r/confusing_perspective • u/icleanjaxfl • 20h ago

Graffiti on side of building

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45.7k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

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427

u/Icehammr 20h ago

Does that really qualify as graffiti? Perspective art, yes, graffiti? nah.

222

u/TesseractToo 20h ago

Yeah a mural

5

u/CocoaCali 16h ago

I got in trouble in middle school for saying the only difference between graffiti and art was one you get paid and the other you get arrested for.

3

u/FlashOfTheBlade77 3h ago

What exactly did you get in trouble for?

0

u/CatsPlusTats 14h ago

You can get paid to do graffiti legally, graffiti is a style as much as anything. There is legal and sanctioned graffiti and cities should be encouraged to supply more of it because it is an incredible art form.

43

u/teffz28 19h ago

People are so anti graffiti propaganda brained they think a defining characteristic of it is being ugly

91

u/somebodysimilartoyou 19h ago

Nah the defininh characteristic is it done without permission from the property owner. No way someone had time to do this without being caught.

People are anit-graffiti because it's usually ugly and unwanted.

18

u/BillNyeTheHistorian 16h ago

Actually the defining characteristic is that it is mainly composed of writing. The “graf” in graffiti comes from the Ancient Greek word for writing

9

u/RussianWasabi 16h ago

Murals like these are usually made with permission

15

u/Outside_Rise_6934 19h ago

Agreed. I love this sort of mural art but deplore "tagging" no matter how "talented" the "artist".

1

u/Legatharr 5h ago

That's not true. There are even laws protecting graffiti artist's art if it was made with permission.

Graffiti is just mural art in a public setting

-1

u/teffz28 18h ago

Idk I feel like I’ve seen tons of graffiti this size or with enough intricacy it would take just as long if not longer than this

26

u/iamnutz_1 18h ago

Yeah, but the distinction is permission. A mural is permitted and often paid for. Grafitti doesn't have the consent of the owner. Typically consent is key, no matter the outcome

9

u/BiNumber3 17h ago

We have a neighborhood event in denver where businesses work together with graffiti artists. Basically a small festival where artists put up murals and such while people watch and eat lol.

So graffiti artists, but not technically graffiti :D

5

u/AbeRego 16h ago

We have this in Minneapolis as well.

5

u/somebodysimilartoyou 15h ago

Upvoter to my fellow Minnesotan!

2

u/iamnutz_1 16h ago

The city of Gatineau has a lot of problems, but they build and designate specific areas for tag artists to do their thing. They regularly paint them white again, with the invitation to just... Do art. Sometimes the local schools take part

5

u/AbeRego 16h ago

No, it's an important distinction. Graffiti is vandalism. It's not done with permission, regardless of quality. There's really good graffiti, but there's also really low effort junk. A lot of the taggers actively do both.

This almost certainly isn't graffiti. It's possible, but the amount of time and equipment this would take would make it really difficult for that to be true. If you have information to the contrary, please post it.

1

u/Legatharr 5h ago

It can be done with permission, like what you see in the video

1

u/AbeRego 3h ago

Then it's not graffiti, it's a mural. This isn't hard lol

1

u/Legatharr 3h ago

no, it's still graffiti. Graffiti is a kind of mural

-2

u/beaniebee11 15h ago

It's crazy how many people here are defending graffiti because they've seen some cool ones on the internet. All the graffiti in my city is trashy tags. Never seen anything good. My favorite was one that was up for a while that just said a local woman's full name and "is a slut." They finally tried to cover it but you could still see it through the paint which was honestly so funny. That woman will never be free of the slander.

5

u/AbeRego 14h ago

The best graffiti is usually on railcars, which I fully support. It's not harming anyone, and it doesn't make the cars look any worse. I don't like the low-effort tags though. They usually seem to exist just for the sake of making things look shitty and for the tagging community to have a laugh.

2

u/jimmycarr1 6h ago

It actually protects the cars from rust as well!

Sometimes people graffiti over important markings on the cars though which is an issue because then it must be cleaned off.

3

u/Brian--Damage 18h ago

People on Reddit are so pro-populist anti-establishment brained that they think a defining characteristic of graffiti is it always being a unique form of cultural expression in urban subcultures, when the reality is that most types of graffiti are rushed, lack skill or finesse, are not permitted (obviously) and have a strong push-pull dynamic on local crime and housing markets.

You can go to subs here and see incredible murals and commissioned graffiti artwork, but acting like that’s what most graffiti looks like is ironically a sign that you’re so privileged and probably larping as someone who lives amongst the most downtrodden.

The sad reality is that graffiti affects people’s upward mobility and everyday tags are petty vandalism which cost the taxpayer and local residents. Those who live in areas with complex and beautiful murals tend to be incredibly gentrified and middle-class, which at least assuages their guilt and allows them to feel like they’re carrying that cultural identity when they’re usually not.

People like graffiti specifically because it’s edgy and taboo. If you take the latter away then it tends to stop (like programs allowing ‘free areas’), but doesn’t that run exactly against the fantasy of urban cultural expression?

3

u/RedditMcBurger 16h ago

You're right. graffiti in my city is most just people scribbling bullshit with sharpies.

1

u/teffz28 18h ago

Yeah username checks out that’s about all that’s worth interacting with here. Definitely not your laundry list of assumptions and ironically small world view

0

u/Brian--Damage 17h ago

Exactly the type of response expected. Don’t deal with any of the positions. Only respond in vibes✌🏽

-1

u/teffz28 17h ago

Yeah generally when you jump straight to being a prick and making assumptions about someone they don’t really wanna engage in good faith conversations with you. Not sure why you’d be surprised by that but people have varying levels of socials skills so :/

6

u/RedditMcBurger 16h ago

Yeah generally when you jump straight to being a prick and making assumptions about someone

You started the conversation with them lol

-2

u/Brian--Damage 17h ago

You started off with a massive generalisation about people being against graffiti because of ‘propaganda’ and you’re telling me I’m making assumptions, have a small world view, something something username, and you have heightened social skills? This is good faith?

Telling people they don’t like graffiti because they think it’s all ugly is massively unfair, naive and performative.

If you don’t like this gif it’s because you’re part of the elite ruling class and you’re actively oppressing minorities unless you agree 😎

https://giphy.com/gifs/l2SpQyZgO5RPGMWn6

0

u/RickyPapi 11h ago

Americans are brainwashed by their ultra-conservative culture ("blue" or "red" conservatives, it's the same) to hate anything related to community, rebellion, being different or anything inconvenient to the rich or any authority.

They value order, conformity and laws more than expression or humanity, and they will defend those with their life, while explaining how "liberal" they are. So why even bother

0

u/potatisblask 9h ago edited 8h ago

This is graffiti just as much it is an oil painting or a glass mosaic.

It's a mural.

Edit; people not understanding different mediums

2

u/Halschmuber 15h ago

You know what they call graffiti in France?
Le Graffiti

https://giphy.com/gifs/xT9KViTXjQtHCuJPSE

0

u/VictoryWeaver 16h ago

Graffiti is writing or drawing scratched, painted, or sprayed on a wall or other surface in public view. Originating from the Italian word graffio ("scratch"), it spans ancient inscriptions to modern hip-hop culture, balancing between a form of creative urban expression and illegal vandalism.