AboutJudy Expertise I can answer ALL questions related to watercolor paintings, except appraisal or artist identification. I can answer general questions about oil, acrylic, Chinese painting, and other media. I am NOT an art appraiser at all for any kind. I can only answer questions in aspects of materials, techniques, and critiques. I do NOT have the access to records of auction, painting pricing, or artist files & works, unlike art gallery dealers or art appraisers. I would not know how much an art piece is worth, but I am only an expert in the "art form" but nothing to do with VALUE.
Experience Professional watercolorist for decades. Knowledgeable about all media, but not in value or pricing.
Education/Credentials BFA in Fine Art, Painting
MA in Art
Art is very personal and subjective. The definition of it varies from culture to culture and person to person. Since art evolves with human experiences, its definition and presentation changes too.
The ancient people who painted bulls and animals in the caves did not know that their paintings on the wall would be called "art" in the history. The reason they painted mainly had something to do with religious celebration and purposes. It was not for expression's sake as we have art nowadays.
Then, art evolved towards more aesthetic approach. Then, starting 20th century, we have had artists who have painted something expressive or abstract (including dripping and slapping paint onto canvas and paper). It is called art because according to the definition of art, these kinds of paintings are the expressions through the eyes of the artists who portray the world they see and feel. Of course, these works of art are exhibited in galleries and museums, and the artists are well known in the art history. They are definitely called art. No body denies about it.
On the other hand, graffiti is done on any walls, which are not owned by the graffiti artists (some people even don't call them artists at all) at all, as opposed to the canvases or papers bought and owned by the fine-artists. They use ready made spray paint, as opposed to mixing or manipulating paint as fine artists do. There is no techniques of brush using or paint mixing whatsoever. What's more, most of the graffiti is done by local kids, teenagers, and young adults. So...... is graffiti art?
It really depends on individuals. Graffiti is art, because it fits the expressional side of the definition. There is still some techniques involvement of using spray cans, for no everyone can use it to its ultimate possibilities. Those graffiti artists innovate the usages of the spray cans. Whether legal or not, painting a graffiti on the walls does not make it not as art. It really depends on how each individual sees it.
Although most of graffiti is meaningless to the rest of the world and done in a very taste less way, we cannot deny that there are some graffiti artists who have had art training and experiences in art create some meaningful and artists graffiti in the world. In this respect, we cannot exclude the graffiti artists who don't paint or spray well or even paint something meaningless and only include those who are famous and do beautiful works. Of course, we don't call ourselves artists for traditional paintings, if our skills are not good yet to be humble. However, these immature paintings are still called art. How can we differentiate the boundary?
In summary, there is really no absolute answer to your question, although it is a very interesting and good one. As mentioned above, there are reasons why and why not graffiti is called art. It all depends on people's view.
