Because paint, spray paint, brushes, etc are not illegal – the crime often committed when deploying graffiti is vandalism. It is a form of theft. What’s illegal is spray painting on somebody else’s property without their consent.

The first drawings on walls appeared in caves thousands of years ago. Later the Ancient Romans and Greeks wrote their names and protest poems on buildings. Modern graffiti seems to have appeared in Philadelphia in the early 1960s, and by the late sixties it had reached New York.

The first known example of “modern style” graffiti survives in the ancient Greek city of Ephesus (in modern-day Turkey).

“Hip-hop is a black cultural movement, and graffiti has been a part of that movement since the early stages; in fact, the first graffiti artist was black,” said Brian McMullen, journalism senior and president of the Students United by Hip-Hop Culture club.

The first modern graffiti writer is widely considered to be Cornbread, a high school student from Philadelphia, who in 1967 started tagging city walls to get the attention of a girl.

In 2000, it became legal to paint the walls and the area was renamed the Venice Graffiti Walls. In 2007, the walls were renamed the Venice Public Art Walls or the Venice Art Walls for short.

Graffiti can cause damage to decorative or delicate surfaces. Affected areas may also start to feel run down and appear threatening, putting off customers and prospects. Some graffiti can be very offensive, threatening to groups or individuals, or racially abusive.

Kulman agrees: “No, there is no bad graffiti, just graffiti, as a personal visual expression any graffiti is a valid gesture,” he says. “People may argue that the choice of space or surface could be ill-considered or antisocial but the fact it exists suggests someone had an intent to create the marks.

Graffiti, form of visual communication, usually illegal, involving the unauthorized marking of public space by an individual or group. Although the common image of graffiti is a stylistic symbol or phrase spray-painted on a wall by a member of a street gang, some graffiti is not gang-related.

Graffiti and street art embody cultural significance through its individualistic nature, though its ability to beautify and enhance public spaces, and 1 Page 12 through its highly visible way of speaking out on political, social and economic issues, because it so clearly represents an artistic subculture with a message …

Cons:

• Graffiti often leads to ” Open-Door ” crimes.
• It’s very expensive to clean up.
• Gangs normally use it to mark their territory.
• Destroys someone else property.
• Displays what kind of society people live in.

While graffiti is art it can be considered vandalism depending on where you do it. Graffiti is just art but on a different canvas. Art brings light and color as well as graffiti, graffiti artists don’t get the chance to show that graffiti is art because people think of it as vandalism.

Why it happens The four motivating factors for graffiti vandalism are fame, rebellion, self-expression and power, according to “Graffiti Hurts,” a website focused on graffiti education and outreach. Rebellion and self-expression are some excuses perpetrators use to explain why they vandalize their community.

Graffiti is seen as a form of artistic expression and can have positive outcomes for people, it is also illegal and considered vandalism.

Street art is usually painted with permission or commissioned. Graffiti (left) is word-based, whereas Street Art (right) is image-based. “Graffiti art”, if one had to, would be the name Stavsky gives to the two form’s artistic overlap. Graffiti Art is elaborate and figurative graffiti combined with images.

Instead of being considered a meaningful expression, graffiti is seen as vandalism. This is an unfair label to give to something that requires the same creativity and hard work as other forms of street art.

Graffiti is technically classified as vandalism under California law. Vandalism prohibits you from maliciously doing any of the following: Defacing property with graffiti or other written material.

Graffiti typically is placed on public property, or private property adjacent to public space. It is commonly found in transportation systems—on inner and outer sides of trains, subways and buses, and in transit stations and shelters.

Graffiti and street art is an anonymous tool used to express yourself and your point of view on on almost anything, including politics, personal expression, culture etc. Graffiti is gaining popularity and people are being more creative and expressive with art form.

Darryl McCray, known by his tagging name, “Cornbread,” is a graffiti artist from Philadelphia, credited with being the first modern graffiti artist.

High traffic areas can be protected with a clear sacrificial coating that allows for rapid and complete removal of any new activity. Once the graffiti is removed, it no longer acts as a magnet for other “artists”. The real goal of any removal is to project an image of cleanliness and caring.

Graffiti abatement is a joint effort between a given community; its public works division; police department; community development; and parks, recreation, and community services to eliminate graffiti vandalism.

Acetone, amyl or ethyl acetate, ketone and toluene are common ingredients in lacquer thinners. Lacquer thinners are designed to thin lacquers and clean equipment used for lacquer finishing. It can soften and dissolve most paints even after they’ve hardened. It is highly effective at removing spray paint.