Is graffiti art or is it vandalism? Graffiti is unauthorized writing or drawing on a surface in a public place. The difference between graffiti being a piece of artwork to vandalism is that people have permission from the owner of the place or people that have been asked to graffiti the wall. Graffiti is considered to be a criminal offence. If you get caught from marking surfaces, large fines and jail time may be a consequence. The removal of graffiti in public places in Australia was estimated at $1.58 billion dollars in 2005. That is approximately $69 per person living in Australia. That is money going down the drain from an act that is done on purpose. This cost can go towards anything such as education, money bonuses, bill discounts and rebates. Graffiti is extremely dangerous because of the fumes in the spray paint. The spray paint affects the environment. The toxics that help the paint dry rapidly and the toxics from the dye have chemicals in them that kill flora and fauna. The chemicals used to remove the graffiti are also dangerous. The spray paint also affects human’s health. Graffiti can also be offensive and hurtful to others. Graffiti can be racist, offensive to religion and have inappropriate language. I understand that people think its art because beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, but it is clearly its vandalism. In my opinion graffiti is vandalism. I think graffiti is vandalism if it is on something that is not