How to Cite:
Chaudhary, A. (2022). Graffiti – eyeful art or eyesore vandalism. International Journal of Health
Sciences, 6(S7), 47482–47488. https://doi.org/10.53730/ijhs.v6nS7.13262
Graffiti – eyeful art or eyesore vandalism
Aishwarya Chaudhary
Research Scholar, IMS Unison University, Dehradun, India
Email: aishwarya.chaudhary323@gmail.com
Abstract---In this article I am aiming on define Graffiti and unfolding
the knot of confusion that whether it is eyeful art or eyesore
vandalism. In layman language we can say that graffiti isan exercise of
unlawfulpainting or writing any openly visual surfaces, butthis
practice of marking or painting is not new infact it dates back to the
beginning of society or civilization.Graffiti in its recent form is a
shared or community artistic phenomenon that begun in 60s in
Philadelphia and New York, and now has full-fledged spread into an
international lobby. If we ever notice or focus on graffiti on the road
sidesor on publicly visible surfaces,what kind of feeling do you get?
either you feel amazed and admire the beauty of the art work or you
will feel annoyed, discourage the work and consider it as vandalism,
but the fact is that the definition of art is different according to
different person(the beauty is in the eye of the viewer) and another
fact is that a decent art work is rarely discouraged by anyone.
Sometimes art fansconsider graffiti as a danger to art and public
spaces as well, they don’t like concept of exhibiting artwork on
pedestrian places for them Art is something that portray emotions of
artists and that is why they expect it to be shown in secureplacesor on
canvas, paper but I personally think that it is a kind of contemporary
art which boosts the artists to paint sensible, expressive and sober
designs on public places. In present scenario there is aintense debate
that focus on theinitiation of graffiti art.
Keywords---Graffiti Vandalism Street art.
Introduction
What is Graffiti
Graffiti (both singular and plural; the singular graffito is rarely used except in
archeology) is a type of art genre that means writing or drawings made on a wall
or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. The
expression Graffiti was devised from an Italian term"graffito" thatsays“scratched”
that means an art narration by scratching a shape or design on a publicly visible
surface.
International Journal of Health Sciences ISSN 2550-6978 E-ISSN 2550-696X © 2022.
Manuscript submitted: 9 May 2022, Manuscript revised: 18 July 2022, Accepted for publication: 27 August 2022
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The word Graffiti was initallyreferred to ancient inscriptions like words,shapes,
figures, designs etc. on the walls of ancient public sepulchers buildings. Now a
days the word Graffiti istantamount with vandalism.
Historical Background
The word graffiti was initially denoting tothe graphics, inscriptions, designs,
figure, marks etc.located on the publicly visible surface of ancient buildingslike
Catacombs of Rome or at Pompeii.
Graffiti was a source or kind of the Safaitic language (the South Semitic or Arabic
scripts), impressions were scratched on stones, rocks and other structure
surfaces in basalt desert of southern Syria, northern Saudi Arabia etc. and this
Safaitic language dates long back from the Ist century BC to the IVth century AD.
On the basis of research, we can say or assume that "contemporary style" graffiti
exists in Turkey (the ancient Greek city of Ephesus). The Localists attendants
opines that it’s a prostitution ad generally Positioned adjacent to stone pathway,
that Graffiti displays hand printed heart, lady head, footmarks and a number.
In Egypt we generally find the ancient Romans engraved graffiti on parapets and
monuments which still exists. The implications of Graffiti in present scenario is
quite different as they manifest social and political ideals than the classical world
which used to exhibit expressions of love or political statements or general texts of
thought .
The custom of painting in India in publicly visible places is quite old infact the
paintings in Buddhist cave in Ajanta noticed in 1819 that is in second century BC
(Mitra, 2004) is the oldest evidence of graffiti which is a significant fragment of
Indian art history inspiring artists and sculptors for generations then the Folk art
became popular and often seen on the walls of tribal community’s homes.
The streets Cultural marking also has long occurrence in almost all countries
though the manifestations style has been pretty different and unique like, the
hand painted pictures of gods, Bollywood movies and stars posters, vehicle art
(images or slogans), political graffiti .
Graffiti as an art
Many times, we notice numerous Indian artworks or paintings on the publicly
visible area, but we never consider it as vandalism, why?
It isbecause, Art providesdifferentresolutionstodifferent individual as per their
personal constraint, like for some people it serves a feeling of motivation,
consolation and on other hand for some it provides feeling of discomfort and
instablegrounded on their level ofinterpretation. Above all the Studies state that
colors and picturesarousefeeling and emotions, so as per the scientific studies we
can say that, art boostshumanfeelings and emotions and motivate to think. We
can aptly say that even a small piece of art is precious and it attracts humans
because it boosts our emotion or feelings centers and intellectual centers.
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But generally, people think that art is limited to the canvas, room, or an open
space of privacy where artistes represent their creativity and skills through their
work and take it as passion of the elite class who go to galleries and pay higher
amounts to buy some flawless artwork. But the fact is an art is an art even if the
design is created on wall or any publicly visible area will definitely not decrease
the soul of that art or aptitude of that artist.
In present scenario graffiti is taken as a way to aware the public about both the
good as well as the negative or ugly sides of society. Graffiti manifest
independence and a lifting of persons who object against the ugly practices of the
society that are still in existence and performed by people .
The typical description of graffiti is art:
In a leading case “Williams versus Cavalli” the court said that: -
“Plaintiffs are well-known and respected graffiti artists. In 2012 plaintiffs created
a mural in San Francisco. […] The mural depicted the stylized signatures of
“Revoke” and “Steel” pseudonyms commonly associated with plaintiffs” .
Presently, there are many graffiti artists who are well known and respected for
their stunningwork and striking thinking, in fact now the many art lovers agree
that graffiti art is required to preserved, live and bloom.
Graffiti as vandalism
In many countries the authority thinks and considerthe designs or paintings or
any form of work that is done on publicly visible area is vandalism as it causes
destruction to that property.A survey was conducted by the Australian bureau of
statics which provide that not only the authorities and cops considered graffiti as
vandalism but also the people find it the same.The survey provides that more
than 20% person find graffiti on roadsides as disturbing and unsafe.
In a very leading case “State versus Foxhoven” the graffiti was described as a
criminal act:
“The state alleges that each vendor had adopted a distinctive (pseudonym) and
vandalized property with that you need to talk again and again for years until it
had begun their vandalism identity”.
some people and authorities believe that graffiti puts a bad effect on people and
also distract them from their work. People also think that government uses a lot
of public money for restoring public places where graffitist leave their designs and
colors rather it should be used for public welfare and common good.
Laws On Graffiti inIndia
There are no specific laws for Graffiti in India the only profession that relates to
graffiti exist in the Constitution of India under part IV, which provide directive
principles of state policies.
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Article 49 provides that State is under obligation to protect all monuments or
place or objects of Nationwide importance from destruction, degradation,
pollution, or from any harm whereas part IV A of Indian Constitution provides
fundamental duties that are expected to be practiced by all citizens of India.
Article 51A-F provides that “it shall be the duty of every citizen to value and
preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture” article 51A-I provides that “it
shall be the duty of every citizen to safeguard public property and to adjure
violence”these two provisions provides that it is the duty of both the state and the
citizens as well to protect the aesthetic beauty of the nation and prohibit all the
harmful act that might effect any historical structureand anything of national
importance.
Now we can say that the difference amid art and graffiti is very delicate that one
have to put more focus and sincerity to distinguish, that the work done comes
under art or vandalism. Though the graffiti is a form of art through which a
person can soberly intimate his positive thoughts to public at large in a positive
way but just one wrong step(design or pattern) can change the entire meaning of
that artwork and convert it to a vandalism.
Nowadays the artists of Graffiti seek legal protection and remedies in copyright
lawsbut in India the copyright law are deficient of appropriate and sufficient
provisions to provide copyright to Graffiti art as it is presumed that any kind of
art work is mostlyencouraged by the viewpoint of monetaryprofit and to
sometimes by the wish of acknowledgment but in case of Graffiti art the artist
mostlydon’t anticipate any financial gain and generally stay unidentified, we can
say that the remedies that copyright law provides to public at large should also be
shared with the graffiti art creators as in a way or other they also manifest human
creativity which is one of the core essential of copyright law.
In “Villa v. Pearson Education” Pearson Education was sued by Hiram Villa
(graffiti artist) for utilizing petitioners’ methodology straight in his computer game
and later Pearson strived for claim rejection by asserting the illegitimate
impression of the work, unqualified for copyright insurance but the court denied
and stated that “the illegality of the art was fact-dependent and not appropriate to
address at that stage”.
Then in a very leading case “Mitchell Brothers Film Group v. Cinema” also
known as The Fifth Circuit case where the copyright of an exhibited adult motion
picture was owned by the petitioner without permission and when petitioner sued
for the infringement copyright the respondent alleged that because of the
obscenity of the content the work was not qualified for copyright, further the
cinema stated that on the bases of unclean hands doctrine Mitchell could not sue,
the respondent also argued that motion picture of petitioner was indecent and
hence illegitimate, that is petitioner lacks the clean hands requisite essential for
clamming the legal remedy underneath copyright law. Later The judges overruled
Respondents argument and upheld petitioner’s copyright.
Similarly, in “Creative Foundation v. Dreamland” this case was where the dispute
mainlyalarmed about who owns or holds the wall that retains the Banksy mural
but the judge conciselystated that thecreator of the artwork, that is the
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anonymous or unidentified street artist by righteousness of his moral rights own
the copyright of that work. Then the questions that arises -is street art
copyrightable and if yes, then up to what extant?The judgesmodestly held that
Banksy or the artist or creator of the artwork iseligible to gain his financial
interest by receiving a share of the profits from the sale of the artwork of the
creator as mentioned by the “Artists Resale Right”(an ancillary right, not exactly a
copyright).
Graffiti and Copyright
Copyright is a kind of insurance issued to licensed innovation and security under
this right is accessible only for unique works like paintings, literary works,
software, movies, live shows and photographs. It is believed that Art is intangible
by its very nature that’s why a mural that exist at one place can easily be
reproduced by anyonein form of his expressions in movies, books,advertisement
etc. so to protect this form of art work or intellectual property, copyright (artist’s
exclusive rights) is Introduced.
In a way we can say that copyright law is a law that gives responsibility of the
artwork on his creator. Whatever it may be a painting, a novel, a song lyric, movie
script, a photo, etc. the copyright law guarantees the proprietorship. Few rights
that copyright law awards, as the proprietor are: -
“The right to replicate the work”
“To get ready subordinate works”
“To appropriate duplicates”
“To execute the work”
“to show the work freely”
Graffiti is a noteworthy art warranting copyright guarantee just like other art
forms. A lot of graffiti artists now go to exhibitions with canvas works, but still
many live simply in the city anonymously.
Though many graffiti artists don’t want public acknowledgment but their artwork
still needs guarantee from copyright law for monetary gain. Woefully, the current
copyright law does not provide any kind of assurance to the graffiti artists
because of its illegal character
Cathay Y. N. Smith explained it very nicely, she said that:-
“Street art is being duplicated and reproduced on clothing posters, business
things, and being shown and sold in auction and displayed in galleries. Urban
areas, for example, Bristol, Bethlehem, and Taichung, are grasping street art by
offering guided tours to flaunt their celebrated street art, street art is turning into
the following huge thing in the art world and market. As street art advances into
ware, the inquiry normally is: who possesses street art, and ought to IPR law
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shield street art from unapproved duplicating, evacuation and deal, or
annihilation?”
“Hanrahan v Ramirez (1998)”, in this casea mural was painted on the side of a
liquor shop by a group of children after taking the owner's approval but three
years later the owners of that store painted his advertisement over half of that
mural and then the artist sued the store owner under VARA (Visual Artists Rights
Act) and the court said that the artist should have arecognized status because
their art work has won a national contest which was supported and praised by
people at local and national level that’s why the judgesgave decision for
restoration of the mural and awarded $48,000 to the artists .
The moral rights and copyright of the street artists may be infringed if anyone
who uses their artwork without their permission like highlighting the street
artwork on one’s website, for commercial benefits photographing or publishing
the artwork in an advertisements and magazines or etc.
In Mangaluru a “Pro-terror graffiti” case was spotted at an apartment wall, later
the Mangalore city police had gone through a deep investigation regarding the, as
per the police findings the graffiti over the wall says“do not force us to invite
Lashkari-Taliban and Taiban to deal with Sanghis and Manuvedis”,
“#LashkariZindabad”.So, such kind of lettering or graffiti doesn’t come under
artwork which is considered under copyright act.
Conclusion And Suggestion
Any artwork whether it is a painting displaying viberant colors and stunning
patterns on canvas or on wall (Graffiti) or a sculpture or a sketch is the
expression of the artist’s mind. The fact is that the genre or pattern or kind of art
does not agitate or change the true spirit of art at all,
Likewise, what the artist is using, a canvas, broadsheet or wall of a building as a
source for their manifestation is immaterial. The problem is that people
don’taccept that they are already viewing much uglier things in their common
surroundings than graffiti. I am mainly focusing on the lettering, posters on the
walls, hoardings, flagpoles, open thrash etc. on public spaces. Infact People really
need to understand that graffiti is a form of art or a way through which the artists
can express their positive thoughts in a sober manner in front of public at large
but unfortunately in present scenario the maximum public place or spaces are
already owned or acquired by bigger companies and political parties Because
these two offer a big monetary profitwhereas thegraffiti artistsprovide nothing,
that is why generally people consider graffiti as vandalism. In my humble opinion
Graffiti is far much better than these commercial posters hoardings lettering etc.
as graffiti manifest much more meaningful expressions than these useless
lettering, posters on the walls organized in a very mismanaged way and causing a
true visual pollution. In present scenario all that is required is the recognition of
Graffiti art by the higher authorities, so that they can make a proper law for
graffiti art, its protection and restoration, the artists right, the right of general
people to have a scenic and beautiful environment.
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*Williams versus Cavalli, supra note 33 at *1, Case No. 2:14-cv-06659
*State versus Foxhoven, supra note 30, at 173
*The Constitution Of India,1950,ARTICLE 49: PROTECTION OF MONUMENTS
AND PLACES AND OBJECTS OF NATIONAL IMPORTANCE:-It shall be the
obligation of the State to protect every monument or place or object of
artistic or historic interest, declared by or under law made by Parliament to
be of national importance, from spoliation, disfigurement, destruction,
removal, disposal or export, as the case may be.
*Article 51A in The Constitution Of India 1950
*HIRAM VILLA v. PEARSON EDUCATION, 03 C 3717, December 8, 2003, United
States District Court, N.D. Illinois
*Mitchell Brothers Film Group and Jartech, Inc. v. Cinema Adult Theatre, 604
F.2d 852 (5th Cir. 1979),
US Court of Appeals
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*Pro-terror graffiti comes up at an apartment wall in Mangaluru , The Times Of
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graffiti-comes-up-at-an-apartment-wall-in-
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