BY LENORE COSTELLO
some call it a plague and an eyesore; others consider it an expression of their basic rights.
Some of it has deep political meaning, while some is a word or two written 5 quickly in permanent marker.
And it can be found all over cities around the world: on rooftops, bridges, the walls of abandoned buildings.
Graffiti and street art have been highly controversial forms of expression for decades, hated by art snobs and building caretakers alike.
The people who complain about it the most, however, are the city officials who clash with artists and taggers over their creations. Interestingly, this battle has done 15 nothing to lessen street art's popularity. And now, some experts say, that popularity could do what city officials couldn't: threaten the very essence of this short-lived art form.