Artists or vandals?

Could this photo be any more L.A.? You've got the freeway, cars speeding by, a mural on the side wall, and some tagging that has been scribbled over. Graffiti: to some an art, to others a crime. Some pieces put up on walls in the L.A. area are a true expresssion of artisitc accomplishment. We have even featured some of those examples right here on the Your Scene Blog, like this one or this one.

Graffiti represents one of those really rich local conversations that are ongoing in this community: who are graff writers? How do they do it? Why do they do it? Is it a crime? Is it art? All excellent questions.

In fact, Steve Lopez's column today digs even deeper into the graffiti world and the communities that embrace or despise it. Check it out.

"Street scene" from the album Street Art, submitted by deano.

--Lori Kozlowski