GRAFFITI

PAINT & PERFORMANCE

“Derived from the Italian sgraffito, meaning to

scratch, graffiti has been around since the

beginning of mankind. Pictures, such as those at

the Lascaux Caves in France, were mostly carved

into the cave walls with bones or stones, but early

man also anticipated the stencil and spray

technique, blowing coloured powder through hollow

bones around his hands to make silhouettes.” ---

Nicholas Ganz, Graffiti World

LASCAUX CAVES

THE ALEXAMENOS GRAFFITO

Carved into wall on the Palatine Hill in Rome, somewhere between the 1st and 3rd centuries C.E. --- This is one of the earliest depicitions of Jesus’ Crucifixion and quite possibly the oldest example of graffiti as it is currently understood.

POLITICS AND PAINT

“[D]uring the Second World War, the Nazi’s used

writing on walls for their propaganda machines to

stir up hatred towards Jews and dissidents.

However, Graffiti was also important for resistance

movements as a way of publicizing their protests

to the general public.” --- Ganz, Graffiti World

THE BEGINNINGS OF MODERN GRAFFITI

Kilroy became a graffiti phenomenon that followed American servicemen during WWII and followed them home after the conflict ended.

The tag “Frodo Lives” has political meaning and became popular during the 1960’s and 1970’s

THE GRAFFITI (R)EVOLUTION

Aerosol Spray Paint

Hip Hop

The Culprits

GRAFFITI ON FILM

STYLE WARS

BASIC TERMINOLOGY

Throw up: A quick piece sometimes plain and sometimes

complicated but much less so than a burner.

Burner: A large mural like piece often incorporating both

script, images as well as pop culture and political themes.

Tag: A relatively simple script or symbol, that can be

executed with paint, markers, stickers or by engraving.

Arguably, the least artistically skillful form of graffiti, often

performed free hand.

TERMINOLOGY CONTINUED

Wild Style: The name given to the flamboyant yet cryptic

script style that is characteristic to modern graffiti art.

Crew: A group of graffiti artists that often collaborate

and/or compete against other crews.

Getting up: The actual act of gaining access to, and

executing a piece, on a wall, train, or other surface. The

performance piece of writing.

THROW UP

BURNER

TAG

WILD STYLE

CREW

“GETTING UP”

THE PROCESS

NOTES ON THE LOCAL SCENE

SURVIVAL OF THE “ILLEST”

“[T]he anti-graffiti strategy — deploying crews called graffiti blasters to quickly

erase or blot out painted surfaces — has imposed a kind of natural-selection

process in the graffiti subculture. By discouraging all but the shrewdest and most

determined practitioners, the city and county have inadvertently contributed to

making Chicago a vibrant hub of graffiti activity, according to experts.

‘It made Chicago graffiti an aggressive and competitive sport,’ said Sebastian

Napoli, 32, who began writing graffiti around the city in the 1990s when writers

called Chicago ‘the chocolate city’ after the brown paint used to cover their work.

 The enforcement efforts ‘weeded out guys that get up once or twice and tried to

call themselves writers,’ Mr. Napoli said.” --- Meribah Knight , “Crackdown Feeds

a Flourishing World of Graffiti”, New York Times March 19, 2011.

CONTROVERSY