Graffiti Art

Perhaps the most controversial of all the genres of art, graffiti is slowly gaining widespread acceptance as a valid form of artwork. One of the reasons that graffiti has long been derided by the art community is its general nature, which is the application of an image or text onto property that is not under the ownership of the artist. Therefore, the art of graffiti is often applied in locations where it is not desired, such as public parks, buildings, and subway walls. While most people only know about the modern style of graffiti that routinely appears in urban areas, it actually goes back to ancient Roman and Greek times when dissenters would voice their disapproval by writing or drawing on public or government buildings.

The development of modern graffiti and street art began to appear on a widespread scale in the 1960s. The first appearances of graffiti actually occurred in the 1920s, with one popular message being “Kilroy was here,” which is a reference brought back to the US by troops that came back from the first World War. In the 1960s and 1970s, the graffiti was of a more political nature, both on American soil and in international locations. Parisians began to paint graffiti in many places with revolutionary and anarchist messages and Americans began to see graffiti slogans pop up that attacked the then current president, Richard Nixon.

The modern era of graffiti is what has legitimized the form as a version of true art. While politically dissenting messages are still present, the large majority of graffiti images are expressions of art. One of the more common techniques is to use a stencil that is applied with spray paint to the outside of buildings. This technique is popular because it is very rapid and can be applied in multiple locations to increase the exposure of the design.