Anyone who’s had the chance to explore the urban cityscape we call the “concrete jungle” has seen the brightly colored, abstract pieces of art that have been created by many anonymous souls. To many, this type of art is considered illegal and a destruction of property. To others, these spray-painted pieces have obtained their own position in the art world and are on their way to becoming a true form of art.

I feel as though many people don't truly understand or appreciate the culture and artistry behind graffiti art. Can you blame them, though? In our world to many people, graffiti is just a bunch of paint spread out on a piece of property, usually correlating with gangs and crime. But, many don't understand that graffiti is just another medium of art, just like painting or drawing. It's a way for people to express themselves.

On my recent trip to New York, I was able to attend a graffiti tour throughout the city of Manhattan. But, this wasn't just any graffiti tour. Our tour guide was, himself, a dedicated graffiti artist. I went into this tour with little education in the subject, believing that graffiti was a means of the destruction of property which was associated with crime. But, throughout the tour, our guide expressed his certain love for this kind of art and preached about the one thing many people don't know about graffiti: that it has its own personality and culture. Graffiti isn't just a means of art, it is also a culture within itself.

Our tour guide would go on and on about all of the different famous artists in New York, such as Banksy and Invader. These two artists are the most famous in New York due to their prominent art work and massive popularity through social media and documentaries. The cool thing is that our tour guide, being such a small face in the large world of graffiti art, knew these artists. They influenced his art as well as many others; the same way Pablo Picasso or Vincent Van Gogh influenced many other artists after their time.

Listening to this man speak so highly and passionately about this art form that so many people know as bad and illegal made me realize that the quote "don't judge a book by its cover" is quite evident in this situation.

Graffiti isn't the defacing of property with the intent of breaking the law. It's a means of art, just like painting or drawing, that many take on to express themselves. Although some do participate in illegal actions to get their art shown to the world, it still doesn't negate the fact that these people are true artists and use their talents in a very unique way. To me, graffiti now has a whole new meaning. I see much deeper into the culture and work of these artists and I appreciate it so much more. Graffiti has opened my mind to the fact that there's so much we don't know about this world, and we shouldn't be resilient in trying to appreciate them.