If there is no consent, then it's vandalism but it's still art. Graffiti is art regardless of whether it's on someone else's property, which you might not want to be there. However, graffiti can also be used to decorate empty streets and walls with the permission of the owners. As expected, the idea that a form of artistic expression could be considered vandalism is not widespread among graffiti artists.
I think that really anything is art if it has a meaning for you. But there is a moral line that must not be crossed. Graffiti and street art have their own definitions and interpretations, but they have something in common with illegal acts when it comes to the artistic act performed on surfaces without the permission of the owner of a property, whether public or private. The success of street art commissioned through programs such as the 100 Gates Project is leading communities in the city to consider doing the same.
Maybe, but a shared code depends on the presumption that graffiti and street art communities are one, which is not the case. As Pearce says: “If time and effort has been devoted to turning it into a beautiful, abstract or fascinating work of art, then it is an art form. It is more than what some would call vandalism; rather, they are the first signs of a battle in which street art is a weapon of gentrification against graffiti, and graffiti has finally launched its defense. The main conclusion of artists and academics is that it is vital to preserve graffiti and street art as valuable and credible forms of expression.
Faced with a plethoric worldwide production, the assumption that graffiti is a positive form of urban art raises some paradoxical questions about the ephemeral and “visual pollution”, with increasing demand from the art market. And the grammar of graffiti—its media and techniques—is now the basis for some of the most imaginative, beautiful and moving works of street art in existence, all with the blessing of owners and communities. This describes elaborate graffiti that is more figurative, with images and colors similar to most street art paintings. The acceptance of street art, but the rejection of its underlying form of graffiti, is a trend that is taking place all over the city.
Alex Harvey is the co-founder and project director of Blank Walls, a group that commissions and manages street art projects in Australia and the United Kingdom. Stavsky regularly visits the most important points of the city to capture the ephemeral works on the walls and is well-known in New York City's graffiti and street art communities.
