Graffiti is art. Graffiti is not art. Wherever your opinion lies, it’s probably black and white. There’s no gray, no Cherry Red, Regal Blue, or Castle Rock, for that matter. Graffiti is either a blight on the landscape, or a form of expression encompassing the socio-political dynamics of the day.

Either way you play it, graffiti is not going anywhere. With corporations from Sony, Nissan, and Nike to McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, and the X-Games co-opting the form, graffiti is mainstream. Graffiti exhibitions have been shown in the bastions of “legitimate” art throughout the world, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney, and the Smithsonian.
But whether graffiti is vandalism or art, there is an interesting question underneath all of those letterings and colors, and that question is motivation. The young kids of the ‘70s who began the graffiti movement are older now, and when asked about what it all meant, their answers were wide-ranging, thought-provoking, and complex.

An article in a recent issue of New York Magazine spoke to the early graffiti creators (referred to as “writers”), many of whom sat on different sides of the fence when it came to defining graffiti.
For example, Ivor L. Miller, author of Aerosol Kingdom: Subway Painters of New York City, called graffiti, “a younger generation’s artistic response to the public protests of the Black Power and civil-rights movements.” Writer MICO backs this theory, explaining, “Graffiti is a term that The New York Times coined, and it denigrates the art because it was invented by youth of color. Had it been invented by the children of the rich or the influential, it would have been branded avant-garde Pop Art.” Author Jeff Chang also ties graffiti in with hip-hop, as art form and political expression.

Yet, other graffiti writers hesitate to put graffiti into a political context. Writer RATE claims, “Graffiti is vandalism. If it becomes too legitimate, it loses part of what it’s about in the first place.” And SHARP adds, “I think what people are doing today is really destructive. I don’t see any artistic value in etched windows.”

One point that cannot be argued, in my opinion, is that graffiti has been, and always will be, a form of expression. Whether it’s art or not, it has been a way for youth to express themselves, their worlds, and their vision. “I think these guys are doing what they are supposed to be doing. If you want to be a true writer, a true rebel, you have to make do with what you have,” says MICO.

Ultimately, as writer LEE says about graffiti, “This movement is about movement. It is about reinventing itself. And it’s about the streets.”

Desiree Aquino