Germany, on the Berlin Wall. The pictures and inscriptions carry vandal, political and cultural motives, and a combination of these factors helps this type of street art to survive in the center of West Europe. Furthermore, thrill-seekers should visit Italy as people who do graffiti feel free in this country. The government is trying to fight against a huge number of vandals and save tourists from mixed emotions. In Italy, graffiti became allowed in underground passages to make them not dull, but this only increased the number of drawings outside the passages. Consequently, any form of graffiti in Italy becomes unacceptable for the state, and every effort is made to destroy this street art.
The graffiti legalization question is perceived differently by each country or state, and not everyone is ready to make any final solutions regarding this issue. For example, in New York, legalization is becoming real, and local authorities consider the opinion of the surroundings residents to decide whether legalized graffiti will bring total destroy or save the uniqueness of the city. Nowadays, graffiti is allowed in special places and is strongly monitored by the state’s system (Kramer 11). The state decides to allow graffiti only to professional artists and to delimit the presence of inexperienced vandals. The legalization of graffiti in Europe is becoming more unrealistic nowadays, and the fight between real power and street power is growing every year. However, some European countries allow this self-expression, but use increased control over those who paint graffiti.
Historically, graffiti was used by almost all people living in ancient times to leave notes for themselves and their future generations. Many types of such graffiti have survived, and these inscriptions are considered to be the world’s cultural heritage. Today’s understanding of graffiti has a different meaning, and a narrower circle of people is engaged in it. According to Snyder, the Hip-hop subculture represents graffiti, and non-standard people leading a street lifestyle, doing street dance and music, represent the subculture associated with graffiti. Nowadays, unlike ancient times, this street art is used to mark the territory of certain hip-hop societies, and usually, the works of these societies are put on public display.
Graffiti culture has existed for many years, and it still has not lost its cultural value for some people in the world. While the question of legalizing graffiti is actively discussed in the world, participants of Hip-hop culture grab every opportunity to create street art and express their feelings in relation to different spheres of life. Some people find beauty in graffiti, and some believe it is vandalism, but the value of the unique culture of subculture will exist for a long time.
Works Cited
Bloch, Stefano & Phillips, Susan A. Graffiti, crime and street culture. Routledge, 2020.
Benefiel, Rebecca R. “5 The Culture of Writing Graffiti within Domestic Spaces at Pompeii”. Inscriptions in the Private Sphere in the Greco-Roman World, vol. 7, 2016, pp. 80-110.
Kramer, Ronald. The Rise of Legal Graffiti Writing in New York and Beyond. University of Auckland, 2017.
Ross, Jeffrey Ian. Routledge Handbook of Graffiti and Street Art. Routledge, 2016.
Sitas, Rike. “Creative Cities, Graffiti and Culture-Led Development in South Africa: Dlala Indima (“play Your Part”)”. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, vol. 44, no 5, 2020, pp. 821-840.