The most significant similarity between graffiti and street art is that both forms of art are exhibited outdoors, in public and private places. Both are freely viewable, making them valid forms of public art. While graffiti is based on letters, street art is based on images. In other words, graffiti usually has a few letters, while street arts have a wider range of visual elements and are often similar to traditional murals.
Another key difference between graffiti and street art is that street art is commonly done with permission. For example, a street artist could paint a mural on the side of a building with the permission of the building owner. Wheat pasta is another common form of street art that uses posters to display images in public places. According to Will Gompertz, art editor at the BBC, the popularity of street art is related to the fact that it originally explores current topics, often political ones.
Although labels are usually made on the street, they are not considered street art because they are intended to communicate with other graffiti artists. Nowadays, these murals and other forms of authorized street art are still largely perceived as more socially acceptable and legitimate than graffiti, but their presence in cities around the world remains complicated. As for the art world, although works of graffiti and street artists have appeared in galleries and museums around the world since the 1970s, their legitimacy is not widely recognized either. Most street art uses figurative elements that can be easily contemplated by people with or without any (artistic) background.
Some people associate graffiti with gangs, vandalism and violence, so graffiti tends to have a negative image among people, while street art has a more positive perception than graffiti. Interestingly, by bringing art to public space, these movements challenged the structures and limits of the art world itself. On the contrary, street art is created with a specific audience in mind, especially when commissioned by companies, local organizations or municipal officials. Cornbread is a clear example of the difference between graffiti and street art, since its first days of labeling were never meant for public appreciation.
Although graffiti and street art are constantly evolving, their fundamental values are likely to remain intact, while polarities over the use of their terminologies will also continue to exist. This is different from street art, which is instead based on words, images and symbols aimed at a public audience. Now that we have a better idea of how to detect graffiti, here are some examples of street art to compare. Unlike graffiti, street artists can create art with permission (from the building's owners) and even through commissions.
Although Banksy is widely known for being a graffiti artist (which may have been the case early in his career), Banksy's work falls more into the street art category.
