Ottilie Cooper-Ohm
Mrs. McLaughlin
Comp I
October 20, 2015
Types of Graffiti
Whether it’s in a positive or negative way, it is clear that graffiti has a large impact on today’s society. However, the majority of people have little to no knowledge about this emerging art form that surrounds them. Graffiti comes in a multitude of different styles and formats, from the quotes and numbers that constantly pop up inside bathroom stalls and on school desks to works of art that encompass entire buildings. This essay provides a concise overview of the prominent categories of graffiti: tags, stencil, wildstyle, blockbusters, heaven, and pieces.
Tags
Primarily first name based, tags are the most common type of graffiti. These are what you would typically see scribbled on train cars and bridges on your daily commute. Tags are typically done in a single color, and are quick enough to create that they can be made in a matter of seconds. They consist mainly of names or nicknames, or a short phrase. A good example of a tag was the American pop culture fad, known as “Kilroy was here”, a simple drawing of a bald man with a prominent nose peering over a wall accompanied by the phrase Kilroy was here, which quickly became an amusing icon because of it’s ability to pop up anywhere. 2. Stencil Stencils are complicated works of graffiti more similar to paintings, made simple with the use of a thick sheet of cardboard cut into a stencil. They achieve the appearance of paintings with only
A perfect example of the presence of artworks available for viewing is in graffiti. Graffiti is often a derogative term used to describe writing, drawing, or images placed on the surfaces of public buildings or areas. Although not considered fine art by many, as an expression of creativity and imagination, it falls under the category of artworks. What separates this form of artwork from those found in galleries is the atmosphere and environment that is attached to graffiti that cannot be replicated or found in art galleries. The raw nature of graffiti makes it appealing for viewers, however, the fact it is abundant in the urban environment justifies the idea that it can be viewed without the need for an art gallery.
Graffiti is a controversial topic in some areas that would say that graffiti can’t be considered art. But how can’t it be considered art? Does the location or the message of the art make it any less art? How much do people even know about graffiti, which is judged upon so hard in today's era?
Today there are world known graffiti artists, Aryz, Kaws, and D Face are just a few. Any artist wants to be recognized and have their work appreciated. That is why public property is so appealing to the graffiti artist. A train car moving throughout the city with your mural on it will be seen by hundreds, even if its up for a small period of time. Most graffiti artists take time to create a piece. It takes a lot of planning and effort to make a great piece of art. Graffiti artists are all about techniques, you need to be able to show you are an expert in your medium. It’s also important for a graffiti artist to find an imaginative spot for a mural, so it’s obvious that it’s hard work. To make graffiti a piece of art it must have purpose and inflict emotion on its audience, which is why the forcefulness of the urban environment is as much as part of the artwork as the graffiti itself. Taggers have no real reason to create graffiti. Nor is what they do visually pleasing.
Graffiti portrays contemporary sub-cultured art through its versatility and bold attractiveness on the communal grounds. In the 1970s, graffiti was blatantly acknowledged as territorial graffiti where
First of all, tagging and graffiti are very different even though there are spoken in similar context. In source 1 by Steven Dolan it states “Although tagging is the most common type of graffiti, there are bigger, more accomplished examples that appear on larger spaces..” However, even though tagging and graffiti are very different, people will still often say they are very similar because they are both made of cans of paint.
If you were to go open a dictionary and look up the definition of art, you would see that it has art as “The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination…” (“Art” 2017) and “Works produced by human creative skill and imagination.” (“Art” 2017). From these definitions, graffiti is art, yet in most cases, it’s considered vandalism because it is done without permission of the property. When graffiti is done in a designated place or with the permission of the property owner, then it can truly be considered art. But even if these circumstances are not met, if the graffiti goes beyond a simple tag, it is art.
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)
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
Is graffiti seen as vandalism or a notable art that is used to voice the opinion of many artists? Many are quick to conclude that graffiti is an act of defacing public property, but few are in understanding of what real graffiti is. Graffiti is defined as art that is displayed or created in public spaces. So this presents the question of why some critics believe that graffiti should not be classified as a real subcategory of art. Below is the explanation as to why graffiti needs to be considered among the most prestigious and notable art forms.
Graffiti portrays a message whether it’s spelled out on the concrete or hidden behind a sort of code. It lets unheard voices, be heard. There are many different forms of graffiti, tagging is the form of street art that most often results in consequences (Eickmier). This is because tagging is basically signing your nickname on a wall, and once the police figure out your pseudonym they will most likely find you. Graffiti is not always considered to be ugly though, some artists work actually ends up in museums (Wark) A manchester artist who goes by the name “Banksy” ultimately avoided jail because his work was deemed “artistic” He was later given an opportunity to showcase his work in a museum. Graffiti does not
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.
From the early humans who painted on cave walls to the angst-ridden teenager getting their kicks from spray painting profanities on the side of a small business, human beings seem to have an intrinsic desire to paint images on the walls that surround them. This has led to many individuals painting on walls without permission. Although the walls cannot speak, city officials and the owners of businesses can and when they do, “Graffiti” is usually one of the words used to describe the images produced. However, although often overlooked, a line does exist between graffiti and street art. Christine Graff writes “Graffiti is defined as ‘writing or drawings scribbled, scratched, or sprayed illicitly on a wall or other surface in a public
The origin and history of graffiti is not what one might expect. Believed to have been created by a Philadelphia high school student named Cornbread in 1967, it was a bold effort to catch the attention of a girl (De Melker). In this same time period, graffiti sprung up in New York as well. It was “one among many forms of social protest” during
“According to Kim Dovey, Simon Wollan, and Ian Woodblock, graffiti is a type of art as well. She claims that there is different type of graffiti. They first talks about the different types of graffiti. Some of the types listed are stencil tags, throw up, and slogans. There are free handed drawings that are called stencil drawings. Stencil graffiti combines elements from spray-paint graffiti and from street art. Stencil artists carefully prepare stencil blueprints on hand-made sheets, which they then place on a surface and cover with spray paint. Stencil graffiti works are the easiest and quickest pieces to replicate” (Lerman 299). “Throw up are just free handed paintings. Slogans are when they