Graffiti

Graffiti has always been a very ambiguous form of art to me. There are so many different levels of street art. Graffiti can appear as a simple scribble of a message across a wall done with a pen or as a full wall mural taking up the side of the building.  To place all these different medium in one category of art has always intrigued me. The real issue with graffiti though, street art, art for the public to view for free, is whether or not it is truly public.

The audience of street art is intended to be everyone. Every place has a certain audience. Every street corner is only walked by a certain group of people. Any art that is put on that street corner becomes only available to those who engage in it. The idea of a public audience inherently means available to all. The artist who creates art in a public forum, who participates with the environment surrounding them to morph it into art, has the intention of their art being visible for all.

It is very difficult and often inaccurate to argue the intentionality of artists. There is no real way that we can understand the intention that they had in creating a piece of art unless explicitly explained by them. However, with street art, it is safe to assume that the artists’ intentions are for their art to be seen by as many people as possible. The fact that their art is on display constantly in a public space means that their hope is for the public to see it.

However, this is a very vulnerable spot for an artist to be in. Whether the tagging is a simple word, phrase of doodle scribbled across a bathroom stall or if it is a mural taking up the entire side of a city building, their work is on display every second of every day of the week. There art is constantly open to the public. Every time that a person walks by the art, they become part of the audience. Every time someone takes a photo of the art, or even if the art is in the background of a photo, the viewer becomes part of the audience. In a globalized world where we are all connected and intertwined with each other through technology and the spread of images is rapid, we all have the ability to become a member of the audience.

I feel that if this option is available to the piece of art, the art can be considered public. It is completely feasible to argue that something can never truly be public because there are certain limitations of it reaching every person. It is an argument I understand and appreciate actually. Public is a relative attitude. It is subject to the interpretation of each person. In terms of art that is created on the street, I feel that it is public; that there is the chance that any person can walk by and see it without paying any type of fee and that the intention of the artist is for it to be seen by all members of the public.