Graffiti

Pedro Emmanuel Loyola de Siqueira
GRAFITTI
street expression
OUTLINE
Outline
Introduction:Graffiti
History
Body 1: Vandalism x Art
Body 2: Graffiti x Hip-Hop
Body 3: Graffiti in Brazil
Conclusion: Definition of Graffiti with my
words
Graffiti has a long and proud history. The subculture surrounding graffiti has existed for several decades, and it's still
going strong. The graffiti artists (or "writers" as they prefer to call themselves) are passionate, skilled, communityoriented, and socially conscious in ways that profoundly contradict the way they've been portrayed as common
criminals and vandals.
In the following pages, we will look at the history of this thriving subculture.
Graffiti History
Graffiti has a long and proud history. The subculture surrounding
graffiti has existed for several decades, and it's still going strong. The
graffiti artists (or "writers" as they prefer to call themselves) are
passionate, skilled, community-oriented, and socially conscious in
ways that profoundly contradict the way they've been portrayed as
common criminals and vandals.
In the following pages, we will look at the history of this thriving
subculture.
Birth and Evolution

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.
The Golden Age

NYC subway graffiti became world famous,
and its 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.
Graffiti: Art x Vandalism
Based on aesthetic criteria, graffiti

has to be considered an art form. We
can make 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. We could provide
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.
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.
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.
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.
x
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 gangrelated or expresses hateful
sentiments is most likely to be
unwelcome in an area.
Graffiti x Hip-Hop
Graffiti is considered one of

the four elements of hip hop,
along with emceeing
(rapping), DJing, and b-boying
(breakdancing). Graffiti, like
the other three elements, is an
artform, a means of cultural
expression. Like the other
forms of hip hip, it also
expresses resistance. Graffiti
challenges, for example,
mainstream notions of what
counts as art, what counts as
public space, and what counts
as property, just as
emceeing/DJing challenges
what counts as music, and
bboying challenges what
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.
Graffiti in Brazil
The history of Graffiti in Brazil emerged in the 70s, precisely in the city of So Paulo,
troubled time in the history of Brazil, silenced by censorship with the arrival of the
military in power.
In parallel to the movement that was rising in New York, graffiti appears in the
scenario of Brazilian metropolis as a transgressive art, street language, marginality,
not excuses and crying on city walls disturbance of a generation.
From this, the art of graffiti becomes an important vehicle for urban communication,
supporting in some way, the existence of other voices, other historical subjects and
active participating in the city.
So from the 70s in Brazil, graffiti artists have appropriated the public space in
order to transmit political nature of messages, social, cultural, humanitarian and,
above all, artistic. Thus art then, becomes not only seen in museums or cultural
centers, but especially on street walls, in tunnels, in city buildings
Os Gemeos
Graffiti: Great communication channel without connecting to fiber optic or electric

cable, but directly connected to the city with the public, with the here and now.
Graffiti is in the city, the public space is not owned or porthole. The ride graffiti there
is always random scribbles, messages of love, political graffiti and advertising.
Graffiti created in the underground of the cities have led the West to witness
publicly and anonymously questioning many of its established values, including the
occupation of city spaces and the presentation and valuation of art. If a new form of
political emerges from this context, with her a new way communication and art
emerges too.

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Pedro Emmanuel Loyola de Siqueira

Birth and Evolution

In 1971, he was interviewed for an article by

The Golden Age

Graffiti: Art x Vandalism

Based on aesthetic criteria, graffiti

Graffiti sometimes has a wave effect, in

People are used to seeing graffiti

Graffiti is considered one of

As we mentioned earlier, graffiti is considered one of the four elements of hip

Graffiti: Great communication channel without connecting to fiber optic or electric

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