Graffiti is derived from the Greek "graphein" which means "write" is the plural of "graphite" which means to draw or write on a wall, a wall or any surface that is flat.
Usually, these drawings can be created for various reasons: by the desire to be admired by the public, to convey a political, religious, ideological, social message or by simply using a public or private space, etc.
Graffiti in public spaces is illegal and from there the question then arises:
Are graffiti art or visual pollution?
There are those who consider them a valid art form. But there are also detractors who consider that graffiti is unpleasant and that they are visual pollution because they allegedly disfigure public and/or private spaces and it is unnecessary damage that is caused to these spaces although the work has required a great level of technique and patience to be achieved.
For this reason, it has been a highly controversial subject, both for its validity in terms of art and its legality. Although there are people in the art world who catalog graffiti as a form of contemporary art.
This appreciation is more in decline because the authorities increasingly tolerate and support this popular expressionless and associate it with the illegal activity of painting on the streets where passage is prohibited.
However, in recent times the streets of New York City have been painted with new forms of graffiti and have been well received by both the public and the authorities.
Graffiti started in Paris in the sixties when inscriptions with political messages began to appear, but it was not until the nineties that the term "urban art or street art" appeared to refer to this type of popular expression.
For many people, the definition of graffiti is simply "artistic vandalism", although the work has required a high level of technique and patience to be achieved if walls or flat public surfaces were used to exhibit it, it is considered vandalism, and it has become a big problem for society.
For this reason, it has always been a highly controversial issue regarding its validity and legality. However, while some consider it unpleasant and unnecessary damage to both public and private space, others consider graffiti a valid art form.
Among the best-known graffiti artists are Banksy, Zephyr, Blue, Lee Quiñonez, Vhils, Kenny Scharf, Os Gemeos, Blade among others. Each one of them has marked a style and a trend within graffiti by making themselves known through their urban works.
However, despite the fact that all of them have put and given the best of themselves in each of their works, they have not been able to make graffiti accepted and officially recognized as an art, or for less they have not achieved it in most of the people, for whom in the end is that they are directed.