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Graffitti as art and design

The Latin word Graffiti is plural for graffito, stemming from the Greek graphien - to write. Today, graffiti is associated with the New York Hip Hop style which evolved from rap music in the late 1960s/early 1970s, when a new style of art was born. New Yorker, Keith Haring began placing posters with his unusual characters in public places, then began drawing directly on subway walls. A delivery messenger, Demetrius, also started writing "Taki 183" throughout the city and he and Haring soon became famous. Scores of others followed suit as graffiti made the headlines. Public interest soon waned until the mid-1980s, when a TV programme on graffiti started a global trend. At first pens and markers were used but quick and convenient spray paint soon took over. Spray nozzles were often replaced by other aerosol nozzles, to provide a finer or thicker jet of paint and give the "writer" better control. Graffiti was soon banned. Laws vary, but it is generally illegal everywhere. Some places provide walls where "writers" can work legally. However space is limited and works are constantly being replaced, much to the dismay of the better artists

Examples of graffiti styles.Graffiti has existed since ancient times, with examples going back to Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire. Graffiti can be anything from simple scratch marks to elaborate wall paintings. In modern times, spray paint and markers have become the most commonly used materials. In most countries, defacing property with graffiti without the property owner's consent is considererd vandalism, which is punishable by law. Sometimes graffiti is employed to communicate social and political messages. To some, it is an art form worthy of display in galleries and exhibitions. However, the public generally frowns upon "tags" that deface bus stops, trains, buildings, playgrounds and other public property.

Graffiti artists sometimes choose nicknames for them as an artist. These names are chosen for one of many reasons. Artists want tags to be quick to write so they are often from 3 to 5 characters in length. The name is chosen to reflect personal qualities and characteristics, or because of the way the word sounds, and/or for the way it looks once written. The letters in a word can make doing pieces very difficult if the shapes of the letters don't sit next to each other in a visually pleasing way. Some Graffiti artists select their names that are plays on common expressions, such as 2Shae, Page3, 2Cold, In1 and other such names. Names also can represent a word with an irregular spelling; for example, "Train" could be Trane or Trayne and "Envy" could be Envie or Envee. Names can also contain subtle and often cryptic messages, or, in some cases, the artist's initials or other letters. As well as the graffiti name, some artists include the year that they completed that tag next to the name. bomber Tox, from London, seldom writes just Tox; it is usually Tox03, Tox04, etc. In some cases, artists dedicate or create tags or graffiti in memory of a deceased friend – for example, "DIVA Peekrevs R.I.P. JTL '99." The Borf Brigade's arrested member, John Tsombikos, claimed the "BORF" tag campaign, which gained recognition for its prevalence in DC, was in memory of his deceased friend.

Styles Some of the most common styles of graffiti have their own names. A "tag" is the most basic writing of an artist's name in either spray paint or marker. A graffiti writer's tag is his or her personalized signature. "Tagging" is often the example given when opponents of graffiti refer to vandalism, as they use it to label all acts of graffiti writing (it is by far the most common form of graffiti). Another form is the "throw-up," also known as a "fill-in," which is normally painted very quickly with two or three colors, sacrificing aesthetics for speed. Throw-ups can also be outlined on a surface with one color. A "piece" is a more elaborate representation of the artist's name, incorporating more stylized "block" or "bubble" letters, using three or more colors. This of course is done at the expense of timeliness and increases the likelihood of the artist getting caught. A more complex style is "wildstyle", a form of graffiti involving interlocking letters, arrows, and connecting points. These pieces are often harder to read by non-graffiti artists as the letters merge into one another in an often undecipherable manner. A "blockbuster" is a "fill-in" that intentionally takes up an entire wall, sometimes with the whole purpose of blocking other "taggers" from painting on the same wall. Some artists also use stickers as a quick way to "get-up". While its critics consider this as lazy and a form of cheating, others find that 5 to 10 minutes spent on a detailed sticker is in no way lazy, especially when used with other methods. Sticker tags are commonly done on blank postage stickers, or really anything with an adhesive side to it. "Stencils" are made by drawing an image onto a piece of cardboard or tougher versions of paper, then cut with a razor blade. What is left is then just simply sprayed-over, and if done correctly, a perfect image is left. Many graffiti artists believe that doing blockbusters or even complex wildstyles are a waste of time. Doing wildstyle can take (depending on experience) 8 hours to 2 days. Another graffiti artist can go over that time consuming piece in a matter of minutes with a bubble fill-in that would look just as good as a wildstyle piece.