GRAFFITI

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GRAFFITI as ART
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In art history graffiti refers to the
inscriptions, figures drawing, etc. found on the
walls of ancient ruins, as in the Catacombs of
Rome or at Pompeii. Today's usage of the word
graffiti has evolved to include any graphics
applied to surfaces in a manner that constitutes
vandalism. Graffiti is often regarded by others
as unsightly damage or unwanted vandalism.
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Graffiti has existed since ancient times

Roman, Caricature of a Politician
Egyptian, Ancient Graffiti on Monument
Graffiti can be anything from simple scratch
marks to elaborate wall paintings
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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. The
graffiti shows a handprint that vaguely resembles
a heart, along with a footprint and a number.
This is believed to indicate that a brothel was
nearby, with the handprint symbolizing payment.
Greek, Ephesus Brothel Advertisement
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HOW DID Graffiti BECOME ART?
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Modern graffiti in America began in the late
1960s. Graffiti was used as a form of
expression by political activists . . .
Hex Nixon, NY, 1973
This popular graffito of the 1970s reflects the
hostility of the youth culture to the U.S.
President.
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. . .and for approval or disapproval of
musicians
Inscription in the London subway made famous by
photograph for album cover to Fresh Cream
London, 1967
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The pioneering era in graffiti art took place
between 1969-1974. The goal of most artists at
this point was called getting up and involved
having as many tags and bombs in as many places
as possible. It was during this time artists
began to move from the city streets to the
subways. They broke into subway yards in order
to hit as many trains as possible, creating
larger elaborate pieces of art along the subway
car side. This is when the act of bombing was
established.
1970's NYC Subway Graffiti
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By 1971 tags began to take on their signature
calligraphic appearance. Each graffiti artist
needed a way to distinguish themselves. Tags
began to grow in size and scale, as well as
complexity and creativity. Letter size and line
thickness became larger giving birth to the
masterpiece or piece in 1972. Super Kool 223
is credited as being the first to do these
pieces by introducing the "fat cap" - an
industrial spray nozzle that widened the arc of
the paint.
SUPER KOOL 223
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Graffiti artists began to incorporate the use of
scenery and cartoon characters into their work.
The use of designs such as polka dots,
crosshatches, and checkers also became popular.
Spray paint use increased dramatically as artists
began to expand their work. Top-to-bottoms
emerged at this time, some completely covering
subway cars or trains.
Fab Five Freddy
In 1972, Hugo Martinez founded the United
Graffiti Artists (UGA), consisting of many top
graffiti artists of the time and aiming to
present graffiti in an art gallery setting. In
1979, Roman art dealer Claudio Bruni gave
graffiti artists Lee Quinones and Fab 5 Freddy a
gallery opening in Rome.
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In June 1980 a large avant-garde art show was
held in a former bus depot and massage parlor
near Times Square. The Times Square Show
featured more than a hundred artists. Graffiti
artists included Jean- Michel Basquiat, Futura
2000, Lee Quinones, and Keith Haring.
Announcement for the Times Square Show, 1980
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The 1980s is considered the Golden Age of
graffiti art with the emergence of wild
style, an intertwined and decorative lettering
that mixes icons and images from popular culture
to form a complex composition.
Seen 6, marker on paper, 1985
Wild Style A difficult to read type of letter
with many arrows, angles and complex
connections. It was probably started by the
Brooklyn writers, but no one is really sure of
its origin.
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In the 1980s, high art was being criticized as
too institutionalized and intellectual. A huge
discrepancy existed between art in museums and
the experience of common people.
Art critic Rene Richard highlighted graffiti art
in Art Forum, an important high art magazine.
Art dealers sought new artworks to stimulate
the art market. Graffiti became an art
commodity worth investing in.
Page 35 All works by Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Clockwise from top left Famous Negro Athlete
47, 1981, mixed media on paper, approx. 11 x
17". Gringo Pilot, 1981, mixed media on seamless
paper, 81 x 103" at widest point. World Crown,
1981, mixed media on canvas, approx. 60 x 72 "
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Untitled, acrylic mixed media on canvas by, 1984
Jean-Michel Basquiata-Haitian American artist. He
gained popularity first as a graffiti artist in
New York City, and then as a successful 1980s-era
Neo-expressionist artist. Basquiat's paintings
continue to influence modern-day artists and
command high prices. Basquiat died accidentally
of mixed-drug toxicity (cocaine and heroin).
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Futura 2000 (born 1955), an internationally
acclaimed graffiti artist, started to paint
illegally on New York's subway in the early
seventies. Futura 2000 began painting "legally"
as the live on- stage backdrop painter for The
Clash's 1981 European tour. He currently is a
successful graphic designer and gallery artist.
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One of the most distinctive features about
Futura's work is his abstract approach to
graffiti art. During the 1980s, the primary focus
of the majority of graffiti artists was
lettering, Futura pioneered abstract, which has
since become more popular. Conversely, his
aerosol strokes are regarded as different from
those of his peers, as they are as thin as the
fine lines achieved only through the use of an
airbrush.
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Lee Quiñones, born 1960 in Puerto Rico and raised
in New York, was one of the key innovators
during the early days of New Yorks street-art
movement. He was also one of the first street
artists to transition away from creating murals
on trains and begin creating canvas-based
paintings.
A film still of Lee Quinones graffiti from
Charlie Aherns Wild Style, 1981.
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Keith Haring (May 4, 1958 February 16, 1990)
was an artist and social activist whose work
also responded to the New York City street
culture of the 1980s. By expressing concepts of
birth, death, love, sex and war, Haring's
imagery has become a widely recognized visual
language of the 20th century.
In 1988, he was diagnosed with AIDS. He
established the Keith Haring Foundation in 1989,
to provide funding and imagery to AIDS
organizations and children's programs, and to
expand the audience for Harings work through
exhibitions, publications and the licensing of
his images. Haring used his imagery during the
last years of his life to speak about his own
illness and generate activism and awareness
about AIDS.
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Keith Haring, Retrospect, 1989
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American popular culture soon made heroes of
graffiti artists.
The Graffiti art movement is also indebted to
the Hip-Hop culture popular at that time, which
included rap music, disc jockies and break
dancing. This subculture gained attention in
the New Yorker magazine, and movies with
graffiti art as a backdrop.
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By the 1990s, Hip-Hop culture had become known
worldwide and accepted as part of mainstream
U.S. culture. Graffiti art became
commercialized, appearing in the advertisements
of Nike and Sprite. Marketing strategies
targeted at youth culture reinforce the notion
of graffiti as an artistic form of expression of
the younger generation.
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Today graffiti art has become a common element in
modern culture. Marc Ecko, urban clothing
designer, and advocate of graffiti as an art
form, states graffiti is without question the
most powerful art movement in recent history and
has been a driving inspiration throughout my
career.
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With the popularity and legitimization of
graffiti came the rise of video games depicting
graffiti art as it was in the 1980s.
Mark Ecko's Getting Up Atari This game allows
players to step into the shoes of a graffiti
artist and features a hip-hop soundtrack. The
music, detailed graffiti patterns, and gritty
urban scenes set the mood that's reminiscent of
Manhattan in the golden days.
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Gang Graffiti Gang graffiti appeared in the U.S.
in the 1950s. It is the most unacceptable form
of public graffiti because of the notorious
reputation of gangs. These are primitive scrawls
focusing on the gang name or symbols adopted to
mark territory and war zones. They are often
simple alphabets written backwards, numbers
marked in sets or letters intentionally crossed
out to send coded messages among gang members or
warn away intruders. Usually these activities
are carried out by junior members within the
gang hierarchy or by newly recruited young
members to prove their worth and courage by
entering the territory of another gang and
leaving an insulting mark. They are selected
because they are the most expendable and can be
easily replaced.
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MODERN ISSUES Graffiti has become an expensive
social problem in many cities in the world.
U.S. cities spent an estimated four billion
dollars cleaning graffiti in 1994. School
vandalism is an increasing problem that depletes
educational budgets and delays upgrading plans.
Cleaning graffiti in schools is also a struggle
for many teachers, principals, and school staff.
As a result there has been strong advocacy in
recent year for stricter state legislation
against juvenile delinquency on school
property. Graffiti can spark risk-taking
tendency amongst adolescents who do not think
about the consequences of their actions before
climbing on bridges or overpasses and hanging in
dangerous positions to leave their marks.