Discusses what graffiti is, how it came to be the way that it is now, Famous graffiti artists, removing graffiti, and the war on graffiti throughout communities.
Background of Graffiti
Graffiti is shapes, words, symbols, pictures painted on the sides of anything seen to the public eye including buildings, subways, bridges and other surfaces. Graffiti comes from the Greek word graphein, meaning “to write” and found its name in the 1960s. It was originally done by street gangs to mark territory, and political activists.
In The Beginning
In Philadelphia, PA, two artists involved in the roots of a bombing wrote their names throughout the city, which gained the Press’s attention. Their tag names were CORNBREAD and COOL EARL. Still today, it is unsure if New York heard of this or if they happened conscientiously at the same time.
Shortly after, Manhattan discovered they had artists of their own. TAKI 183 was the first to be recognized by The New York Times. However, other early artists noted were FRANK 207, JOE 136, and JULIO 204.
The subway system became a line of communication between these artists, as they became conscious of each others' efforts, and this began the competition. They would ride the trains and hit as many cars as possible. They soon discovered that it would be the easiest in a train yard for they would not get caught as easily and they could hit as many trains as possible. This is the method of bombing.
In 1975 bombing went to a whole new form called whole cars, which displayed whole murals on train or subway cars. At this time, the throw up (a form of bubble letter with no color on the inside) also became a popular form of tagging.
Moving on to Different Mediums
As the 1980s flew by, some artists began to seek a better medium. Subway cars that were graffiti'd were scrapped, the train yards were heavily guarded, the Metropolitan Transit Authority increased their anti- graffiti budget, and the crack cocaine epidemic made the streets more dangerous than ever. Spray paint was locked up, which made it harder for people to shoplift, and forbid minors to buy it. The laws were in the works for making the penalty more severe. Other artists, however, looked at these laws as a challenge.
Nevertheless, the Metropolitan Transit Authority declared victory over the war on graffiti on May 12, 1989. No graffiti marked cars were ran on the subway, which began the Clean Train Movement. Artists believed that subway graffiti was what defined being an artist, and the ones who colored walls, canvas, and bridges are for fake artists.
How it affects communities
Graffiti, if removed, drains tax dollars that could be going somewhere useful. Graffiti sends the feeling of crime to visitors, and may make visitors feel that no one in the community really cares about what it looks like. Neighborhoods with graffiti have lost transit business, growth in business and tourism, and a decrease in value of property.
Compromising with “legal walls”
Communities have even tried a compromise, by creating “legal walls” where it would be okay for people to create their art on them. They appear to work at first, however, over time the surrounding areas are covered in graffiti as well.
Removal
Pressure washing the surface, and painting it over are the most commonly used ways to remove the graffiti. To find out how to help a community take action, visit www.graffitihurts.org.
Sources:
- www.at149st.com/history.html
- www.daveyd.com/historyofgraf.html
- www.graffiti.org/faq/stowers.html
- www.ccd.rpi.edu/Eglash/csdt/subcult/grafitti/culture/Creativity.html
- www.graffitihurts.org/community_resources/removal.cfm
