![]() ![]() Modern graffiti did not begin as an art form at all, but rather, as a form of text-based urban communication that developed its own networks. Graffiti artists today draw inspiration from Art History at times, but it cannot be said that graffiti grew directly out of the art historical canon. It is important to note that contemporary graffiti has developed completely apart from traditional, institutionalized art forms. Soon after graffiti began appearing on city surfaces, subway cars and trains became major targets for New York City’s early graffiti writers and taggers, as these vehicles traveled great distances, allowing the writer’s name to be seen by a wider audience. New York is where graffiti culture blossomed, matured, and most clearly distinguished itself from all prior forms of graffiti. Indeed, the fundamental underlying principle of graffiti practice was the intention to “get up,” to have one’s work seen by as many people as possible, in as many places as possible. Courtesy of Pexels How Did Modern Graffiti Develop?Ĭontemporary graffiti dates to the late 1960s and is generally said to have arisen from the Black and Latino neighborhoods of New York City alongside hip-hop music and street subcultures and was catalyzed by the invention of the aerosol spray can.Įarly graffiti artists were commonly called “writers” or “taggers”. The motivation behind this simple early graffiti was to create a motif of connection for these soldiers during their difficult times, cementing their unique brotherhood amongst foreign land and making themselves “seen.” This was closely aligned with the motivation behind contemporary graffiti, with the writers aiming to assert their existence and to repeat their mark in as many places as possible. ![]() Scholars believe that the images of hunting scenes found at these sites were either meant to commemorate past hunting victories or were used as part of rituals intended to increase hunters’ successĭuring World War II, it became popular for soldiers to write the phrase “Kilroy was here,” along with a simple sketch of a bald figure with a large nose peeking over a ledge, on surfaces along their route. Graffiti, defined simply as writing, drawing, or painting on walls or surfaces of a structure, dates back to prehistoric and ancient times, as evidenced by the Lascaux cave paintings in France and other historic findings across the world. Early exponents of graffiti in art included the French artist Jean Dubuffet who incorporated tags and graphic motifs into his paintings, and the New York artists Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring who could be defined as street art pioneers. Graffiti as such is rarely seen in galleries and museums, yet its aesthetic has been incorporated into artists’ work. Such graffiti can range from bright graphic images to stylized monograms. Originating in the 1970s New York graffiti art was founded when young people began to use spray paint and other materials to create images on buildings and on the sides of subway trains. ![]()
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