Irish Graffiti, Is It Art?

When I started researching for this article I was not sure which way it would go as I had not really thought much about is Graffiti art a valid means of expression. Some of its of course is just tagging hence like many I tarnished it all with the one brush.

With the emergence of Banksy onto the British Art Scene many people have begun to see Graffiti art in a new light.
Ireland has always had Graffiti artists working not only in urban areas but has peoples attitude to Graffiti changed?



"New York is Killing Me" by ADW which only lasted a few days on Abbey Street Dublin

 Graffiti can be and is a means for artists to get their work viewed by a mass audience that otherwise would not step foot into a gallery, until recently would not have been shown in many galleries across Ireland. 


So what exactly has changed? for one graffiti has become more technically sound and have become more about what the artist wants to say rather than just a form of tagging, it has reached out to people and if it has become thought provoking well then its a valid piece of art.  


Which leads to the next point why are the councils spending so much in removing only some of the graffiti and leaving others? who decides if a piece is valid enough to exist? 

Graffiti is a way that artist express themselves hence I believe contributes to the Irish Art Scene in the same way that any exhibition does some pieces are gems waiting to be discovered while other pieces are like many paintings can brighten up a dull area