Digital Graffiti: Art, Advertising, and Anarchy

Marshall Reaves

As the world becomes increasing electronic, the legal definitions of property, public space, and damage change with respect to criminality. The lack of physicality or permanace to many acts potentially labeled as graffiti such as paintless light graffiti (left), underground advertising (middle), and nondestructive hacking (right) all blur the borders of legality around the world. Although presently underground, these ways of expressing ideas will undoubtedly surface in the coming years as artistic, corporate, and anarchistic machines. The legislative responses to digital property and electronic footprints in public spaces will shape the vista of tomorrow.