Well said there. I second that.Soylent Bacon said:
Dealing with aesthetics when it comes to legal issues is even stickier than the subjective concept of obscenity...
Why Is Graffiti Illegal?
- Thread starter Typical Cats
- Start date
Recommended Videos
Dealing with aesthetics when it comes to legal issues is even stickier than the subjective concept of obscenity...
We're watching Exit Thru the Gift Shop in film, so I get where you're coming from, but there's a difference between graffiti and urban art.
One is normally petty, gang-related, or just for gigles.
And the other is trying to make a statement.
CAPTCHA: NRA thillati
...what?
One is normally petty, gang-related, or just for gigles.
And the other is trying to make a statement.
CAPTCHA: NRA thillati
...what?
I don't know, let me grab a few spray cans and graffiti your property, and see what you think. By the way, I'm a piss poor artist.
Well, I would guess it's illegal because if you don't make it illegal to change the aesthetic of a surface you don't own without permission, then it could be anything from genuinely good art (something like what Banksy does) or just tripe and gang related stuff.
I think what would be really cool though is if you had the state commission artists, or at least permit artists who have applied and demonstrated their abilities and submitted a sample, to decorate public spaces.
I think what would be really cool though is if you had the state commission artists, or at least permit artists who have applied and demonstrated their abilities and submitted a sample, to decorate public spaces.
I've seen some graffiti make for an interesting scene, and a lot more with hate speech and the like.
As such, I think there is no clear way to define the law in a fair, just manner in which graffiti for an artistic purpouse can be achieved without it being misconstrued.
As such, I think there is no clear way to define the law in a fair, just manner in which graffiti for an artistic purpouse can be achieved without it being misconstrued.
Typical cats, always asking questions.
That would be because we live in a capitalist society where property is worth more than lives. I don't really see why people complain that it looks ugly. It's not hurting anyone and I'd rather see AHSAIR WAZ HERE on the side of a bus stop compared to DRINK COKE.
That would be because we live in a capitalist society where property is worth more than lives. I don't really see why people complain that it looks ugly. It's not hurting anyone and I'd rather see AHSAIR WAZ HERE on the side of a bus stop compared to DRINK COKE.
On the surface, its illegal because vandalizing other people's property is a crime, but the real reason its illegal is because governments and corporations are mad that you didn't pay handsome sums of money to have your work shown to the public (See: billboards).
If someone doesn't want graffiti on their stuff and someone puts it there, the owner has been wronged. It's as simple as that, regardless of the graffiti's content. If someone wants people to put graffiti on their stuff, maybe they could make that known, but allowing anyone to spray-paint crap onto anything they want is very understandably illegal.
There's a difference between the art and the other crap. The art does no harm and in my city, they're busy enough with the gang shit to just ignore the art. So it's basically not illegal so long as you contain it to things nobody care about; overpasses, the backs of highway signs, the abandoned freight cars, abandoned billboards. If no one cares about it and it's flat, you can use it as your canvas, just so long as no one owns it.
Because it's not your wall! How would you feel if somebody came to your house and drew whatever on it without asking you? Graffiti itself is not illegal, but the act of putting it on any surface that is not your own or without permission from the owner is damage to others' property.
I don't think there's any specific law in most countries saying you can't graffiti the side of your own house, the problem is it's always done on someone else's property. How would you like it if I spray painted a bunch of weird crap on your living room wall?
I believe those things that "nobody" owns is considered public property, in other words, the government's, and as such, the taxpayers', i.e. yours! You should give a damn about how these things are maintained, because it belongs to the entire community, and you are one of that community.
Have you heard of the Bubble Project? http://www.thebubbleproject.com/manic_depressive13 said:
I like graffiti. I always appreciate having something interesting to look at, although I think anything gang related is both unoriginal and stupid. I think it should be legal in public places. It would save time for police and save council funds that could go towards feeding the homeless or cleaning up real rubbish.
Of course, some problems could open up. Everyone painting over other people's paintings, people getting upset, people destroying other's paintings because they don't like them (although that would be a good thing if it was generic tags)... Maybe that's too cynical of a view, maybe the vast majority of people would respect things people put a decent amount of work into?
And of course, businesses might make use of free advertising space and spread even more advertising around.
I'm not quite sure though, because it doesn't look very professional. But at least you could talk back by defacing it or writing something witty on it. It would give grassroots movements more power, so it's not just those with sponsors and lots of money that get the metaphorical megaphone in public places.
There would also be the question of "what is acceptable graffiti?" Would it just be man-made structures, or could people paint rocks and trees? What about installation art? Should the community be expected to regulate the content of the graffiti themselves? Anyway, it would be interesting.
Because if the owner of whatever you're spraying a picture of a dick, gang symbol, or something stupid like "person who has no respect for other wuz here" didn't give you permission to do it, and now they have to spend their time and/or money to clean your nonsense off their things.
Even if they're one of the few people not doing random, pointless garbage that nobody wants to look at, if they didn't get permission, they're nothing more than a vandal because again, if the property owner doesn't want it there, they now have to waste their own resources to clean it up. Get permission to make something nice, cool. Do it without permission because you think you're some awesome artist and the rules don't apply to you because you're giving a gift to the world or some nonsense like that, you're really no better than any other vandal. You're just a bit more pious than the gang member writing "OG 4 life" or whatever crap they'd write.Typical Cats said:
And who's life is at risk if structures are clean instead of being covered in garbage drawings? Who's going to die from a clean wall? Nobody? Oh, okay then.manic_depressive13 said: