By Aaron Barnett-Kelly

The world of graffiti, cloudy and unclear to most of the public, and demeaned as a very controversial art form, as garbage that litters the walls signed by gang members and low-lifes alike. To many, graffiti looks like a mess, but to some it can be a beautiful piece of art. It's a mystery, down to the people who paint these streets and the reasoning behind their crime. In a no holds barred game of crime, the risks are high, the pay off not so much, and the dreams these people have keeps them going out to put their names in these cities. So is it for fame, attention, or is it just downright vandalism of public property?

There have been many artists in the graffiti world that have achieved fame and have been honored for their contributions to this culture. Graffiti art is becoming more popular in the gallery world and is the new edgy art form the younger generation seems to be using to express their creativity. Many building owners pay to have commissioned graffiti pieces on their walls. These are done by actual graffiti writers (a person who "writes" graffiti) not only doing the legal commissioned murals, but also going out bombing (illegal, going out and putting your name anywhere you can.). Bombing includes painting "throw-ups"(simple bubble letters, done quickly), "hand-styles" (known to the mainstream as tags), stickers, wheat paste, and even roll huge block letters with rollers and ladders. But what is this for?   Why would someone feel the urge to go and vandalize?

To the younger generation, graffiti seems to be glorified, with influences in a lot of advertisement and design; the Internet, books, magazines, movies, and even clothing have made graffiti culture somewhat more mainstream. Though true writers from the scene know what truly is up, the general public has a good sense of graffiti, more so then past generations. Thanks to movies like Style Wars, Piece by Piece, Quality of Life and upcoming film Alter Ego , we've been given a great sense of who graffiti writers are and why they do what they do, it also is a nice history lesson in hip-hop culture. So now that graffiti is better known and idolized by younger kids as a crime that's really cool and rebellious, they all want to give it a try. Also seeing the fame some street artists and graffiti artists alike can achieve, why wouldn't young people try as well?

A graffiti crew out of Los Angeles, AWR (Angles Will Rise), has made a name for themselves, and have even started a clothing line, the Seventh Letter. This crew also has become big in the gallery world. (With their recent exhibit at Robert Berman Gallery in Santa Monica, this graffiti crew really has achieved fame.) "People are starting to look at this as the new tough art, the same way that in New York in the '60s they were looking at Pop Art," Berman says. "The world is their canvas." If the world is their canvas what limits are there? Well, to many there aren't any. Saber from AWR is well-known for the world's largest graffiti piece, found on the Los Angeles River. It was done with bucket paint and rollers and took a year and a half to complete. Saber actually blew out his knees doing this piece, from standing on the slant of the riverbed for so long.

Saber's LA River piece just shows how passionate a graffiti writer can become about their work. There are many people that just don't have the drive to do such a feat, especially to do something that will be gone decades from now. Many graffiti artist claim that they feel addicted to painting graffiti. Often taking control of many writers' lives, painting becomes an urge and, like a drug user, writers need their fix. Being in a world of their own, at night the streets feel like personal space and writers really do get a feeling of being connected to their surroundings. Dedicated graffiti writers will do anything to hit a spot they want. This makes painting very dangerous, because writers take high risks to get where they want: scaling buildings, climbing street signs, billboards, and sides of bridges and even in the subway systems where you have to be aware of the lethal third rail, subway workers, on coming trains and officers. Being able to stay out of danger's way and hitting your spot, to see it the next day and hear people give you props feels very rewarding and encourages the writer to go out and do more and more.

Some get addicted to pure vandalism, as damaging property is their goal and their motives can be for many different reasons. These people are fairly different than graffiti writers; they want revenge and the feeling of power. A good example would be a student body going to a different school and painting their school's name on the walls. Graffiti writers aren't for pure vandalism and often don't even think about the fact they are damaging property. There are unwritten laws for writers some follow but others don't. Some of the rules are fashioned out of respect: don't paint houses, churches, or civilians cars (excluding business trucks and public transportation). All public property is free game. Other unwritten laws such as don't paint over others unless a writer got "dissed"; that is, being crossed out by another writer. This is usually disrespectful. Graffiti, to the writer, is all about respect and minding your own business, you don't drop names and you don't hit someone else's spot unless you want "beef" (which is kind of like a war where each writer starts to cross each other out). But don't get this confused with gang graffiti; this isn't about territory.

Gangs paint graffiti in order to show their turf. Graffiti writers don't even look at this as graffiti and truly gang marking is much different. Gangs don't like writers either; they give the writer just about as hard of a time as a police officer would. Gangs don't want others painting their neighborhoods, to them another's writing is like claiming it. But a writer doesn't claim any turf; all he want is for people to know that he was there. It's as simple as when you walk into a bathroom at a gas station and you read 'Mike was here!' It's simply natural for humans to want attention and want people to notice them.

Businesses do it; they get their name out so they are known and people will recognize them and buy their product. Graffiti writers want to advertise themselves. Some may have felt neglected by their peers or guardians and want to let people know who they are to not just people in the scene but everyone. They do a good job at it, too; vandal squads, police, and city works all notice who they are. Graffiti has not gone unnoticed.

Others see someone doing graffiti and call it pretty breathtaking, and some say 'Hey I wish I could do that,' give it a try then say 'I can do better' and it's born there. Some even say it saved their lives and that without graffiti they don't know what they would be doing. Some say it was either paint graffiti or sell drugs, or join a gang. When you live in the city the streets have heavy influence over who you are, so as strange as picking one of the three sounds, it's some individuals' only choice.

So graffiti is here to stay and the direction it goes is unknown. Maybe it will be the next big thing in the art scene, or it will start a whole new industry. But one thing is for sure: to the graffiti artist there isn't any other place for their work than the streets. So as long as we build buildings twenty stories tall and put up huge billboards graffiti will be right alongside.