During the 1970’s, New York City faced a fiscal crisis that brought it to the brink of bankruptcy resulting in severe budget cuts for many of its assets (Dunstan, p.g. 1). The budget reduction of public transportation and its security resulted in the birth of a deep culture that that seemingly replaced the void that was left behind. The empty subways turned into glimmering canvases for those who wanted a form of expression. What started out as simple name taggings turned into a voice for society’s mutes. Despite being constantly at odds with the law, the community stood together and graffiti evolved into a more law abiding and more accepted variation of what it originally was. Despite its evolution and recognition, it has been constantly denounced as mere vandalism rather than a form of art. Graffiti is art because it is the purposeful arrangement of elements for aesthetic appeal, can be used for the purpose of illustrative mimesis, and is a visual form of creative activity. The foremost image that appears in the minds of most people when they hear the word graffiti is colorful illustrations of undecipherable words and the depictions of famous figures or caricatures throughout history. As an art form, graffiti has embraced said traits for the purpose of aesthetic appeal. Artists work on creating illustrations using a wall as a canvas and think of creative ways to create images of their likings, using different types of paint, for people to appreciate. In a lot of cases,
Graffiti has been around for more than half a decade and practiced worldwide. However there is debate between whether it is a form of art or vandalism. Graffiti artists’ debate that many do not understand the reason most graffiti artist take the risk of incarceration, fines, injuries, and in some cases death to paint a wall. A graffiti artist can have the simple desire to become recognized, or to create a piece that speaks to their audience as a form of self expression. Because graffiti is associated with gangs and acts of destruction to some many cannot see the history and importance graffiti can have on a worldwide scale. Due to the fact that graffiti is usually produced illegally, meaning it is
Most people can argue that there is a fine distinction between what is recognized as art and vandalism. The individual is often faced with uncertainty when the topic of graffiti arises. The public often portray graffiti as a destructive act towards his or her surroundings however; graffiti can also be considered a form of self-expression. Many questions can be made pertaining to the graffiti movement, but the main question is graffiti a crime or an art? The answers lie in the complex phrase of “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”.
According to Boyd, through Graffiti is essential to understand as a form of art that crosses the boundaries of location, method, and motivation. He acknowledges that graffiti might include “racist remarks, empty slogans and illegal signatures.”(Boyd 251) Boyd’s piece is also very informative because according to the author, there are two methods for creating this form of art: murals and tagging. The most popular one is tagging because it can be found almost everywhere from fence posts to trains, street walls to buses. The main goal of graffiti writers is to put their signature tags in places to be recognized by their
The roots of graffiti started about 1971 by a Greek American who tagged “TAKI-183” in all New York subway system, he declared that he “used graffiti to create an identity in which he is certain about” (Fortuna 3), then it emerged all around America and the world. (David 72)
Art has been around ever since the ancient city of Pompeii. The people of Pompeii used graffiti as a way to display their cleverness; from poetry contests to playful recombinations of the letters that form Roman Numerals. In the early ‘70s, graffiti was used as a way for young teens to mark their territory. During that time, many people – especially in New York City – saw graffiti as vandalism and prohibited it. Even though graffiti has been misused in some occasions, as long as the purpose is not to deliberately mischievous or malicious destruction, graffiti is art.
There are many associations with graffiti writing, Hip-hop being the first. Though the emergence of graffiti can be attributed to street gangs; which, they used to mark their territories (Chronopoulos 2011, pg. 79), graffiti began to merge with hip-hop culture in the 70s (Chronopoulos 2011, pg. 82). Ultimately, this combination promoted the public domination over public spaces in New York City through the use
Graffiti can be found everywhere and anywhere. It is a way for people to express themselves and be creative in a public manner. It shows how passionate and talented they can be when it comes to drawing or tagging and have it displayed as a piece of art for everyone to see. Graffiti goes way back to the ancient times and is now very well known in the modern days which makes more and more people interested and fascinated by them. It can be used in different types of ways. Many artists can either spray paint, carve, paste, or stencil them on a surface. From how we see them today they are usually images of random cartoons, big bubbly letters, vintage black and whites or inspirational quotes. Virtually anything colorful or not and big that can be easily spotted. Graffiti is more superior to be known as art than vandalism because it is a self expressing act. People need to be open minded about the images they see and look at the message behind it or else they will immediately criticize and say it is vandalizing property.
Next is wildstyle this form of graffiti was developed by graffiti artists like Tracy 168, Stay High 149, as well as Zephry in New York City. Wildstyle is leaps and bounds more complex than the previously listed styles it’s characteristics are that it’s hard to read, can look three dimensional, and it is aimed more towards looks over function. After wildstyle is the graffiti form referred to as piece, piece or street art contains an array of colours piece works can contain a deeper message than a tag. These pieces take more time and effort than tags making it difficult for street artists to complete without being caught, sometimes street artists are commissioned by land/building owners to paint these pieces onto their businesses or other blank surfaces that could use more colour. Blockbuster, the goal with blockbusters is to cover up other artists works or blockbusters and take up as much space possible doing so fast. Another form is heaven graffiti, this graffiti is found in places at are dangerous or hard to reach (Delana, n.d.), lastly is posters or paste-up which is when an artist creates a piece and then puts it up or ‘pastes’ it wherever they please (GraffitoCanberra, n.d.). Graffiti comes in many shapes, sizes and forms it is not limited to one style or characteristic neither are the people who create it.
Graffiti is a excellent way to let out creativity, with a meaning everyone can relate to. For example, “Graffiti can turn a boring old brick wall into a piece of art as a result; graffiti can decorate a community in some peoples’ eyes “ (Cost of Graffiti on Communities). Artists use their imaginations to recreate a dull scene into something amazing. In addition,
In my opinion, professionally made graffiti is very beautiful. Graffiti is very popular throughout the world. If it 's done by really talented person , the pattern may become a work of art. Let 's start with the fact that graffiti transforms abandoned buildings , fences , telephone booths . Drawings must be drawn on an old , dirty and ruined walls. It would be nice if we could have a special place for graffiti. In addition, graffiti artists want to be heard , and they are trying to explain something to people . Painting a picture , artists express themselves . They want to decorate this gray and boring world . In addition , there are some famous unusual paintings that are made by the best artists . When people look at these colorful pictures on the buildings , they think of something warm and good.
Graffiti can be recognized as a form of art, or a crime, but I see it as mischievous beauty. Graffiti consists of inscriptions, slogans and drawings scratched, scribbled or painted on a wall or other public or private surface. In the book (Let The Great World Spin, 168), Fernando Yunque Marcano explains, “The ones you find in darkness. Way in the sides of the tunnels. The surprise of them. The deeper the better. Lit up by the moving lights of the train and caught for just an instant so that he’s never quite sure if he's seen them or not.”. Graffiti is used by people to express their deepest emotions, to give others a glimpse of a part of their life, whether it’s a triumph or a tragedy, or to have others ponder and relate it to their own lives,
The first argument point is that graffiti can be beautiful. A famous street artist Nikita Nomerz travels around Russia with his project T he Living Wall, w here he brings old statues, walls, towers, and structures to life by putting graffiti on it. What he does is he puts eyes and facial features in his artwork in order for it to “come alive.” In my opinion artists like NIkita Nomerz love seeing their artwork display itself.
Pleasure and feelings, they are a big factor in why people try this art. Why graffiti artist feel the need to do it. It is their own way of a adrenaline drug. For instance, “graffiti is, overwhelmingly about pleasure and desire in the act of writing” (Halsey & Young, 2006, p.2). Many of the artist believe they have some type of connection with the art and everyone involved:
Art: the ultimate form of self expression. But, what constitutes an art? And, who decides? These very questions plague society as it tries to decide and define the official status of graffiti--art or vandalism? Because it has found its way into art galleries and because of the community of artists who challenge and inspire each other, graffiti should be considered art and as a way to express oneself.
You’ve probably seen some type of graffiti art before; most likely in a large city like New York City. Whether it be on bridges, public transit property, buildings, or walls, graffiti is an art form that is available at your exposure. It is intended to be seen by the public eye and this type of art arises curiosity amongst viewers. Graffiti can be seen as its own subculture. This culture initiated about 30 years ago in New York City, and the grand appreciation for this art has helped it become a global phenomenon. The use of graffiti can date all the way back to Ancient Greece, but modern graffiti didn’t originate until 1960 when artists tagged their names on cars. It wasn’t until the 1980s that hip hop became a part of graffiti, which ultimately