What are your views on "Graffiti"?

[Eve]

Legalize it & it will no longer be graffiti... Graffiti writers don't want it to be legal. I know this from talking to hundreds of writers across the UK.

I think people need to realise the reasons that people actually do this illegally..
It's not just a bit of fun, something to do to pass the time etc..
For most writers, graffiti is a lifestyle choice. I know people that have been in prisons & have had thousands of pounds worth of fines for graffiti but they still do it.. Not because they want to be rebellious or because they want to annoy everybody, but because they feel doing graffiti is the only way they can express themselves properly.. It's the only way they can get noticed..

There are all these advertisements that are slammed into our faces everywhere we go, yet people just accept it..

Graffiti subculture involves a contrarian position against the system and illegality is desired because of it. I understand that to legalise it defeats the purpose and the meaning of graffiti. The tension between graffiti artists who desire illegal expression and city councillors who desire a compromise is an ongoing disagreement.

Also,
@Eve
You said Street art is an example of legalized graffiti...
Graffiti and street art are 2 totally different styles of art.
Street art includes stencils, wheat-pasting, stickers, prints etc..
Graffiti involves using spray cans & a steady hand to either create your piece by following a prepared sketch, or free styling it from memory & experience.

There are graffiti artists who challenge what graffiti styles mean. I have seen stenciled art which is illegal and spray-can art which is legal. There are also styles which incorporate stencils, prepared sketches and freestyle. Like other forms or art -- fine art, photography, sculptures -- there is a history and meaning to how these styles evolved. Many art forms push the boundaries of style and propriety. The illegality of graffiti is not unlike the illegality of youth nudity in art, for example.