I'd love to see a graffiti crew of mostly white boys start tagging a poor black neighborhood. that would be AWESOME. they would get their asses WHUPPED.

I found a lengthy article on this subject
i attempted to edit it down..

excerpts from



Graffiti Art:The Vandal's Voice
By Chris Vamos.


"Art has been saying with more and more intensity: the nature of the painting has become less interesting than the nature of the relation of painting to society." - Norman Mailer, The Faith of Graffiti


"At the base of human creativity, conflict exists. The human race derives incredible power from the creative instinct, and has leveraged said power into success as a species. Yet the creative instinct is the most controversial and vague of all the instincts. Initially, one might err in assuming that those instincts which do not require interpretation reveal more about inherent human character. Indeed, it is counter-intuitive to think that complex instincts such as creativity, that are subjects of such persistent and fervent debate, reveal anything more than the "intellectual fog," the unfortunate side-effect of rational thought. But upon analysis, one sees that all the higher functions (heretofore defined as those functions that illicit progression rather than mere sustainment) are the product of multiple, equally viable decision paths."

"Both the processes and outcomes of the creative process are highly indicative of the nature and character of the individual. Creativity itself is the mother of infinite interpretations, leading invariably to infinite conflictions, and thus has the greatest potential of all the instincts to reveal the nature of the individual to the society at large. The most conspicuous incarnation of potential is apparent through the sheer variety of art, specifically visual art. "


"

Disagreements with previous schools of thought have been universal to all art movements, ranging from minor quarrels to out-and-out rejection. The painting, the sculpture, and more recently the photograph and the film are all physical representations of the infinite branches of the decision tree, each artist choosing and adhering to their own interpretation, none more right or wrong than the other. Recently though, an art movement has entered the public consciousness which represents such a shift in thinking that it wholly eschews social convention, likening itself subconsciously to the rebellious artists of the Renaissance. This art movement is, of course, graffiti. Being unlike anything the world had seen in a very long time, graffiti is outlawed both in conventional society and in the art world, subjugating it as childish and obscene. But the graffiti movement, so wonderfully naïve and unjaded, lives outside of social convention and the rules and regulations of the "gallery art" world. World renowned graffiti artist Shok I recalls "[...] I think [graffiti writers] achieved the impossible by simply not knowing that they couldn't" SHOK I. The fact that society so ostracizes graffiti art lends it a sense of urgency and defiance, fueling the artists who brashly etch their name above the city in six-foot-high letters. However, without the constant push and pull between graffiti artists and the confines of the law, graffiti would fall flat on its face and cease to bear any significant meaning. Yet due to its illegality there is great hidden meaning behind graffiti art which allows it to remain vital. Otherwise, graffiti art's meaning would otherwise be invisible but to the informed. As such, just as all previous art movements have done, the message and meaning behind graffiti is a function of the conflict between artists and social standards, and thus the illegality of graffiti legitimizes it as an art form. "

"Graffiti art has been met with continuing opposition, much like all art movements met initial skepticism and even resistance which have since been accepted as legitimate. Dadaism, an art movement meant to destroy the very concept of art, failed paradoxically in that it became, through the course of time, accepted by the art community as a legitimate art form (particularly during its rediscovery in the late 1960's). Even Dadaism, so squarely based in anti-art ideology, bore familiar semblances to previous art movements. Much like the Impressionists or the Mannerists, the Dadaists were unhappy with the current artistic norm as an expressive medium, and "[t]hrough this rejection of traditional culture and aesthetics they hoped to destroy traditional culture and aesthetics" (Wikipedia). Without meaning to, the Dadaists, by acknowledging their predecessors and rejecting their interpretations, had taken the first steps towards becoming a legitimate art form. "

"Yet many argue that simply by nature of graffiti being so public, the art necessarily has a special bond with its viewer. The fact that graffiti art does not require a gallery or an admission ticket or even a bus ride puts it in a special position to communicate to the community, "[s]o lots of other people can be informed about issues that are important through graffiti. Graffiti doesn't spell out crime or drugs, it spells out that the artist is one of them, in the street and real. Dealing with the same things the viewer deals with" (Swatch1). The "real" nature of graffiti art, as it speaks directly to members of the community about the graffiti writers experience, is important in understanding the message behind graffiti, and in turn its legitimacy as an art form."

"More often than not, graffiti writers such as Banksy agree that the world in which we live discourages expression, thus nullifying any chance to increase self-esteem and become personally aware. While the public attacks graffiti as an assault on society, few bother to realize that in fact graffiti is a reflection of an inherently sick society. "It's always easy to attack visible symptoms rather than addressing the much bigger problems that cause them - poverty, boredom, no means to earn self-esteem ... ." (Shok I); these are the seeds that are sown in urban youth. What more can one expect at the crossroads of creativity and social injustice? The yearning to voice one's opinion and make a name for oneself while trapped in a society which discourages exactly that fuels the subconscious anger and frustration of urban youth, which leads invariably to graffiti vengeance. "I argue that the underlying force that fuels, the under current, the bonding agent and the essence of the graffiti culture is politics," claims graffiti artist Gabe the Saint in an interview, "[...] usually a young person, does not realize the social political problems that plague his world and the frustrations that they cause which inclines him/her to take revenge on society" (Gabe the Saint). Thus the vast majority of graffiti is born of a subconscious desire to make a name for oneself, to demonstrate to society that the perennial power is still in the hands of the people. "