Graffiti transgresses boundaries between the public and private domains. It textures the canvas of a city in new ways. It is considered by some to be an illegal practice of vandals. It iscriminalized. It is considered by others to be a revolutionary act allowing people who might be otherwise invisible in a populous and largely anonymous city to be seen and to have a voice.

Of the founding elements, Graffiti Art may provoke more controversy than any of the other elements, precisely because it challenges notions of what public space is, who “belongs” in it and who gets to decide how public space is used.

For this week, Consider the historical nature of graffiti art as presented in Bomb It as well as in the readings.

Use an Example (paste it in) and Discuss both:

• how the responsibilities of good citizenship & democracy relate to graffiti in the city and

• whether or not you believe graffiti is an art or a crime. (Is the line between the two clear?)

(Consider: Does graffiti become art when it enters a museum? (Is it still graffiti then?) How do the Graff writer in Bomb It discuss their code of ethics and where they paint?

BOMB IT page:

:

Another website to use for the assigment : “Graffiti Art.” by Saucier, Paul K in Encyclopedia for Activism and Social Justice. Sage, 2007. pdf. Graffiti.pdf