Tagger's Irony

"People say graffiti is ugly, irresponsible and childish... but that's only if it's done properly.” 
― Banksy, Wall and Piece.
Taken along Wrightson Road

Isn't  this photo ironic, that taggers speak about people coming at thieves at night, when they themselves come at night to tag buildings, walls and other public spaces? I couldn't help but laugh at the irony of this. 

In today's blog, I shall attempt to look at whether urban graffiti is simply street art or vandalism? The distinction between the two seems to be a little unclear. Vandalism and street art are often regarded as complete opposites, vandalism as destruction and street art as creation (Dovey, Wollan and Woodcock 2012,2). In some cities, such as Melbourne Australia, they are famous for their graffiti. The Lonely Planet travel guide listed Melbourne's inner city as one of the city's premier tourist attractions. Upon researching this city's graffiti I was stunned to see the amazing detailed pieces of graffiti plastered along streets. This brings me to my  question, is this considered street art? Or vandalism? Or both maybe? Melbourne sure is gaining tourist attention for their graffiti filled streets which would contribute to their economy. However, officials have stated that graffiti is not the way they want Melbourne to be portrayed, which brings me to another question, if such graffiti is attracting positive attention why isn't it referred to as street art? Why isn't it embraced? 

I can personally understand why graffiti may be looked at as vandalism when it's done to deface architectural sites and done to individual's private property, but when a truly amazing piece is done to an empty wall on the corner or back lot I can appreciate that and call it street art.  It shows an unexpected side to urban culture that creates a renewal in interest in many areas. 

References: 

Kim, Dovey, Simon Wollan, and Ian Woodcock, 2012. "Placing Graffiti: Creating and Contesting Character in Inner-city Melbourne." 

Dovey, Kim, Simon Wollan and Ian Woodcock. "Placing Graffiti: Creating and Contesting Character in Inner-city Melbourne." Journal of Urban Design vol 17, no. 1 (2012): 2.

Related articles: 

• http://artradarjournal.com/2010/01/21/what-is-street-art-vandalism-graffiti-or-public-art-part-i