Should Street Art be Legal?

Street art is an uncommon method of self expression. It’s recently become more of a widely accepted form of art.

I think street art is a really interesting art form. I talked about it a little in a previous blog post: Finding Inspiration in a New Environment. As I said, there aren’t the usual constraints on size. As well, your art will be seen by thousands of people! Anyone walking down the street will see your mural. All this and much more makes street art one of the most intriguing media to explore. A lot of people will argue that it should be categorized as a medium of its own.

As you can see, street art is super interesting and fun to learn about. But it’s also very controversial. A lot of people don’t believe it should be allowed in public spaces. In this blog post, I’ll share my thoughts and opinions on the controversy surrounding street art.

First, it’s important to understand the difference between street art and graffiti. Street art, also known as urban art, is often done with permission from building owners. Graffiti is usually illegally done and has much less thought put into it. Tagging is a common form of graffiti, where the artist writes names or phrases in bubble letters.

A lot of people are very against urban art being in public areas. Of course, issues can arise when anyone is able to write or paint whatever they want. However, legalization of graffiti, with regulations placed on it, would fix a lot of these problems.

I believe street art should be legalized in certain areas, while being regulated. This way, it will offer an equal opportunity for everyone. Certain public buildings could be used as a free canvas for anyone to create. This will instantly widen the diversity that the art form offers. Anyone can paint or draw and have their work displayed for all to see. This opens up a wide variety of opportunities to artists who might otherwise find it difficult to get their work noticed in galleries or on social media. Many cities have implemented areas like these as part of programs to improve the quality of living.

You might be wondering, how does urban art actually improve quality of living? Well, it gives personality to any place. A big, colourful mural on a wall instantly spices up a bland looking town. It’s also a freeing, limitless way to create. It’s a good way to be creative and innovative, like with the pieces shown below. You can incorporate the world around you in new and exciting ways.

Street art is a legitimate form of artwork and should be respected like any other medium. In fact, it seems to be much harder than the average oil painting. Creating a massive mural on the side of a building where it will be seen by thousands of people would surely be extremely difficult. These advantages are rare with other art forms, making urban art uniquely special.

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