GraffitiA controversial

art form

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By Jane Mashburn

So, what’s this all about??

Art is very diverse in its mediums, styles, meanings, and content. It can be simple, it can be complex, and it can be very controversial. Graffiti is one such controversial art, although its status as “art” is under debate. Some call it an art form worthy of display in galleries and exhibitions, others call it merely vandalism. This module will walk you through the history, characteristics, uses, artists, and controversies involved with graffiti. It will then be up to you to answer the question for yourself:

Is graffiti art, or is it vandalism?

On the following page you will find 6 menu options (including a self-test), which will link you to the areas of your choice. When you are finished with a section, click the menu button to return back to the menu and choose another topic. Enjoy! Ne

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Reasons, why’s, and uses

HistorySo… What is graffiti?

Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted, or marked in any manner on property.

It is any type of public markings that may appear in the forms of simple written words to elaborate wall paintings.

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Graffiti has existed since ancient times, with examples dating back to the ancient Greek and Roman empires.

Early “graffiti” made from pigments can be found on cave walls, depicting animals and other aspects of daily life.

Earliest Graffiti

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Rome and PompeiiThe term “graffiti” once referred to the inscriptions and figure drawings on the walls of ancient ruins, for example in the catacombs of Rome and Pompeii.

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The Safaitic Language

Graffiti gives us the only known form of the Safaitic language (form of Arabic). This language is preserved via inscriptions scratched onto rocks and boulders in Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. Safaitic language dates back to the first century B.C.

…In other words, graffiti can preserve history!

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Graffiti

Styles

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There are many different styles and techniques that graffiti artists use. They vary in time needed, skill needed, and the meaning behind them.The 4 styles discussed

over the next three slides are:• Stenciling• Tagging• Bombing• Wild style

Stenciling

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Stencil graffiti is created by cutting out designs in stiff material and then placing that stencil over the intended canvas. The image appears when quick easy strokes of spray paint are sprayed over the stencil. This graffiti style is popular because it requires little time, so when it is done illegally, the culprits are able to paint and escape.

Tagging

and

Bombing

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A "bombing" 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.

“Tagging” is the most basic writing of an artist’s name. A tag is the graffiti artist’s personalized signature, and it is the most common form of graffiti.

Wildstyle

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“Wildstyle” is a more complex form of graffiti, that usually has interlocking letters and connecting points. Wildstyle is often harder for non-graffiti artists to read .

Why do people graffiti?

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Reasons, why’s, and uses: There are many reasons people do graffiti. A common reason is that they often want leave their marks to commemorate a relationship or state their presence.

They also use it as advertising, for decorative purposes, and as a political voice…

Advertising

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People use graffiti to advertise both legally and illegally. Many graffiti artists take advantage of legal advertising, seeing it as a form of paid/legalized graffiti art.

TATS CRU is often known for doing legal advertising campaigns (for such companies as Coca Cola and MTV).

Decorative

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Graffiti art can

be decorative in

manor, hung in

galleries and

distributed on

walls as

intriguing works

of art.

Political

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• Many of the most famous graffiti artists have strong political opinions, which they express through their work. Their political standpoints are often the reason they do graffiti work as well.

• Political statements can range from anti-war or anti-racism to anti-police/government or Nazi symbolism (like the swastika).

Graffiti Artists

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• There are thousands of people on earth who consider themselves to be graffiti “artists,” whether they are well known to society or not.

• Each of the following three slides has a well known graffiti artist with unique style and interesting work.

Revs

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Revs is the tag name of a New York graffiti artists whose work diary entries have earned him over the course of two decades the reputation of an artist provocateur. His real name is still unknown.

Pixnit

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• She was an anonymous Boston based graffiti artist whom often did provocative stencil work

• Her art was designed to critique the uses and misuses of the urban environment.

Banksy

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Banksy is an anonymous British graffiti artist whom is possibly the most well known graffitist today. He is known for being a strong political activist and creating stencil work with social commentary.

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Moral IssuesGraffiti is a very controversial topic. It is engulfed by many moral and legal issues. The biggest argument for graffiti’s lack of morality is its content. Aside from simple name writings, graffiti can often include very offensive, vulgar, and crude language and images. Many graffitists have strong political views, thus they try to shock the public with graffiti that will affect our society.

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Moral IssuesAnother morality issue embedded into graffiti is resulting/related crime issues and other immoral acts. For example, graffiti can often be used as a gang signal to mark territory or to serve as an indicator or "tag" for gang-related activity. Thus graffiti can be a tool to foster immoral activity and crimes.

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Legal IssuesGraffiti advocates perceive graffiti as a method of reclaiming public space or displaying an art form; their opponents regard it as an unwanted nuisance, or as expensive vandalism requiring repair of the vandalized property. The fact is that if it is uncommisioned imaging, lettering, etc. on public property it is illegal.

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Legal IssuesIn England, July 2008, a conspiracy charge was used to convict graffiti artists for the first time. Nine members of the DPM crew were convicted of conspiracy to commit criminal damage costing at least £1 million. Five of them received prison sentences, ranging from 18 months to two years. The unprecedented scale of the investigation and the severity of the sentences rekindled public debate over whether graffiti should be considered art or crime.

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Want to test your knowledge?

The following self-test is a simple review to test your knowledge and memory. Read the first question and then click on the answer that you think is correct. If you get it wrong, just try again. Simply follow the arrows to more questions.

Q1) True or False—Graffiti is a relatively new art form, arising in the early 1900’s?

True

False

Correct!

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It is a very old art form going back to ancient Greek and Roman empires, and even ancient cave walls.

Incorrect!

Back to Question

Q2) What language was preserved only by graffiti on boulders and rocks?

A) Chinese

B) Hebrew

C) Polish

D) Safaitic

Correct!

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Incorrect!

Back to Question

Q3) When referring to graffiti, what is a “tag”?

B) A CAN OF SPRAY PAINT

A) THE GRAFFITIST’S

PERSONALIZED SIGNATURE

C) THE AMOUNT OF TIME

THE GRAFFITI ARTIST HAS

TO DO A PAINTING

Correct!

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Incorrect!

Back to Question

Q4) True or False—Graffiti can foster other crimes and moral issues?

FALSE

TRUE

Correct!

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Incorrect!

Back to Question

Q5) Is graffiti a form of art, vandalism, or both? Is it right or wrong to do it? Should perpetrators be punished?

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There is no right or wrong answer here. Simply take a moment to think about the questions posed above and about the moral and legal implications of graffiti. Do they matter, if so how much? Think about the moral and legal issues that run universally throughout all of art. What can you do in your art to represent your own values?

Want more information on graffiti, its controversial issues, and its artists?

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Check out these websites:• The

Graffiti Debate: Glorifying art or vandalism?• The Anti-Graffiti FAQ• PIXNIT Productions• Banksy• Graffiti Hurts• General Graffiti Info

Congratulations you have completed this

module!Click the spray paint can to

exit this lesson.

Colors # of people from 1st grade class who like this color

# of people from 1st grade class who don’t like this color

Blue 15 17

Red 25 82

Extra Slides for Formatting/Enhancements

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Sales

1st Qtr2nd Qtr3rd Qtr4th Qtr

Extra Slides for Formatting/Enhancements

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Cut out

stencil in

cardboard

Place

over “canvas”

Spray quickly with aeros

ol paint

How to do stencil graffiti:

Extra Slides for Formatting/Enhancements

End show