Blog post #5

Despite graffiti being considered vandalism, it’s a form of expression so I believe it is art. When artists create graffiti they usually form it on private property, which is illegal. I think that’s the primary reason why people neglect graffiti and refuse to accept it as art. But if you do it on your own property or in your notebook, without bothering anyone than people will admire it and consider it to be art. A work of graffiti can convey a powerful message behind the artwork, and provoke different emotions. In my point of view, graffiti is definitely a peculiar style of art compared to what I viewed at the Guggenheim or the Met. But it just all depends where the artists decide to create it and if it moves the viewer emotionally in a specific way. In “The Gloom of the Museum” John Cotton Dana states, “a function of a public art museum is the making of life more interesting joyful and wholesome; and surely a museum cannot very well exercise that function unless it relates itself quite closely to the life it should be influencing.” If graffiti were to be included in museums, it would change the type of crowd visiting the museum and the atmosphere. It would make it more interesting and it’ll help expose people to urban culture and educate them to understand and appreciate graffiti for what it is.