Graffiti and graffito are from the Italian word
graffiato
("scratched").
"Graffiti" is applied inart history to works of art produced by
scratching a design into a surface
.
A related term is"graffito," which involves scratching through one layer of pigment to reveal another beneathit
. This technique was primarily used by potters who would glaze their wares and then scratch adesign into it. In ancient times graffiti was carved on walls with a sharp object, although sometimeschalk or coal were used. The Greek infinitive —
γράφειν
graphein
— meaning "to write," is fromthe same root.
Identification
Graffiti of the past was much simpler than modern graffiti. It did not use many colors andwas often comprised of simple shapes, though one or may have been drawn into each other.
Sometimes, the graffiti was simply a name.
Modern graffiti may be only a name as well, or acode name for the arts (called a tag), but it often incorporates many colors and is larger thanancient graffiti. Still, in whatever form it comes, graffiti can be recognized as vandal art.
History
The oldest form of modern day graffiti comes from Ancient Greece, and is thought to be an ad forprostitution. The ancient Romans and Egyptians also practised graffiti on tombs, monoliths andother constructions. Mayans and Vikings also had graffiti art in their cultures. As time went on andpassed into the Renaissance period, many famous artists emerged. Even those such as Donatello orDa Vinci would graffiti their names where they went.
Graffiticontinued in future cultures, with many invading armies paintingor carving it in the walls of places they occupied. Modern graffitiartists have used the form to express themselves, their political orreligious beliefs, or simply to make a mark.
There are many different types and styles of graffiti and it is a rapidlydeveloping artform whose value is highly contested, being reviled bymany authorities while also subject to protection, sometimes withinthe same jurisdiction.
Modern graffiti
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 forprostitution.
Located near a mosaic and stone walkway, the graffiti shows a handprint that vaguelyresembles a heart, along with a footprint and a number. This is believed to indicate that a brothel
was nearby, with the handprint symbolizing payment.
Graffiti as an element of hip hop
An aerosol paint can, common tool for modern graffiti.
in America around the late 1960s, graffiti was usedas a form of expression by political activists, andalso by gangs
such as the Savage Skulls, La Familia,and Savage Nomads to mark territory. Towards the endof the 1960s, the signatures—
tags
—of Philadelphiagraffiti writers Cornbread, Cool Earl and Topcat 126started to appear. Cornbread is often cited as one of theearliest writer of modern graffiti. Around 1970-71, thecentre of graffiti innovation moved to New York City where writers following in the wake of TAKI183 and Tracy 168 would add their street number to their nickname, "bomb" a train with their work,and let the subway take it—and their fame, if it was impressive, or simply pervasive, enough—"allcity". Bubble lettering held sway initially among writers from the Bronx, though the elaboratewriting Tracy 168 dubbed "wildstyle" would come to define the art.The early trendsetters were joined in the 70s by artists like Dondi, Zephyr and Lady Pink.
Graffiti is one of the four main elements of hip hop culture (along with rapping, DJing, andbreak dancing). The relationship between graffiti and hip hop culture arises both from earlygraffiti artists practicing other aspects of hip hop, and its being practiced in areas where otherelements of hip hop were evolving as art forms.
By the mid-eighties, the form would move fromthe street to the art world. Jean-Michel Basquiat would abandon his SAMO tag for art galleries, andeven street art's connections to hip hop would loosen. Occasional hip hop paeans to graffiti couldstill be heard throughout the nineties, however, in tracks like the Artifacts' "Wrong Side of DaTracks" and Company Flow's "Lune TNS".
Graffiti
The United States is thought to be the home of the modern graffiti movement. It began in NewYork City in the 1970s and spread from there. Brazilians emulated this graffiti in their ownwork, which is thought to be some of the best in the world,
with many powerful artists comingout of Sao Paolo in particular. In the Middle East, graffiti has a short history. It has been growingsince the 1990s in Iran, Iraq and Israel. In particular, the Israeli West Bank wall has become a majorsite for graffiti.
Function
During ancient times, graffiti functioned as a simple way to alert people of the presence of underground areas or illegal activity. It was also used to mark religious symbols on holyplaces in a city. During the Renaissance and the years following, it was used as a sort of "I washere" marker for famous artists and invaders,
and it was less of an art form. Modern graffiti is
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