What do we consider art? What do we consider beauty? Do we limit ourselves to the confines of traditional art museums- where pictures and paintings are displayed by some elitist that has told us they are beautiful- or do we look for ourselves?

There has long been a stigma in society against graffiti- against what is known as "tag" art. Tagging is a part of not only hip-hop culture, but urban culture as well; it represents the expression of self- new perspectives, youthful perspectives- things that the older generations are afraid to say, or conditioned not to. Tagging is a starting point for young artists with independent ideas and bigger aspirations. It is not only scribbles on sidewalks, or the harsh latrinalia in gas station bathrooms; it can be beautiful as well.

Young artists often start out simply tagging their name with a can of spray paint, but as their character develops so does their art- and the evolutionary process leads to bigger works such as portraits of idols, or murals expressing local culture and communal values- and suddenly the streets are beautiful. Murals and graffiti are more authentic and more expressive then any paintings in traditional museums, because the artists are common people. They don't ask for money, they just paint what they see, and whether it's a portrait of Che Guevara or a flower it's art- and its urban expression.