Writing vs. Art: One and The Same?

                                                                             Writing vs. Art: One and The Same?

The question has been asked before: What’s the difference between a writer and an artist? Or is there one at all? In viewing “Exit Through the Gift Shop”, a Banksy documentary involving street art and the people behind it- I ask myself the same question. What exactly is the difference in say street art versus literature?

The obvious difference to cover first is medium. Clearly literature and writing is more of the mind while art is a visual experience. Art involves viewing a something and understanding its meaning, while writing involves someone's imagination much more. Regardless of these differences I feel that art is just a more abbreviated form of writing, or writing with objects if you will. Both seek to communicate a certain message, or a specific feeling or emotion. They are both ways to express the creators thoughts or ideas, and to do so in a way that can be shared with others.


Art and writing can also be seen as one in the same by how it is accomplished physically. A person must use a tool to record their thoughts onto their medium, whether they are an artist or a writer. If we look from this prospective, they are the same form of communication, one using pictures, and one using words. There is no clear definition for either art nor writing, so much of its definition is determined by the person who is viewing the work.

This over lap and blurred line between writing and art can be seen quite clearly in graffiti and street art. What if a street artist stylizes a word on the side of a building? Are we to consider that more a painting or more the writing of a word? or both? It again is determined by the audience, the viewer of the piece. This was a point made by Banksy in the documentary,  stating that the motives behind a persons piece of work can be the determining factor whether it is considered art or vandalism. He questioned Guetta's own work, since he didn't view Guetta's motivations to necessarily be authentic to the art scene. Who ultimately gets to decide who is an artist and who is a vandal?

I feel that because art and writing are so heavily influenced by the audience and person viewing them, they really cannot be separated. Further I would even say that the creator of the works themselves cannot say whether they are writers or artists in many cases, but their audience would determine this. Some people may view Banksy,Borf, Guetta, and other people doing what they do as vandals and criminals.Some may view them as artists, and some may even say they are writers in some ways.

Is there a difference between a writer and and artist, or a painter and a vandal? The choice is up to you the viewer! 


-Banksy (Director). (2010). Exit Through The Gift Shop[Motion picture on DVD]. United Kingdom.

-DuBois, E. (n.d.). Boston University Arts & Sciences Writing Program. Retrieved November 27, 2017, from http://www.bu.edu/writingprogram/journal/past-issues/issue-3/dubois/