The Artistic Value of Graffiti & Street Art

For years, graffiti artists and street artists have been making the blank walls of buildings, overpasses, train cars, and etc. their canvases. A lot of modern society seems to see no value in graffiti and street art, as there has always been a stigma attached to these artists, such as being vandals, criminals, and delinquents. In my eyes, graffiti and street art is no different than the art we see hanging in galleries across the world, it is still art no matter what.

Last summer, my friends and I visited a nearby abandoned warehouse that had been turned into an open arts area for a photo shoot. The first thing we noticed was the immense amount of art and graffiti on the walls, and how beautiful we really thought it all was. After our photo shoot, we took the time to capture some shots of the graffiti and art as well -

The colors, lines, shapes, and boldness of some of these pieces show work that can be considered highly creative and professionally done. It's obvious that a lot of time, care, and thought had been put into a lot of these tags and pieces of art. It's truly amazing when you take the time to sit back and realize how well-done a lot of graffiti and street art is.

Before I gained an appreciation for it, I always looked at graffiti solely as a form of crime, because that's what society told me it was, so I never batted an eye or took the time to really care about it. Now, I see it as way more than that, and am always looking for tagged-up box cars and buildings every time I go on a new adventure. I hope you guys enjoy these shots and appreciate the artistic value of the street art as much as I do!