Grafitti - Art or Eyesore?

[TopSecret]

When I was in Berlin the other week, I was shocked by how much grafitti there was. It was all over the place, and I mean all over. There was even grafitti sprayed on a river traffic sign post in the middle of the river, someone must have swum to it just to tag it!

Anyways, there were a few pieces of grafitti which really impressed me, and the pics below are of a piece I saw painted on the end of a 4 story building. I walked past it a few times before I even noticed the scale of it and the work that must have gone into it.





I found it very profound, especially as I think it was in the East part of the city. So what say you, is grafitti an eyesore or can it be called art?

Cheers,

Stu

[Pseudonym]

It can be both. I'm in Bristol and i see a fair bit. The best being some of the work of Banksy, the worst being "Homo's r gay" Which was removed and replaced with "prositute lane".

I'm not a fan of tags or crap graffiti, but wall art gets a thumbs up from me.

[Toxcity]

It is art as long as it is on your own property.. otherwise just crime or grime.

[PP Mguire]

I dont mind stuff like the above pictured. But i hate the wanabe gangsters that think they need to spray paint over everything here where i live with their stupid lettering and dumb sayings.

[Talonaer]

proper stencil art is awesome

tagging style graffiti is not

I do alot of stencil art, but not on the streets.

Anyways the one youve noticed is by a very famous artist, check...this out

[mrapoc]

It was all over in switzerland

altho some is quite skillful it doesnt impress me all that much, id rather clean walls not gang markings

[Silentsnake]

i used to live in the east end of london and it used to be everywhere!

I think Grafing is a way of expressing your self and can look amazing like that image you have posted. What can ruin it tho is idiots taging their names, lineing each others names and writing stupid comments all over the good ones.

So theirs a fine line between art and crime!

[PV5150]

Graffiti is most definitely an art form when done properly, and by someone talented. The smaller tags are just crap tbh and are more than an eyesore, but the larger ones like you have included above are awesome. So long as the work is tasteful and not blatant vandalism then I don't have a problem with it. Sofles is a well known artist here in Brisbane

[rrjwilson]

Grafitti is art no question

heads spraying tags andstupid slogans is eyesores.

I was in Bristol for 6 years so have too seen the wonderful and the e. I think the grafitti squad doing clean up with the power washer should simply remove idiot gang tags and leave real grafitti.

[ionicle]

i think good ones, like above, should stay, they're a talking point, a part of the modern culture, but chavs with spray cans putting random crud on public walls, nah, that needs removing, or spraying over with summet good...