Graffiti (singular: graffito; the plural is morecommon) is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, orpainted on property that does not belong to the artist. Graffiti isoften regarded by others as unsightly damage or unwanted vandalism.
Graffiti has existed since ancient times, with examples going back to Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire.[1] Graffiti can be anything from simple scratch marks to elaborate wall paintings. In modern times, spray paint and markershave become the most commonly used materials. In most countries,defacing property with graffiti without the property owner's consent isconsidered vandalism,which is punishable by law. Sometimes graffiti is employed tocommunicate social and political messages. To some, it is an art formworthy of display in galleries and exhibitions. However, the publicgenerally frowns upon "tags" that deface bus stops, trains, buildings,playgrounds and other public property.
Etymology"Graffiti" is applied in art history to works of art produced by scratching a design into a surface. A related term is "sgraffito,"which involves scratching through one layer of pigment to revealanother beneath it. This technique was primarily used by potters whowould glaze their wares and then scratch a design into it. Graffiti andsgraffito are from the Italian word graffiato ("scratched"). In ancient times, graffiti was carved on walls with a sharp object, although sometimes chalk or coal were used. The Greek word γράφειν - graphein - means "to write."
[edit] History of graffiti
[edit] Ancient graffiti
Historically, the term graffiti referred to the inscriptions, figure drawings, etc., found on the walls of ancient sepulchers or ruins, as in the Catacombs of Rome or at Pompeii. Usage of the word has evolved to include any graphics applied to surfaces in a manner that constitutes vandalism.
The only known source of the Safaiticlanguage, a form of proto-Arabic, is from graffiti: inscriptionsscratched on to the surface of rocks and boulders in the predominantlybasalt desert of southern Syria, eastern Jordan and northern Saudi Arabia. Safaitic dates from the 1st century B.C. to the 4th century A.D..
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The first known example of "modern style" graffiti survives in the ancient Greek city of Ephesus (in modern-day Turkey). Local guides say it is an advertisement for prostitution. Located near a mosaicand stone walkway, the graffiti shows a handprint that vaguelyresembles a heart, along with a footprint and a number. This isbelieved to indicate that a brothel was nearby, with the handprintsymbolizing payment. [2]
The Romans carved graffiti on walls and monuments, with examples surviving in Egypt. The eruption of Vesuvius preserved graffiti in Pompeii, including Latincurses, magic spells, declarations of love, alphabets, politicalslogans and famous literary quotes, providing insight into ancientRoman street life. One inscription gives the address of a woman namedNovellia Primigenia of Nuceria, a prostitute, apparently of greatbeauty, whose services were much in demand. Another shows a phallusaccompanied by the text, mansueta tene: "Handle with care".
Disappointed love also found its way onto walls in antiquity:
- Quisquis amat. veniat. Veneri volo frangere costas
- fustibus et lumbos debilitare deae.
- Si potest illa mihi tenerum pertundere pectus
- quit ego non possim caput illae frangere fuste?
- Whoever loves, go to hell. I want to break Venus's ribs
- with a club and deform her hips.
- If she can break my tender heart
- why can't I hit her over the head?
- -CIL IV, 1284.
Errors in spelling and grammar in this graffiti offer insight intothe degree of literacy in Roman times and provide clues on thepronunciation of spoken Latin. Examples are CIL IV, 7838: Vettium Firmum / aed[ilem] quactiliar[ii] [sic] rog[ant]. Here, "qu" is pronounced "co." The 83 pieces of graffiti found at CILIV, 4706-85 are evidence of the ability to read and write at levels ofsociety where literacy might not be expected. The graffiti appear on a peristylewhich was being remodeled at the time of the eruption of Vesuvius bythe architect Crescens. The graffiti was left by both the foreman andhis workers. The brothel at CIL VII, 12, 18-20 contains over 120 pieces of graffiti, some of which were the work of the prostitutes and their clients. The gladiatorial academy at CIL IV, 4397 was scrawled with graffiti left by the gladiator Celadus Crescens (Suspirium puellarum Celadus thraex: "Celadus the Thracian makes the girls sigh.")
It was not only the Greeks and Romans that produced graffiti: the Mayan site of Tikal in Guatemala also contains ancient examples. Viking graffiti survive in Rome and at Newgrange Mound in Ireland, and a Varangian scratched his name (Halvdan) in runes on a banister in the Hagia Sophia at Constantinople.
Graffiti, known as Tacherons, were frequently scratched on the walls of Romanesque churches.[3]
When Renaissance artists such as Pinturicchio, Raphael, Michelangelo, Ghirlandaio or Filippino Lippi descended into the ruins of Nero's Domus Aurea, they carved or painted their names[4][5] and returned with the grottesche style of decoration. There are also examples of graffiti occurring in American history, such as Signature Rock, a national landmark along the Oregon Trail.
Later, French soldiers carved their names on monuments during the Napoleonic campaign of Egypt in the 1790s.[6] Lord Byron's graffito of his own name survives on one of the columns of the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion in Attica, Greece.[7] There is also evidence of Chinese graffiti on the great wall of China.
Art forms like frescoes and murals involve leaving images and writing on wall surfaces. Like the prehistoric wall paintings created by cavedwellers, they do not comprise graffiti, as the artists generallyproduce them with the explicit permission (and usually support) of theowner or occupier of the walls.
[edit] Modern graffiti
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Modern graffiti is often seen as having become intertwined with Hip-Hop culture as one of the four main elements of the culture (along with the Master of ceremony, the disc jockey, and break dancing), through Hollywood movies such as Wild Style.However, modern (twentieth century) graffiti predates hip hop by almosta decade and has its own culture, complete with its own unique styleand slang.
For example, one of the most popular graffitos of the 1970s was the legend "Dick NixonBefore He Dicks You," reflecting the hostility of the youth culture tothat U.S. president. The belief that the two are related arises fromthe fact that some graffiti artists enjoyed the other three aspects ofhip-hop, and that it was mainly practiced in areas where the otherthree elements of hip-hop were evolving as art forms. Graffiti is knownto be the visual expression of the rap music of the decade, where breakdancing is the physical expression. In addition, graffiti has been made synonymous with the anti-establishment punk rock movement of the 1970s, with such bands as Black Flag and Crass stenciling to gain notoriety, thus bringing it into punk culture.
Graffiti artists sometimes choose nicknames for them as an artist.These names are chosen for one of many reasons. Artists want tags to bequick to write so they are often from 3 to 5 characters in length. Thename is chosen to reflect personal qualities and characteristics, orbecause of the way the word sounds, and/or for the way it looks oncewritten. The letters in a word can make doing pieces very difficult ifthe shapes of the letters don't sit next to each other in a visuallypleasing way. Some Graffiti artists select their names that are playson common expressions, such as 2Shae, Page3, 2Cold, In1 and other such names.
Names also can represent a word with an irregular spelling; for example, "Train" could be Trane or Trayne and "Envy" could be Envie or Envee.Names can also contain subtle and often cryptic messages, or, in somecases, the artist's initials or other letters. As well as the graffitiname, some artists include the year that they completed that tag nextto the name. bomber Tox, from London, seldom writes just Tox; it is usually Tox03, Tox04, etc. In some cases, artists dedicate or create tags or graffiti in memory of a deceased friend – for example, "DIVA Peekrevs R.I.P. JTL '99." The Borf Brigade's arrested member, John Tsombikos, claimed the "BORF" tag campaign, which gained recognition for its prevalence in DC, was in memory of his deceased friend.
Initial groundwork for graffiti began around the late 1960s. Around this time, graffiti was mainly a form of expression by political activists. It was considered a cheap and easy way to make a statement, with minimal risk to the artist, often at the time a hippie.As the foundations of graffiti began, gang graffiti also began toarise, used largely by gangs to mark territory. Some gangs that madeuse of graffiti during this era included the Savage Skulls, La Familia,and Savage Nomads.
Towards the end of the 1960s the modern culture began to form in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The two graffiti artists considered to be responsible for the first true bombing are "Cool Earl" and "Cornbread".[8]They gained much attention from the Philadelphia press and thecommunity itself by leaving their tags written everywhere. Around1970-71, the centre of graffiti innovation moved from Philadelphia to New York City.Once the initial foundation was laid (occurred around 1966 - 1971),graffiti "pioneers" began inventing newer and more creative ways towrite.[8]
[edit] Pioneering era (1969-1974)
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Between the years of 1969-1974 the "pioneering era" took place.During this time graffiti underwent a change in styles and popularity.Soon after the migration to NYC, the city produced one of the firstgraffiti artists to gain media attention in New York, TAKI 183. TAKI 183 was a youth from Washington Heights, Manhattanwho worked as a foot messenger. His tag is a mixture of his nameDemetrius (Demetraki), TAKI, and his street number, 183rd. Being a footmessenger, he was constantly on the subway and began to put up his tagsalong his travels. This spawned a 1971 article in the New York Times titled "'Taki 183' Spawns Pen Pals".[8][6][9] Julio 204is also credited as the first writer, but didn't get the fame that Takireceived. TAKI 183 was the first artist to be recognised outside of thegraffiti subculture, but wasn't the first artist. Other notable namesfrom that time are: Stay High 149, Hondo 1, Phase 2,Stitch 1, Joe 136, Junior 161 and Cay 161. Barbara 62 and Eva 62 werealso important early graffiti artists in New York, and are the firstknown females to write graffiti.
Also taking place during this era was the movement from outside onthe city streets to the subways. Graffiti also saw its first seeds ofcompetition around this time. The goal of most artists at this pointwas called "getting up" and involved having as many tags and bombs inas many places as possible. Artists began to break into subway yards inorder to hit as many trains as they could with a lower risk, oftencreating larger elaborate pieces of art along the subway car sides.This is when the act of bombing was said to be officially established.
By 1971 tags began to take on their signature calligraphic appearancebecause, due to the huge number of artists, each graffiti artist neededa way to distinguish themselves. Aside from the growing complexity andcreativity, tags also began to grow in size and scale – for example,many artists had begun to increase letter size and line thickness, aswell as outlining their tags. This gave birth to the so-called'masterpiece' or 'piece' in 1972. Super Kool 223 is credited as being the first to do pieces.
The use of designs such as polka dots, crosshatches, and checkersbecame increasingly popular. Spray paint use increased dramaticallyaround this time as artists began to expand their work."Top-to-bottoms", works which span the entire height of a subway car,made their first appearance around this time as well. The overallcreativity and artistic maturation of this time period did not gounnoticed by the mainstream – Hugo Martinez founded the United GraffitiArtists (UGA) in 1972. UGA consisted of many top graffiti artists ofthe time, and aimed to present graffiti in an art gallery setting. By1974, graffiti artists had begun to incorporate the use of scenery andcartoon characters into their work.
[edit] Peak, mid 1970s
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After the original pioneering efforts, which culminated in 1974, theart form peaked around 1975 – 1977. By this time, most standards hadbeen set in graffiti writing and culture. The heaviest "bombing" inU.S. history took place in this period, partially because of theeconomic restraints on New York City, which limited its ability tocombat this art form with graffiti removal programs or transitmaintenance. Also during this time, "top-to-bottoms" evolved to take upentire subway cars. Most note-worthy of this era proved to be theforming of the "throw-up", which are more complex than simple"tagging," but not as intricate as a "piece". Not long after theirintroduction, throw-ups lead to races to see who could do the largestamount of throw-ups in the least amount of time.
Graffiti writing was becoming very competitive and artists strove to go "all-city," or to have their names seen in all five boroughsof NYC. Eventually, the standards which had been set in the early 70sbegan to become stagnant. These changes in attitude lead many artistsinto the 1980s with a desire to expand and change.
[edit] Late 1970s and early 1980s
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The late 1970s and early 1980s brought a new wave of creativity tothe scene. As the influence of graffiti grew, a graffiti movement beganin Brooklyn as well with prominent artist Friendly Freddie. Fab Five Freddy(Fred Brathwaite) is another popular graffiti figure of this time,often credited with helping to spread the influence of graffiti and rap music beyond its early foundations in the Bronx. It was also, however, the last wave of true bombing before the Transit Authority made graffiti eradication a priority. The MTA (Metro Transit Authority)began to repair yard fences, and remove graffiti consistently, battlingthe surge of graffiti artists. With the MTA combatting the artists byremoving their work it often led many artists to quit in frustration,as their work was constantly being removed. It was also around thistime that the established art world started becoming receptive to thegraffiti culture for the first time since Hugo Martinez’s Razor Galleryin the early 1970s.
In 1979, graffiti artist Lee Quinones,and Fab Five Freddy were given a gallery opening in Rome by art dealerClaudio Bruni. Slowly, European art dealers became more interested inthe new art form. For many outside of New York, it was the first timeever being exposed to the art form. During the 1980s the culturalaspect of graffiti was said to be deteriorating almost to the point ofextinction. The rapid decline in writing was due to several factors.The streets became more dangerous due to the burgeoning crack epidemic,legislation was underway to make penalties for graffiti artists moresevere, and restrictions on paint sale and display made racking(stealing) materials difficult. Above all, the MTA greatly increasedtheir anti-graffiti budget. Many favored painting sites became heavilyguarded, yards were patrolled, newer and better fences were erected,and buffing of pieces was strong, heavy, and consistent.
Many graffiti artists, however, chose to see the new problems as achallenge rather than a reason to quit. A downside to these challengeswas that the artists became very territorial of good writing spots, andstrength and unity in numbers became increasingly important. This wasprobably the most violent era in graffiti history – Artists who choseto go out alone were often beaten and robbed of their supplies. Some ofthe mentionable graffiti artists from this era were Skeme, Spade, BG183, and Flight. This was stated to be the end for the casual NYCsubway graffiti artists, and the years to follow would be populated byonly what some consider the most "die hard" artists. People often foundthat graffiting around their local areas was an easy way to get caughtso they travelled to different areas.
[edit] Die Hard era (1985-1989)
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The years between 1985 and 1989 became known as the "die hard" era.A last shot for the graffiti artists of this time was in the form ofsubway cars destined for the scrap yard.With the increased security, the culture had taken a step back. Theprevious elaborate "burners" on the outside of cars were now marredwith simplistic marker tags which often soaked through the paint.
By mid-1986 the MTA and the CTAwere winning their "war on graffiti," and the population of activegraffiti artists diminished. As the population of artists lowered sodid the violence associated with graffiti crews and "bombing." Rooftops also were being the new billboards for some 80's writers. Somenotable graffiti artists of this era from New York and Chicago wereGhost, Ket, Bruz, Ja, Yes2, Zuer , Sien5, Cope2, West, Zephyr, Dr. Revolt Cavs, Reas, Wane, Wen, Swatch, DG, Spade & Heart Fox, Quest Kds, Fate, Dart, Niro , Sane, Smith, Seen,and T-kid (New York), and Were One, Sivel, Agent aka Ages, Lone,Koname, Temper, Nyke, Erie, Triple, Page, Scarce, Slang, Orko, OXiD(NBSCrew, Romania) and Trixter (Chicago).
[edit] Clean Train Movement era
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The current era in graffiti is characterized by a majority ofgraffiti artists moving from subway or train cars to "streetgalleries." The Clean Train Movement started in May, 1989, when NewYork attempted to remove all of the subway cars found with graffiti onthem out of the transit system. Because of this, many graffiti artistshad to resort to new ways to express themselves. Much controversy aroseamong the streets debating whether graffiti should be considered anactual form of art.[10]
During this period many graffiti artists had taken to displayingtheir works in galleries and owning their own studios. This practicestarted in the early 1980s with artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, who started out tagging locations with his signature SAMO (Same Old Shit), and Keith Haring, who was also able to take his art into studio spaces.
In some cases, graffiti artists had achieved such elaborate graffiti(especially those done in memory of a deceased person) on storefrontgates that shopkeepers have hesitated to cover them up. In the Bronx after the death of rapper Big Pun, several murals dedicated to his life appeared virtually overnight;[11] similar outpourings occurred after the deaths of The Notorious B.I.G., Tupac Shakur, and Mac Dre.[12][13] Princess Diana and Mother Teresa were also memorialised this way in New York City.
With the popularity and legitimization of graffiti has come a level of commercialization. In 2001, computer giant IBM launched an advertising campaign which involved people in various states spray painting on sidewalks a peace symbol, a heart, and a penguin (Linuxmascot), to represent "Peace, Love, and Linux." However due toillegalities some of the "street artists" were arrested and chargedwith vandalism.[14]
Along with the commercial growth has come the rise of video game also depicting graffiti, usually in a positive aspect – for example, the game Jet Grind Radio tells the story of a group of teens fighting the oppression of a totalitarian police force that attempts to limit the graffiti artists' freedom of speech. Following the original roots of modern graffiti as a political force came another game title Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure which features a similar story line of fighting against a corrupt city and its oppression of free speech.
Mark Ecko,an urban clothing designer, has been an advocate of graffiti as an artform during this period, stating that "Graffiti is without question themost powerful art movement in recent history and has been a drivinginspiration throughout my career."[15]
[edit] Modern experimentation
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Modern graffiti art often incorporates additional arts and technologies. For example, Graffiti Research Lab has encouraged the use of projected images and magnetic Light-emitting diodes as new mediums for graffiti writers. The Italian artist Kaso is pursuing regenerative graffiti through experimentation with abstract shapes and deliberate modification of previous Graffiti artworks.
[edit] Styles
Some of the most common styles of graffiti have their own names. A"tag" is the most basic writing of an artist's name in either spraypaint or marker. A graffiti writer's tag is his or her personalizedsignature. "Tagging" is often the example given when opponents ofgraffiti refer to vandalism, as they use it to label all acts ofgraffiti writing (it is by far the most common form of graffiti).Another form is the "throw-up," also known as a "fill-in," which isnormally painted very quickly with two or three colors, sacrificingaesthetics for speed. Throw-ups can also be outlined on a surface withone color. A "piece" is a more elaborate representation of the artist'sname, incorporating more stylized "block" or "bubble" letters, usingthree or more colors. This of course is done at the expense oftimeliness and increases the likelihood of the artist getting caught.
A more complex style is "wildstyle", a form of graffiti involvinginterlocking letters, arrows, and connecting points. These pieces areoften harder to read by non-graffiti artists as the letters merge intoone another in an often undecipherable manner. A "Roller" is a"fill-in" that intentionally takes up an entire wall, sometimes withthe whole purpose of blocking other "taggers" from painting on the samewall. Some artists also use stickers as a quick way to "get-up". Whileits critics consider this as lazy and a form of cheating, others findthat 5 to 10 minutes spent on a detailed sticker is in no way lazy,especially when used with other methods.
Sticker tags are commonly done on blank postage stickers, or reallyanything with an adhesive side to it. "Stencils" are made by drawing animage onto a piece of cardboard or tougher versions of paper, then cutwith a razor blade. What is left is then just simply sprayed-over, andif done correctly, a perfect image is left. Many graffiti artistsbelieve that doing blockbusters or even complex wildstyles are a wasteof time. Doing wildstyle can take (depending on experience) 8 hours to2 days. Another graffiti artist can go over that time consuming piecein a matter of minutes with a bubble fill-in that would look just asgood as a wildstyle piece.
[edit] Uses
Theories on the use of graffiti by avant-garde artists have a history dating back at least to the Scandinavian Institute of Comparative Vandalism in 1961.
Many contemporary analysts and even art critics have begun to seeartistic value in some graffiti and to recognize it as a form of public art. According to many art researchers, particularly in the Netherlands and in Los Angeles, that type of public art is, in fact an effective tool of social emancipation or in the achievement of a political goal.[16]
The murals of Belfast and of Los Angeles offer another example of official recognition.[17]In times of conflict, such murals have offered a means of communicationand self-expression for members of these socially, ethnically and/orracially divided communities, and have proven themselves as effectivetools in establishing dialog and thus of addressing cleavages in thelong run. The Berlin Wall was also extensively covered by Graffiti reflecting social pressures relating to the oppressive Soviet rule over the GDR.
Many artists involved with Graffiti also are concerned with the similar activity of Stencilling. Essentially, this entails stencilling a print of one or more colours using spray-paint. Graffiti artist John Fekner, called "caption writer to the urban environment, adman for the opposition" by writer Lucy Lippard[18], was involved in direct art interventions within New York City'sdecaying urban environment in the mid-seventies through the eighties.Fekner is known for his word installations targeting social andpolitical issues, stencilled on buildings throughout New York.
In the UK, Banksyis the most recognisable icon for this cultural artistic movement andkeeps his identity secret to avoid arrest. Much of Banksy's artwork canbe seen around the streets of London and surrounding suburbs, though hehas painted pictures around the world, including the Middle East, where he has painted on Israel's controversial West Bankbarrier with satirical images of life on the other side. One depicted ahole in the wall with an idyllic beach, while another shows a mountain landscape on the other side. A number of exhibitions have also taken place since 2000, and recent works of art have fetched vast sums of money.
