Wider social and cultural implications of Graffiti

     The streets of Vancouver, Canada, are decorated one might say, with the art and perspective of graffiti artists. Graffiti itself as an art form, is one of society’s oldest. Found inscribed in stone or painted in caves, anthropologists have observed ancient graffiti to gain a greater understanding about human experience and the culture of that period. So if we examine modern graffiti, what does it say about our society? Interestingly by comparison with ancient times, today graffiti is criminalized and associated with lower social classes.      

     On the City of Vancouver website, it states that graffiti must be removed from private property by owners within ten days of being given written notice by the City. This is in accordance with the graffiti by-law, passed in 2003 to combat graffiti in Vancouver. This by-law also threatens and delivers a five-hundred dollar fine to anyone caught doing graffiti. These enforcements are due to the perception on part of the city that “graffiti is often associated with other crimes”. I wonder how, what many presently accept as an art form, is somehow still vehemently affixed to other acts of vandalism. There is little connection between breaking windows and spray-painting besides their criminalization and perception under the law.

     Graffiti itself as an art genre has various kinds from tagging to murals, which range in both artistic merit and style. Of course the venue for such art is not the most ideal for business owners however, the lack of established or legal location, combined with the passion for artistic expression in spite of which, is what lands this art form on the streets of Vancouver. The City of Vancouver website advertises a list of establishments who specialize in graffiti removal which, it seems in some cases, to be a terrible waste of artistic masterpiece. The removal of incredible mural style spray-paintings actively ignores and denies the artistic merit which it possesses. This seems to be due to a socialized perception of art in reflection of social classes. The association of graffiti with crime and its location, often on the streets, has built up a social and cultural paradigm both for those who remove it and those who create it. There is a subculture which is part of the appeal of graffiti.

A study conducted by Nancy Macdonald in her book The Graffiti Subculture: Youth, Masculinity, and Identity in London and New York, transcends out-of-date perceptions of class and focuses on the “realm of personal rewards-graffiti as a way of building masculinity, communicating independence, being a ‘nobody’ and becoming a ‘somebody’” (MacDonald, 6). She also emphasizes the passion which graffiti artists possess for their craft. The subculture has its own personal rewards but none greater

than self-expression which lies at the heart of this…crime. Macdonald discusses the lack of understanding in the relationship between graffiti and society at large. Although MacDonald conducted her studies on London and New York, I believe that many of her findings cross national boundaries and can be found here in Vancouver. Just as in London and New York, some Vancouverites couple graffiti with criminality and perceive it as a criminal activity of the low class while there is this lack of mutual respect and understanding between the artist and the municipality.

     Perhaps if the multiple styles of graffiti were not grouped and treated under one by-law then there could be better appreciation for certain types of graffiti such as mural, to the exclusion of others such as bathroom stall etchings. This might allow for better integration of graffiti with society whereby the municipality could better control and coordinate with graffiti artists where they may be allowed by the city to paint. This would provide a venue for those who would prefer to do it legally and for those who choose to remain on the other side of the law, they need not change a thing. Better integration would however, facilitate a greater understanding of the art and alleviate some of the  out-of-date social class stereotypes which still coexist with graffiti.

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   Sources:

MacDonald, Nancy
2001 The Graffiti Subculture: Youth, Masculinity, and Identity in London and New York.

Palgrave Macmillan: 2-45.