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CBS News poll: Is graffiti art?

From American GIs in World War II writing "Kilroy is Here" to Banksy today, modern graffiti has been around a long time. But is it art?

According to the latest CBS News "Sunday Morning" Pulse Poll, a slim majority of Americans (51 percent) say no, graffiti is not a legitimate form of art like painting or sculpture, as opposed to 44 percent who say yes.

That represents a slight change from three years ago when, in a similar poll, 54 percent said graffiti is not art while 40 percent said yes.

There is little difference in opinion by gender; however, the young are far more likely to think that graffiti is art than their elders. Two-thirds of those between ages 18-34 (66 percent) said yes, with the number decreasing in each age group: 47 percent ages 35-44, 41 percent ages 45-54, and 33 percent ages 55-64, with only 23 percent of seniors (65+) saying yes.

Liberals (65 percent) and moderates (46 percent) were also more likely to respond that graffiti is art than conservatives (30 percent).

This poll was conducted by telephone from March 19-23, 2014 among 1,016adults nationwide. Data collection was conducted on behalf of CBS News by Social Science Research Solutions of Media, Pa. Phone numbers were dialed from samples of both standard land-line and cell phones. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus three percentage points. The error for subgroups may be higher. Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish. This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

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