Graffiti ~ Art or Blight?

Let’s face it,  Graffiti can be seen as art depending on who you are asking.  I love to take a walk through areas where I  can enjoy these maybe works of art. I always wonder about the free spirits behind the work. What made them go to such lengths and heights, spray can in hand, to create these works?

Of course I understand that it is a nuisance to businesses or public officials who find their property smeared with seemingly unintelligible scrawls and doodles, defacing their property  and having to bear  the cost of removing them. I am not a fan of the random graffiti that defaces a building. So is it art or a blight? I am sure many will go with the latter.

However, under some circumstances, like the photo here, it is an enhancement to this otherwise rusty and run down  train track and walkway. Perhaps that is what these graffiti artists, or vandals, were thinking. Here is a blank, neglected canvas, let”s  enhance it.

This photo was taken in an old neighborhood  close to where I live. There is a beautiful park just beside the train track,  which is still in use,  providing an interesting contrast.