Blog post 2 - Emma Yergin

I think graffiti is art. Except when it's not. Like most of my classmates, I fall in the middle of the spectrum when it comes to the debate on graffiti's status. We believe that graffiti can be beautiful and artistic, but when it is created illegally, it is vandalism, which is a crime. Nonetheless, it can still be beautiful. I don't know if they have a name, although they might be called letterists, but I really appreciate the work of artists that make beauty out of words and letters. I halfway think of myself as one of them. I think it's fascinating because these artists have the ability to take something so ordinary like a letter and transform it into something magnificent. Graffiti artists do this too in a few different ways. First off, most graffiti artists that I have seen are incredible letterists. They can shape letters into such unique forms; it's really astounding and befuddling. Additionally, they transform the surfaces that they paint on. Whether it be a highway overpass, train car, building side, or house (some of which, are, in fact, quite illegal), the masterpiece of a graffiti artist revolutionizes an ugly wall into a contemporary canvas. The most abstract way that graffiti artists transform something plain into something amazing is through the actual artwork that they create. Many times, the artists are standing up against political or social issues and creating beauty out of the problems that they see in society. They draw or design stunning images that also show their opinion or make a point about society, which is peculiarly wonderful. It is important to keep in mind, though, that putting paint, whether it's beautiful or not, on a building or structure without permission is definitely a punishable crime. That's really just a matter of having good morals.