JoieDeVivre said:

This has become an interesting discussion. Valid points on both sides, I don't really know which I agree more with. I think that the best urban art, so to speak, tends to be the art that is allowed to be somewhere, murals for example.

---

BeefheartisBetter said:

ter�ror�ism/ˈterəˌrizəm/
Noun:
The use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims.

Graffiti (singular: graffito; the plural is used as a mass noun) is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property. Graffiti is any type of public markings that may appear in the forms of simple written words to elaborate wall paintings. ...

---

You didn't address any of the similarities I drew between the two and decided to pick completely subjective definitions that would better fit your agenda.

For example, if you type in a word followed by the word definition into Google, it will present you with a definition. According to Google and Merriam-Webster, graffiti is an illicit act.

So once again, please address the following:

SoreSpore said:

Both acts are terrorizing someone or something, both are often unwanted by a majority of the population, both are motivated by selfish inhibitions, both show are great lack of consideration for others, both are disrespectful to society, both are disrespectful to the laws and authority, etc.

---

JoieDeVivre said:

This has become an interesting discussion. Valid points on both sides, I don't really know which I agree more with. I think that the best urban art, so to speak, tends to be the art that is allowed to be somewhere, murals for example.

---

it can be beautiful, but in the matter of urban art i personally feel it should be a reflection of the area that the people who live there will mostly as a whole enjoy. it helps give neighborhoods identity and personality over time. but tagging? gang propaganda? an Alaskan airlines ad? no thanks not in my home thank you

empire537 said:

Love Banksy

---

Quote:

Systematic use of violence to create a general climate of fear in a population and thereby to bring about a particular political objective

---

Quote:

The unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons.

---

Quote:

    Domestic terrorism is the unlawful use, or threatened use, of force or violence by a group or individual based and operating entirely within the United States or Puerto Rico without foreign direction committed against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof in furtherance of political or social objectives.
    International terrorism involves violent acts or acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or any state, or that would be a criminal violation if committed within the jurisdiction of the United States or any state. These acts appear to be intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion, or affect the conduct of a government by assassination or kidnapping. International terrorist acts occur outside the United States or transcend national boundaries in terms of the means by which they are accomplished, the persons they appear intended to coerce or intimidate, or the locale in which their perpetrators operate or seek asylum.

---

i like cow poo said:

Whats your alls views on graffiti?

---

Absent Minded said:

OP, not to be rude, but what you think of as graffiti is not considered graff in the community. The "pointless" stuff you talk about is the real graffiti.
there's a purpose to it.
you just don't identify with it.
real graffiti:

kids risk their freedom everyday painting. if they didn't see a meaning/purpose to it, they wouldn't be do it.

---

JoieDeVivre said:

Absent Minded said:

OP, not to be rude, but what you think of as graffiti is not considered graff in the community. The "pointless" stuff you talk about is the real graffiti.
there's a purpose to it.
you just don't identify with it.
real graffiti:

kids risk their freedom everyday painting. if they didn't see a meaning/purpose to it, they wouldn't be do it.

---

What is the meaning/purpose? Just to mark their territory?

---

SoreSpore said:

You are completely right, but to be frank, it makes me think a little bit less of you knowing that you support this. It is a travesty that certain people are in support of outright disrespect for things others have paid money for, whether it be through direct financing or indirectly from funding through taxes. It isn't like painting or drawing is illegal, they still have all the opportunity to do so in the comfort of their own home. It isn't necessary to cloud a neighborhood with graffiti which lowers property values instantaneously. The point is that someone paid for these things, and NOW someone is responsible for cleaning them up (which costs more money) because some brainless shit bird feels the needs to color on things that are not their own. Your opinion would change if your car or house was drawn on, I guarantee it.

---

imachavel said:

SoreSpore said:

You are completely right, but to be frank, it makes me think a little bit less of you knowing that you support this. It is a travesty that certain people are in support of outright disrespect for things others have paid money for, whether it be through direct financing or indirectly from funding through taxes. It isn't like painting or drawing is illegal, they still have all the opportunity to do so in the comfort of their own home. It isn't necessary to cloud a neighborhood with graffiti which lowers property values instantaneously. The point is that someone paid for these things, and NOW someone is responsible for cleaning them up (which costs more money) because some brainless shit bird feels the needs to color on things that are not their own. Your opinion would change if your car or house was drawn on, I guarantee it.

---

How about the dozens of fucking people that get paid to paint murals on other peoples walls?

---

GreenHorns said:

empire537 said:

Love Banksy

---

point exactly! people do a lot of banksy style art in my area, and i love it! its makes you smile when you walk by because its too ambiguous to really disapprove of by most, and its not soliciting anything ever. its a just a figure being a figure on an obscure wall.

---

imachavel said:

GreenHorns said:

empire537 said:

Love Banksy

---

point exactly! people do a lot of banksy style art in my area, and i love it! its makes you smile when you walk by because its too ambiguous to really disapprove of by most, and its not soliciting anything ever. its a just a figure being a figure on an obscure wall.

---

By the way I think Banksey is wack. I couldnt care less about him people only know who he is because of that cry baby documentary of his

---

JoieDeVivre said:

Absent Minded said:

OP, not to be rude, but what you think of as graffiti is not considered graff in the community. The "pointless" stuff you talk about is the real graffiti.
there's a purpose to it.
you just don't identify with it.
real graffiti:

kids risk their freedom everyday painting. if they didn't see a meaning/purpose to it, they wouldn't be do it.

---

What is the meaning/purpose? Just to mark their territory?

---

haha no man. People often think all graffiti is gang related. There IS gang related graffiti (this is the hideous, really shitty, scrawled in black writing that you can't even read all over big cities).
True graffiti artists get up all over the place. it's not to "mark their territory." It's to get recognition and be recognized by people from all over the area/state. and for other writers to appreciate.
For instance, one NJ writer, Sape, is up from Sussex county, NJ (northernmost county before PA/NY) down to Middlesex county. I'm sure he's all over the state, but that's all I've seen. I see him on almost every road I go to. On walls/in towns throughout all the urban areas. Shit, I was once coming back from Poughkeepsie, NY, on I-87 like an hour into New York State and saw a tag of his on a bridge column. I actually didn't believe what I saw for a minute.
On top of a building leaving Newark off 21 (Gumby would know where this is)


Huge fire extinguisher tag on 80 EB towards the GWB. It's been buffed recently


Another overpass on 80. This has been here since I was a kid. How he got in that spot is beyond me. It's also on the other side of the overpass.


More examples of good graffiti, from NoLa and Denver:



and the shitty gang graffiti for comparison