Graffiti – Is it Art or Vandalism?

Some thoughts by Kedgley Intermediate Students...

I think that graffiti can be both vandalism or tagging depending on who does and where it is. Graffiti means drawing or bombing words written without permission on walls in public city places.

If the purpose of doing graffiti is sometimes tagging on property for marking gangs turf this is called vandalism. I have seen tagging at Mangere Town Centre and the train station. This is vandalism to our public city which is bad for little children.

Permission from the house owner means that you can make the family feel really happy because you’re giving them an opportunity to make their house look beautiful like you dreamed of. If you do not have permission it is called vandalism to the owners. Vandalism is not good because it will take days or cost a lot of money for someone to clean it. Our principal Mr Murphy said that it will cost $4000 to clean our school toilets which is bad for our school, because we could be spending it on stuff that the school needs like stuff for sport or more books for our school library.

Does graffiti make you famous? No because you’re just making our country and community dirty with dirty tagging. Instead you just need to get a paper and draw on that to become famous artist.

That’s what I think of taggers doing their dirty work in our community and public areas instead they can just become artists and put that graffiti into art.

By Bryan Baice

I am writing to persuade people why graffiti is vandalism. Graffiti is drawings or words written to affect others. Some people don’t ask for permission on walls also public places.

The purpose of people doing graffiti is they want to show off their skills. Or their other purpose is that they want people to know they are in a gang.

Graffiti is located in shops, community places, also fences. I see people tag on library doors. And I see people tag on skateboard parks with graffiti on it; it has inappropriate words.

People tag on fences without permission so we call that vandalism. Why do people tag without permission? Do they want to be known or they just think they’re important?

Some taggers are probably from the ghetto and they want to be famous. It’s maybe about positive messages and bullying.

My opinion was that we should get permission first before we tag on people’s property otherwise it’s vandalism.

By Damien Fifita

In my opinion graffiti can be art or vandalism. Graffiti is marks or scratches in public area.

Graffiti can be vandalism when people tag names and gang turfs in public areas. When people think vandalism is so bad, I think you should grab friends to help paint sunshine instead of darkness of fear. Graffiti can be scratches or marks on the wall that makes it look so terrible. To make it look cool and artistic you have to put a little sunshine for people to imagine being in a really grateful place that has so much bright colours inside.

Places that you can see disastrous tagging are in toilets, train stations, public areas and buildings. Graffiti is unpleasant to our environment. Taggers, in my opinion, can make a difference by helping the community make art about making a difference to all, make places look beautiful instead of doing vandalism.

Why is asking for permission so hard, but it is really important? When you are going to do a stunning art piece what do you do first; ask for permission, if you don’t ask you might be facing serious actions and have a criminal record.

Now we know graffiti can be art or vandalism and the people that tag gang turf names can make a difference to our city instead.

By Sio Mailau

What is graffiti? Graffiti means drawing or words written without permission on a wall in public place. I think sometimes art can be graffiti because it looks better than a normal blank wall, but sometimes it is vandalism (someone who destroy or damages things).

If you have permission to do graffiti on the wall then it is art. A good example of graffiti as art is in the brick walls in the train station, but if you do not have permission then it is vandalism. If you have permission to use spray, then it is art but sometimes it is vandalism it the spray is used to tag.

Where do you see graffiti? Some people tag in the toilet during school or learning times. When people tag in the toilet, it is vandalism. Our principal, Mr Murphy said that it cost $4000 to clean it off every year. This money can be used for many different things. You can find graffiti in the train station, beside the shopping wall.

What does purpose mean? Purpose means the reason it is done or made. Taggers can mock other people by tagging bad things, because if you see tagging in the toilet then it is vandalism. The boys that are naughty, are tagging for fun. To make the wall look nice and better with some different colours and pictures is a better option.

These are my reasons why we should have graffiti when it is art but not vandalism.

By Sione Tuilotolava

When you see graffiti, what do you think it is? I think it’s both art and vandalism.

Why do people tag on places ? They do because they either want to mark their territory or their name on walls to show what gang they’re from. But mostly when people see they wonder what gang they’re from or not even care. Do you think it’s worth all that time working on that graffiti wall when it’s just going to come off? When it’s art people ask for permission before going over something and also because you don't own the property. Vandalism is when they do it illegally. Also they approach highly visible places like toilets walls and other places like junctions.

The time graffiti artists go out and vandalise is when there are not that many people around to tell on the authorities. Graffiti artists mostly look for places that stand out in the open, some people like my father laugh when they see tagging because no ones going to see it and there is no point in doing it.

Disappointed families are why kids graffiti and inspired others to become graffiti taggers and become so interest that they enjoy doing it so much. The education of kids is suffering because of this and it is so unfair that our principal Mr Murphy has to pay $5000 just to get it off.

I believe that graffiti at times is art, but it also depends on the message and how it’s written and also if they have permission. Although people who tag can be good at it, I still think that they can make a career out of it if they do it as art and not vandalism.

By Roman Key

Graffiti is bad and good and can take over your life; that’s what I think but it can change your life to do good or can ruin life for good. Graffiti is drawing or words writing without permission on walls in public places.

Just think about permission to tag on places; people do lots of graffiti without asking and 50% of them have been court and have been sent to jail and the other 50% are still tagging on walls. Also if shop keepers can ask the taggers to tag something good for them, they will ask for money and then they will do it.

Is it really worth gangs to tag on walls? Well it is to them, because they want all the other gangs to know where they are from to know who stays around the area. They even tag on property that has been beautifully painted on and made, then these guys come and demolish the painting like it’s their wall or fence, then the owner becomes upset.

What would happen if your fences got destroyed but you liked it. Scott Miller said ‘Banksy’ for example, he would paint thought provoking designs on a wall without asking for permission and they always looked cool. He is now a popular artist. Hood taggers tag on walls at shops to entertain hungry people who come to their nearby shops.

Permission is the key thing and taggers that don't ask are the opposite of it, so I think my persuasive writing is going to change bad people to stop graffiti on people’s property.

By Jeremiah