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Has the subject of graffiti any further claim to our attention than it has already received?10, 11 That it can be favorably compared to dreams, parapraxes, and jokes has been established. It should seem obvious by now that wall writing makes possible the satisfaction of infantile sexual and destructive wishes. The wall writer takes us by surprise, forces us to view his productions, and, like the joke-teller, evokes in us an involuntary affective response.2, 4 Both the wall writer and the observer join in a symbolic exhibitionistic-voyeuristic act, the graphic representation of sexual intercourse or its varied components being most direct toward the achievement of their aim. Finally, it has been said that wall writing represents the expression of destructive oral incorporative and anal sadistic impulses.
In this paper I plan to present some case material that tends to confirm these previous speculations about graffiti, but before I can go any further I feel compelled to direct my attention briefly to those who criticize my position, preferring to elevate graffiti to the status of a popular art form or a means of social expression and communication.
I do not mean by this that writing on a wall cannot take on other meanings. I do not deny the importance of a man making his mark, of group identification and territoriality. Nor would I care to dismiss painting as nothing but fecal smearing. I would only argue the by now familiar view of Freud's in favor of equal consideration to the unconscious or latent meanings of behavior, be it painting, wall writing, dreaming, or joking. Such consideration should in no way detract from surface or manifest meanings. A search for what is hidden should not occur at the expense of what is known. Graffiti