Graffiti as Art!

Any passerby in an urban cityscape has observed the colorful, provocative, illegal "eyesore" that is graffiti. Although many consider the spray-painted pieces a nuisance, graffiti has been gaining recognition from the art world more and more as a legitimate form of art.

When most people think of graffiti, they imagine "tags," or a stylized writing of a person's name. While tags are probably the most popular forms, graffiti art is much more than that. It can mean a colorful mural with a message of diversity or a black and white stencil piece protesting police brutality. In each case, graffiti art makes a statement.

Creativity

What these kids did, however, was to find a way to express themselves creatively in a society that told them that they didn't have the talent or drive. They came from ghettos that many said were devoid of culture. Graffiti and hip hop in general proved the world wrong. The graf writers (and emcees, and DJs, and bboys) proved that they could create something beautiful that required skill and dedication, something that contributed to the city even if people didn't always understand what it was all about. They expressed their identity in a society that tried to keep them anonymous, that tried to ignore social problems as if they didn't exist. Mayor Ed Koch (in the 1980s) once inquired why the NYC youth couldn't be given brooms and sponges to help the city instead of using their energies to write all over it. Clearly, he didn't understand the difference between being a janitor and being an artist. In our culture, where self-expression is becoming more and more highly regulated, graffiti plays an important role in brashly symbolizing unfettered individuality and resistance.

Aesthetics

George C. Stowers wrote that based on aesthetic criteria, graffiti has to be considered an art form. He makes a distinction between simple tags and more complicated pieces, stating that tags have little aesthetic appeal and probably should not be considered art. However, larger pieces require planning and imagination and contain artistic elements like color and composition. Stowers provides the example of wildstyle, or the calligraphic writing style of interlocking letters typical of graffiti, to show the extent of artistic elements that are present in these works.

"Wildstyle changes with each artist's interpretation of the alphabet, but it also relies on the use of primary colors, fading, foreground and background, and the like to create these letters," he writes. The artist's intention is to produce a work of art, and that must be taken into account when considering street art's legitimacy.

Stowers explains that graffiti cannot be disregarded because of its location and illegality. The manner in which graffiti art is executed is the only obstacle it faces in being considered an art form.

A Nod from the Art Crowd

One of the most famous graffiti artists, Banksy, has had his work shown in galleries such as Sotheby's in London. Despite his anonymity, the British artist has gained tremendous popularity. Celebrities such as Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have purchased his work for a hefty price.People are used to seeing graffiti art in public spaces, after all, that's what makes it graffiti. However, after years of gaining recognition by the art community, graffiti art has been shown in various galleries in New York and London, and artists are often commissioned to do legal murals and other work for art shows.

Recognition by the art world and inclusion in galleries and auctions is one way that graffiti art is legitimized as "real" art. In addition, this exposure has helped the graffiti movement to become launched into the rest of the world.

A Style All Its Own

Like all other artistic forms, graffiti has experienced movements or changes in style. From the first tag scribbled on a subway train to the large, complex mural on a billboard, the movement has experienced change. The tools and the means have changed as well. Markers were traded in for spray paint, and stencils and stickers were introduced to make pieces easier to execute in a hurry.

The messages have also evolved. Graffiti has always been somewhat political, but it has come a long way from simply tagging one's name to parodying world leaders to make a statement.

This is further proof that graffiti is a form of art and not just a result of random acts of vandalism. The graffiti community moves in different directions and the resultant artwork moves with it.

Graffiti as Vandalism!

Although its artistic merits can't be denied, graffiti is still in fact a form of vandalism. Artists tag both public and private property, which becomes costly for tax payers and business and property owners.

Costs

The cost for cleanup in the U.S. has not been documented definitively, but it is safe to assume that it is in the billions of dollars. Large cities typically budget more money toward graffiti removal. In 2006 Chicago budgeted $6.5 million while Omaha, Neb. spends about $100,000 annually, according to graffitihurts.org.

In addition to cleanup costs, graffiti vandals often shoplift their materials, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Stealing spray paint and markers adds an additional cost to businesses.

Vandalism also affects revenue from transportation, as evidenced by the reduction in riders during the 1960s and 1970s. Even before graffiti became associated with gangs, people became afraid of riding the vandalized subways.

Crime

Graffiti sometimes has a wave effect, in which a heavily vandalized area will experience increases in other sorts of crimes as well. Gang-related crimes and violence are the crimes most commonly associated with graffiti.

Public disorder crimes, such as littering and loitering and other forms of property destruction are sometimes related to graffiti crimes. Because most taggers are males between 15 and 23, there is the concern that tagging may be a "gateway crime," and may lead young offenders to more serious or dangerous crimes such as truancy and drug and alcohol use.

Quality of Life

Vandalism is usually seen as a quality of life issue. When an area has extensive graffiti, people tend to view it as a "bad neighborhood." Nearby property value may decrease and crime may increase. Plus, residents see graffiti as an eyesore. Graffiti that is gang-related or expresses hateful sentiments is most likely to be unwelcome in an area.

Timeline (Part 2).

Contemporary Graffiti

With heightened security in the 80's, subway graffiti slowly died out. In 1989, the last train with significant amounts of graffiti on it was taken off the lines, ending an era. Traveling on the subways in 2003, there is virtually no graffiti to be seen on the outside of trains, and only dim scratchings here and there on the insides. But graffiti lives on, on city walls and other more unlikely places. Recently, there has been a trend towards writing graffiti on freight trains. Nowadays, artists are "getting up" not just in their own city, but across the country, furthering the transmission and mixing of different graffiti styles from all over. Graffiti has also become a way to make money. Graffiti art has been featured in exclusive galleries and has exerted its influence on the world of graphic design. Nowadays, it is not uncommon to see graffiti-style or graffiti-inspired art on t-shirts, posters, and CD covers.

Please note, however: subway graffiti is not completely dead. Through the windows, if you are at the walls near the tracks (that aren't underground), there's still plenty of graffiti to be seen. When the subway trains are underground, if you look through the windows in between stations, you can still see a lot of graffiti, some of it older probably, but some of it newer as well. Self expression can be stifled but never completely stopped.

Graffiti and Hip Hop

As we mentioned earlier, graffiti is considered one of the four elements of hip hop (along with emceeing, DJing, and B-Boying). These were the four major forms of creative expression that came from the Bronx, NY and spread to the rest of the world. Graffiti represented the visual, emceeing and DJ produced the music, and B-Boying was the dance. In the early days of hip-hop, all of these elements were deeply intertwined. Graf artists were very often B-boys and emcees and DJs as well. At the hottest parties, you might see a writer doing his thing on a wall while the DJ spins and scratches, the emcee revs up the crowd, and the B-boy battling each other on the dance floor.

The Two Today

Hip hop in 2003 is mostly centered around the emcee (or rapper), since the it's the emcee that sells product (in the form of CDs) that the music industry can sell. Graf writers, B-boys, and DJs have faded somewhat into the background, but there's a movement trying to bring them back, which you can see in music videos featuring more dancers, graf writers, and a greater spotlight on DJs who are the ones actually making the beats.

Graffiti was done by writers of all ethnicities. They tended to be young (teenagers, mostly) but some of the hardcore writers from the 70s are still going strong today. Writing was inclusive...if you had the talent. It was based on skill, not the color of your skin, your religion, or anything else that didn't translate to the pieces you made. Graffiti is multicultural, representing the ethnic diversity of New York, the city that spawned it. Hip hop has changed, and has moved far beyond the Bronx, but many of hip hop's founding fathers hope that it can remain a powerful multicultural force in spite of all the commercialism and marketing that surrounds it now.

The Environment

Graffiti existed (and still exists) as a major part of the urban environment. Young rappers growing up and wandering the city streets still see graffiti all around them. For some, graffiti represents decay, but for hip hop culture, graffiti provided the visual inspiration that encouraged other forms of creativity and expression, such as emceeing. Maybe you don't have to know about every element of hip hop in order to be part of the culture, but you do have to know about it if you want to know what inspired some of the best the hip hop artists of today--who grew up surrounded by graffiti, learning the moves of the best b-boys, and rocking to the beats of the freshest DJs.

Timeline (Part 1).

Tagging and more.

For tagging on the insides of trains, permanent markers worked, but using spraycans of paint quickly became popular as well, especially for tagging on the outside of trains. Graffiti became so much more than simple tagging, however. Graffiti writers, in addition to getting their name around as much as possible, would try to outdo each other in terms of style. At first, writers would try to make their tags (or signatures) more stylish than anyone else's. Later on, they would add more colors, special effects, and they'd make their name bigger. Spraycans allowed large pieces of graffiti to be created fairly quickly which was important because writers didn't want to get caught by the police or people working for the MTA (Metropolitan Transit Authority). As you will see in the Graffiti Styles section of this wesite, graffiti really evolved into a complex artform with its own techniques and vocabular

y. From simple tags on the insides of trains to throwups to masterpieces that spanned multiple subway cars, the art and science of graffiti grew in leaps and bounds.

Style Wars.

The "style wars" in the 1970s between graffiti artists trying to get famous and creating bigger and better pieces resulted in the emergence of an entire subculture surrounding graffiti. Graf writers would gather at what they called "writer's benches" at subway stations to look at each other's sketchbooks, to plan "bombing" runs, and to watch as trains passed by so they could discuss the latest pieces they or other writers had recently produced. Older writers would take younger writers on as apprentices and assistants to help on larger pieces. Whole writing "crews" would form to collaborate on pieces, to help each other "rack up" paint (by any means necessary), and to watch out for authorities. Some crews would travel together to avoid gang troubles, but they were rarely violent. A common misconception is that graffiti is all gang-related. Most graffiti is not gang-related. Gang-related graffiti is most often used to mark territory, and not as much time or effort is spent in its creation.

Golden Age. 

NYC subway graffiti became world famous, and it style and sensibilities were transplanted to other parts of the country and the world, mixing with local traditions and styles in new ways. The 70s were the golden age of subway graffiti, but for the MTA, it was a problem that had long gone out of control. Graf writers did not just battle each other in their quest to be the "King of all Lines" and all the other titles they bestowed upon themselves. They had to deal with police patrolling the trains and the yards where they worked, their masterpieces being washed off of cars, barbed wire fences, and guard dogs, not to mention concerned parents who sometimes did not understand.

10 IMPORTANT MOMENTS.

Cornbread and The Start of Modern Graffiti History

What would graffiti history be without the name Cornbread? It is quite possible that there would be no graffiti history as we know it, for Darryl McCray, who was given the nickname Cornbread while in a juvenile corrections facility, is widely regarded as the father of modern day graffiti. The story goes that the young Cornbread developed a crush on a girl named Cynthia Custuss upon leaving the correctional facility, he wrote Cornbread Loves Cynthia all over the local area to win her affections. Finding he enjoyed this, he continued to tag Philadelphia with his name, including the jet plane that belonged to the Jackson 5 and on an elephant in the local zoo which resulted in an arrest!

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TAKI 183 & Tagging

TAKI 183 engraved his name in graffiti history when The New York Times ran an article about him on July 21st, 1971. Prior to this, TAKI 183, which comes from the Greek version of his first name, Demetraki and his address, had been regularly tagging around New York City in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. The article, titled TAKI 183 Spawns Pen Pals, gave birth to a whole legion of kids who decided to copy him and tag their own names across the city. The tagging of names became highly competitive, with those who tagged more becoming better known in the graffiti community. TAKI 183 was not the first graffiti artist to tag in New York but he certainly got the most attention.

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Phase 2 & Bubble Writing

Phase 2 is regarded in graffiti history as the man that developed the popular style of graffiti, bubble writing, that has often been copied. The graffiti writing style that became known as softies, was developed by Phase 2 in New York City during the 1970’s and became a big influence on hip-hop culture, something the graffiti artist was heavily involved with during the 1980’s. Phase 2 was a b-boy, sometimes DJ at hip-hop events and even went on to release a couple of rap singles, while he himself has often been referenced in songs. The influence of his distinctive bubble style writing can still be seen today in the works of graffiti artists such as OG Slick.

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Style Wars Graffiti Documentary

1983 saw the release of the Style Wars documentary film, a definitive slice of graffiti history at that point. The film directed by Tony Silver and produced in collaboration with Henry Chalfant, was about hip-hop with a heavy focus on the graffiti scene. The acclaimed film featured a host of names synonymous with the graffiti scene of the time, including legends such as Futura, Dondi, Seen, Kase2, Zephyr, TAKI 183 among the many names. Style Wars captured the graffiti artists expressing themselves through their street art along with opposing views on the subject of graffiti. A true piece of graffiti history!

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Jean-Michel Basquiat & SAMO

1977 to 1980 marks the point in graffiti history that the legendary Jean-Michel Basquiat first came to the public attention with his SAMO graffiti on the streets. Though associated just with Basquiat, it was actually developed along with high school friends Al Diaz and Shannon Dawson for a comic. Pronounced same-oh, the saying is said to have come from a stoned talk and calling their marijuana the same old shit, later shortened to same old, then eventuallySAMO. The graffiti took the form of short phrases, usually poetic or sarcastic and was created in the Manhattan area of New York City. The graffiti started to get noticed, but Diaz wanted to remain anonymous while Basquiat enjoyed the attention, even meeting Keith Haring in 1979 because he had noticed SAMO. Basquiat killed off the graffiti with a final SAMO IS DEAD in 1980 as his career in the art world began to take off.

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Blek le Rat & Stencils

Xavier Prou has his place in graffiti history due the graffiti he started to create on the streets of Paris in 1981. As Blek le Rat, the French graffiti artist has become known as the father of stencil graffiti, starting out by painting stencils of rats on the streets, using rat as an anagram of art. Influenced by the work of early New York graffiti and the work of Richard Hambleton, Blek le Rat set about taking his art to the public of Paris by way of stencil graffiti, often with themes of social consciousness. 2006 saw the graffiti artist start producing images of homeless people to raise awareness of the global problem. Popular opinion believes that Banksy was heavily influenced by the work of Blek le Rat, which shares a similar style.

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Shepard Fairey & OBEY

When Shepard Fairey created his Andre the Giant has a Possee sticker way back in 1989, he could never have imagined that the OBEY Giant it morphed into would become such a recognisable image and sustain his graffiti career for a quarter of a century! Shepard Fairey is one of the new breed of graffiti and street artists that emerged through the 1990’s and exploded into the 21st century sealing their place in graffiti history. Such was the impact of the OBEY Giant that it has become a global brand, enabling Shepard Fairey to take his graffiti and design skills into many different areas, some of which you can read about in our article on his 25th Anniversary. Some may not like the business minded approach, but you can’t deny that it is a defining moment in graffiti history.

Images courtesy of Shepard Fairey.

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Banksy & Graffiti

Like Shepard Fairey, Banksy is one of the new breed of graffiti artists that have transformed the world of graffiti and street art in the 21st century. Banksy began as a freehand graffiti artist in the early 1990’s and formed part of the famous underground graffiti scene in Bristol, UK, with the likes of Nick Walker, 3D and Inkie. By 2000 Banksy had switched to creating stencil art, marking his transformation into one of the most talked about graffiti artists in the world of street art, while also successfully infiltrating the art world. With his artworks now fetching a small fortune, there is always interest in what Banksy will do next and his popularity never seems to wane. The switch to stenciling and demand for his works marks his place in graffiti history.

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Graffiti Wars – King Robbo vs Banksy

Without doubt there have probably been many feuds in the world of graffiti, but not many became as well-known as that of King Robbo Vs Banksy. The late John Robertson, aka King Robbo, was a legend of the underground graffiti scene in the UK, with his works appearing all over London. Many of the works by King Robbo vanished over time, but one piece had remained intact since 1985 and only accessible by water. In 2009, Banksy took it upon himself to transform the King Robbo piece, which led to each artist painting over what the other had done, finally leading to online arguments and Team Robbo attacking Banksy graffiti works. The whole feud was the subject of a TV documentary titled Graffiti Wars, earning the pair an extra place in graffiti history.

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The Richest Street Artists

It is a sign of the times and the popularity of graffiti and street art in general, that The Richest website published a list of The 5 Richest Street Artists in the World back in 2014. Graffiti and being rich is not something that springs to mind when you think of street art, but times have changed and some people are making a healthy living from graffiti. So, at number 5 we have Retna, worth an estimated $5 million, at number 4 Mr Brainwash with $10 Million, 3rd place goes to Shepard Fairey with $15 million, just behind Banksy who is worth $20 million. But top of the list isDavid Choe, estimated to be worth a cool $200 million. I wonder what Cornbread makes of that? Graffiti history is changing in many ways, stay tuned to see what happens next!

Birth and revolution.

Graffiti, if we define it as any type of writing on the wall goes back to ancient Rome, and if drawn images count, then we could point to the first graf artists. But the style of urban graffiti that most people have seen and know about, the kind that uses spraycans, came from New York City in the late 1960s, and was born on the subway trains. Taki 183, who lived on 183rd street in Washington Heights, worked as a messenger who traveled all throughout the city. While he did so, he would use a marker and write his name wherever he went, at subway stations and also the insides and outsides of subway cars. Eventually, he became known all throughout the city as this mysterious figure. In 1971, he was interviewed for an article by the New York Times. Kids all over New York, realizing the fame and notoriety that could be gained from "tagging" their names on subway cars (that traveled all over the city, naturally) began to emulate Taki 183. The goal was to "get up" (using the slang of the day), to have one's name in as many places as possible, and as kids competed against each other to get famous, the amount of graffiti on trains exploded.

TAKI 183.

TAKI 183 was one of the most influential graffiti writers in its history. His "tag" was short for Dimitraki, a Greek alternative for his birth-name Dimitrios, and the number 183 came from his address on 183rd Street in Washington Heights.He worked as a foot messenger in New York City and would write his nickname around the streets of New York City that he frequented during the late 1960s and early 1970s.

On July 21, 1971, The New York Times ran an article about him on the front page of its inside section, titled "Taki 183" Spawns Pen Pals.TAKI 183 spurred competitive tagging in NYC as his tag was mimicked by hundreds of youth across the five boroughs. The kids who got their names up the most and who developed signature tags became known in their communities. Graffiti became a way for many young kids to try to get attention and the attention TAKI 183 received spurred this on.

Although TAKI 183 was the first to be showcased in a publication it is said that Julio 204 began writing his tag in NYC first. However Julio did not write outside his own neighborhood of Inwood in Manhattan, and this is arguably the reason why he never received the media-attention TAKI did.

TAKI was last known to be the owner of a foreign car repair shop. In an interview with the New York Daily News of April 9, 1989, he talked about his retirement as a graffiti writer: "As soon as I got into something more productive in my life, I stopped. Eventually I got into business, got married, bought a house, had a kid. Didn't buy a station wagon, but I grew up, you could say that."

The graffiti tag in the 1985 film Turk 182 was inspired by TAKI 183.

In May 2009, the official website was launched. The site includes photos of his work, images of his friends and contemporaries, his true story and official TAKI 183 limited-edition screenprints.