THE HISTORY OF
GRAFFITI
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CONTENTS Introduction
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Cave Paintings
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The Ancient World
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20th Century
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Killroy Was Here..
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Hip Hop Culture
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Taki 183
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Style
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The Law
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Opinions
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Vocabulary
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Introduction Graffiti you can see it everywhere from city streets to high school desks. Graffiti can range from hastily scribbled tags to carefully thought out art that expresses the contemporary world we live in today.
They are both derived from the word graffio, which means a scratch. The original graffiti was scratched into the surface, not just painted. Ultimately, the word is derived from Greek graphein meaning to write, draw, or scratch
The word graffiti comes from the Italian language. Graffiti is actually the plural of the word graffito.
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Cave Paintings Artistic expression on the surfaces around us seems to be a very old human impulse. There are instances of art dating back as far as human history goes. The earliest art dates back to the Paleolithic era. The Paleolithic or the Stone Age is the earliest era of human existence, when stone tools were used and humans took shelter in caves.
This era started with the first people at an uncertain date in the distant past. The Old Stone Age continued until about 10,000 years ago. During that period, even these early humans expressed themselves artistically. These people painted animals and abstract shapes onto the walls of their caves. The paintings’ meaning remains uncertain.
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The Ancient World The people of the Mediterranean two thousand years ago also scribbled on walls and rocks. The Ancient Greeks gave us the first documented piece of modern graffiti. The nature of cave paintings is uncertain perhaps they were just that era’s fine art or were doodles. But in Ancient Greece, the art and the graffiti were clearly different.
This particular Ancient Greek graffito was found in Ephesus, which now lies in Turkey, on the west coast. It was apparently an advertisement for a brothel! The carving shows what seem to be a heart, a foot, a woman’s head, and money in tandem. Put those together and it’s giving you directions to a place where you can exchange money for a woman’s love.
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20th Century Technology has changed but human nature has not. Even in the modern era, with the advent of trains, cars, computers and more, people still scribble their graffiti onto surfaces. Itinerant people (also called hobos) who rode on freight trains in search of work used their own language of graffiti to communicate. Their symbols were simple but obscure.
Many were illiterate, and also did not want their secret tips revealed, so actual words and letters were avoided. These wanderers would scrawl their messages in coal or chalk near train yards, under bridges, or by other gathering spots. They would warn other wanderers about strict police officers in certain areas, or recommend a good place to camp in others.
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Killroy Was Here.. The World Wars brought us the phenomenon of Kilroy was here a simple doodle sometimes accompanied by words that occurred, throughout the war. Soldiers and sailors scribbled the drawing on shipments and equipment across the world. You can still find the occasional “Kilroy� drawn today.
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Hip Hop Culture Today, graffiti is most commonly associated with the hip hop culture of American cities. Along with MCing events, DJing music, and hip-hop dancing, graffiti is a central part of this subculture. The origins of all of these can be traced to the Bronx, in New York City.
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Taki 183
Tagging was first popularized by a New York City messenger who dubbed himself TAKI 183. Taki was short for his Greek name, Demetraki, and 183 was the street he lived on.
His name gained recognition and imitators sprang up around the world.
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, during the course of his delivery work, Taki 183 would scrawl his tag on surfaces around the city.
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Style
As availible space on walls and trains filled up graffiti writers found it neccessary to develop a more eye catching style.
Early versions were just tags outlined with colour however as time went by letters became larger and had lots of variation.
Experimenting with size and colour. It was discovered that you could cover large areas quickly with spray paint and thus found a new form the piece short for masterpiece.
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The Law
The laws on public property are very strict and anyone caught doing graffiti can be arrested and prosecuted under the Criminal Damage Act 1971.
The Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 introduced new powers for local councils to punish offenders and to help them clear up illegal graffiti.
Offenders can go to prison for ten years or fined if the damage costs more than £5,000. If the damage caused is less than £5,000, you could face three months imprisonment or a £2,500 fine.
One example would be the on the spot fines of £50 to anyone caught doing graffiti on public property.
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Opinions “it strikes a constitutional balance between the First Amendment rights to free speech and the need to control the long-standing plague of graffiti.”
“Art is an evolutionary act. The shape of art and its role in society is constantly changing. At no point is art static. There are no rules.” Raymond Salvatore Harmon
Gabriel Taussig “Graffiti is one of the few tools you have if you have almost nothing. And even if you don’t come up with a picture to cure world poverty you can make someone smile while they’re having a piss.” Banksy
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“Graffiti offenders in Saskatoon I’ve dealt with over the last nine years have been linked to arson, theft, assaults, break and enter, possession of child pornography, drugs and weapons.” Lee Jones, Saskatoon Police
“If it takes more than 5 minutes, its not graffiti.”
“Rather than demolish an abandoned warehouse, why not just cover it with graffiti and call it art? ”
Mint Serf
Jarod Kintz drugs and
Vocabulary BITE To copy another writer’s style. This is considered a no-no and is looked down upon, even though writers often borrow imagery from cartoons and comics. BOMB Prolific painting or marking with ink. To cover an area with your tag, throwups, etc TOY An inexperienced or incompetent writer. GETTING UP Means to hit up anything, anywhere, with any form of graffiti, from a tag all the way up to a wildstyle burner. WILDSTYLE A complicated construction of interlocking letters. A hard style that consists of lots of arrows and connections. TAG The most basic form of graffiti, a writer’s signature with marker or spray paint.
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