Our common perception of a graffiti artist is a vandalistic rebel who works through a free venue to spread his message. Although there are many incredible artists who sprinkle our streets and alleyways with colorful, astonishing work, they don’t expect much respect from the common passerby for the work they do- until recently. The public environment, as it always has been, is a venue for artists and people to speak out. Recently artists have used graffiti (or the notion of graffiti) to stimulate thoughtful movement through our public space by addressing topics such as climate change, pollution, and consumerism.

The UK’s Paul Curtis, also known as the "Moose," and Brazil’s Alexandre Orion are taking a new approach to graffiti to convey a sense of "clean," and to inspire pedestrians to keep it that way. Their cue comes from the "Wash Me" message commonly wiped away from the back of dirty semi trucks. They call this reverse graffiti, and they create their work by removing soot, sludge, carbon from exhaust, etc., from the wall to reveal a message.

Moose generated a message in a transport tunnel that reads "Go Gently" to remind drivers of the impact their cars have on the planet. "Once you do this, you make people confront whether or not they like people cleaning walls or if they really have a problem with personal expression."

Orion created a work in a Sao Paolo transport tunnel; his is a series of skulls that also depicts the impact drivers’ emissions have on the planet. As a result of this project, the transit authority washed the wall to remove the public expression. In reaction, Orion created the same artwork on the other side of the tunnel. This resulted in the transit authority cleaning the entire tunnel on both sides. They then continued to resist the public work by cleaning every transport tunnel in the city. Not such a bad idea on all accounts.

Another artist, Edina Tokodi, recently created a work of green graffiti in Brooklyn, New York. Edina saw the idea of graffiti as an opportunity to stimulate positive green thoughts and encourage city dwellers to resurface their connection to nature. She decided to maintain the venue while changing the medium. Her work consists of moss installations adhered to the wall where spray paint might commonly be seen. Using this much less harmful medium, she creates images such as prancing animals, and uses existing imagery to create trees and objects found in nature. The beauty of this medium is that it can continue to grow. As moss receives water from the air, condensation, and rain, it continues to grow as the artwork remains fixed to its site.