Is Graffiti Art?

Although by no means universally so, urban graffiti is commonly regarded as vandalism. It costs authorities in Australia hundreds of thousands of dollars to remove each year, and it offends many adults as callow effusions of the territorial markings of "human tomcats." Authorities are mounting campaigns to catch the offenders in the act and punish them severely. But the offenders mostly maintain that they are making "art"--a positive act, not vandalism--and improving the environment. This paper views this response as stemming from an inadequate and even totally wrong conception of what art really is. The paper locates graffiti conceptually within "design," but finds that even so it cannot be justified. The paper suggests a national regimen of teaching art in all schools. It is highly likely that the creative energy, a natural and laudable aspect of growing children, would be channeled into socially acceptable forms of expression, without repression. (BT)