New York Graffiti Art

I saw this movie recently, 'Style Wars'. It's about the graffiti movement that started in the early eighties in New York. It documents people who go down into the subways at night and create these huge murals. After a while the city, the mayor, and the subway system owners get really upset, and see it as a serious crime. The documentary interviews all these people who ride the subway, and they all are outraged and feel the artwork is horrible. They don't see it as artwork, but as the same as someone just randomly spraying all over, like a squiggly line or something. In fact one guy says that if these kids who do the graffiti have so much energy, they ought to be given a mop, and they can just go mop up the city. As if they are just randomly spraying all over, like a nervous tic or something. I thought that was one of the most insulting things in the whole movie.
These are a few examples of the New York subway art. The one on the upper left is from 1981 and is done by one of the best known graffiti artists during that beginning time period. You can really see how wrong it was for the public to hate it so much. Some people truly preferred a blank, gray concrete wall. I just have to wonder at what is wrong with them, that they don't appreciate art or beauty. I feel as strongly about the ads that are everywhere now. They seem more offensive and dangerous than this does. People are definately not outraged at ads appearing everywhere, because that's approved and institutionalized. I think it's the idea that people are doing something on their own that's creating a noticable difference, because everyone can see the murals, and that's the problem. The businesses who create ads have to right to cover everything with ads, because they are the leaders of this country. But marginalized, poor kids who aren't paying into the system, or getting approved by the authorities should never have a public space to say anything they want. The seems to be the reason why the city and those average people are so outraged by the graffiti.