Prof.

John Ace Cosio Hingada

Technological University of the Philippines - Manila
At the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

1. Characterize the different kinds of graffiti arts;

2. Differentiate their characteristics;
3. Discuss the history of graffiti art; and
4. Appreciate the cultural importance of graffiti art.
ØOne of the most radical contemporary art movements, "graffiti art"
(also called "Street Art") commonly refers to decorative imagery applied
by paint or other means to buildings, public transport or other property.

ØAlthough it may be said to derive from Classical Antiquity or even

Prehistoric times, the term essentially describes the post-1960s craze for
decorating/defacing the urban environment through the use of aerosol
spray paint and markers, which emerged in New York and Philadelphia
and which has since developed strong links with underground hip hop
culture and b-boying.
ØThe B-boys, the first exemplars of hip-hop, reportedly used graffiti
art as a means of expressing their frustration with life. Using marker
pens, aerosol spray cans, industrial spray paint, acrylics and stencils
on all types of surfaces, their 'canvases' included subway trains,
walls, industrial wastelands, subways and billboards.

ØAlthough Graffiti art was (and is) common throughout Europe and
Japan, its historical centre has been New York City.

ØOne should note that in most countries, this form of public art is
regarded as vandalism, and is punishable as a criminal offence.
vTag
vThrow-up
vBlockbuster
vWildstyle
vHeaven
vStencil
vPoster
vSticker
vPiece
vTagging is the easiest and
simplest style of graffiti; it includes
one colour and the artist’s name or
identifier.
vIt is considered disrespectful to
write a tag over another’s artists’s
tag or work.
vA throw-up is like a more complicated tag. It
usually has two or more colours, and bubble-style
lettering.
vA throw-up can be done quickly and repeatedly,
just like a tag. Your name in quickly drawn bubble
letters with one or two colors and an outline.
vDone very quickly, used to cover space, grab
attention and show that you were there.
vA blockbuster is like a massive
throw-up, usually in blocky letters.
Blockbusters are used to cover a
large area in a small amount of
time.
vBlockbusters can be painted with
rollers, which makes them faster
and easier to do.
vWildstyle is an elaborate
version of a throw-up and is
particularly hard to read.
vWildstyle often consists of
arrows, curves, spikes and other
things that non graffiti artists
might not understand.
vA heaven is a tag or artwork in a
place that is extremely difficult to
get to.
vAn artist who manages to put
one up gains a lot of respect from
other artists.
vA stencil is an easy (some say
‘lazy’) way to put up detailed pieces.
vBy spraying over a stencil, you
can produce a more detailed piece
than by doing it free hand and it’s
also repeatable.
vA poster is a quick and easy way
to put up pieces.
vYou just make the piece at home
then paste it up where you want.
vA sticker is like a downsized
poster, and just as easy to
execute.
vMany stickers are simply
tags on postage labels, but
sometimes they are more
elaborate.
vA piece (short for masterpiece) is a picture that
has been painted free hand.
vThey contains at least three colours and take
longer to paint.
vA piece in an obvious place will gain the artist
respect from other artists because standing in an
obvious place painting on walls where graffiti is
sometimes illegal which is a great risk.
ØTag
ØThrow-up
ØBlockbuster
ØWildstyle
ØHeaven
ØStencil
ØPoster
ØSticker
ØPiece.