Evolution of Graffiti

          Street art is growing in popularity not only with the general public but the art community as well. Graffiti once a symbol of gangs, violence, and disrespect for the law is taking on a different meaning in some cases. While not all graffiti is street art; the growing popularity can be a helpful tool for the art world and general community for a couple of reasons.
          First this provides the public with “pure art” and what we mean by pure is that your reaction to the art is completely your own and only influenced by you and the artist. It has not been evaluated by some art curator or critic who immediately influences your view. It has not been located in a gallery in a certain section because of its likeness to other paintings or prestige. It is simply there in front of you completely raw and unfiltered. This allows people to think for them, which is pretty much always a good thing.
           The second positive aspect is it may “speak” to people that gallery and museum work does not.  Not all people are gallery goers and this provides another avenue for expression and contribution for art. It can also be used to spend positive messages in an oxymoronic sense.  Graffiti is historically used to send gang or hate message but it could be used to speak to inner-city youth about positive messages again providing an alternative to the tradition use.