How did the graffiti phenomenon appear? Is graffiti art or vandalism? Medieval graffiti in Rus'

A site started by old-school New York graffiti writers in 1998. It got its name from the most popular meeting place for writers in the 1970-1980s - the intersection of 149th Street and the Grand Concourse in the Bronx (the second and fifth lines of the New York subway intersect there). The site was created to document the history of New York graffiti: it contains profiles of a large number of writers and teams of the first and second waves, as well as articles written by the writers themselves.

The dawn of graffiti: 1966-1971

Initially, graffiti was used by political activists who wanted to convey their thoughts and slogans to the public, and by street gangs who thus marked their territory. Although graffiti appeared in Los Angeles in the 1930s, among the "cholos" ( Latin American Indians or mestizos, predominantly of Mexican origin, living in the United States - approx. lane), and the inscriptions made on freight trains by tramps could be seen long before the colored drawings on electric trains, graffiti in it modern form originated in the 1960s on the East Coast. It began with train writing in Philadelphia, and the pioneers are considered to be Cornbread and Cool Earl, who covered the entire city with inscriptions and drawings, attracting attention not only local residents, but also the press. It is not clear whether by accident or not, but graffiti came from Philadelphia to New York.

Graffiti (Italian graffiti - “inscriptions”) - inscriptions and drawings on the walls of buildings, fences, trains, etc., made by hand with paint or markers. It's hard to give now precise definition this term, since it is quite multifaceted.

Train-writing, train-bombing - (eng. train wrtining - “writing on a train”, train bombing - “train bombing”) - drawing on trains, in which often many writers are more interested in the fact of drawing rather than the quality of the drawings.

Pioneers: 1971-1974

The history of New York graffiti usually begins with an article published in 1971 in The New York Times: It was about a guy named Dimetrius who lived on 183rd Street in Manhattan. He worked as a courier and traveled a lot by subway. Taking the pseudonym Taki 183, he began to leave his signature in different parts cities. People became interested in what this inscription meant, and journalists decided to find out. Naturally, Taki 183 was not the first writer or "king", but he was the first to be seen and recognized outside the emerging subculture. Some of the earliest pioneers of graffiti include Julio 204, Frank 207 and Joe 136.

Writer, graffiti writer - (English writer - “writer”) - a person involved in graffiti.

Tag, tag (English tag - “label”, “label”, “tag”) - the signature of the writer (his pseudonym), made in one color with a marker or paint. Verb - tag, tag. Occupation - tagging, tagging. The man is a tagger, tagger.

There was also movement on the streets of Brooklyn. There are many active writers. One of the first writers to become famous was Friendly Freddie. The subway became a kind of communication system: with its help, writers from the five districts of the city learned about each other’s existence, and then “competition between districts” arose.

King, king (English king - "king") - a writer who draws more and better than others, a recognized authority among other writers.

Graffiti quickly moved from the streets underground and the pursuit of fame began. At that time, tags were mostly written, and, of course, the main thing was quantity. Writers rode the subway and rode in carriages. Very soon they realized that there were many more cars to sign at the depot, and the chances of being caught were less. This is how a method was born that all train bombers still use today.

Tag style

After a while, so many people started tagging that we had to come up with something new way, with which you could stand out. The first way was to come up with a unique tag - various calligraphic styles began to appear. Writers added strokes, stars, and other design elements to tags ( many of them are still used today - approx. ed.). Some icons served simply as decoration, while others had a meaning. For example, crowns were used by writers who considered themselves “kings.” Probably the most famous tag in the history of graffiti is Stay High 149: a figurine of a character from the television series The Saint with a joint in place of the letter H.

Tag size

Super Kool 223

Then the changes affected the size of the tags. Writers started making more tags. The standard cap was quite narrow, so larger tags were still not attractive special attention. Writers began making the letters “thicker” and outlining them with a different color, and also using caps from other spray paints. This is how the “pieces” were born. It is not known who made the piece first, but the most commonly cited names are Super Kool 223 from the Bronx and WAP from Brooklyn. Thick letters gave space for the development of the name. Writers began decorating letters with circles, strokes, stars and checkered patterns. Adding color and decorative elements were a real breakthrough, but the pieces continued to strongly resemble the tags from which they originated. Among the famous writers of that time are: Hondo 1, Japan 1, Moses 147, Snake 131, Lee 163d, Star 3, Phase 2, Pro-Soul, Tracy 168, Lil Hawk, Barbara 62, Eva 62, Cay 161, Junior 161 and Stay High 149.

A piece (English piece - "piece", short for masterpiece - "masterpiece") is a color drawing made on a wall or on a train, which takes much more time than a flop.

Throw-up, flop - (English to throw-up - “throw”, “throw”; to flop - “drop”, “flop”) - a quickly made drawing, consisting of an outline and a fill of the same color. The letters are usually round in shape, and the most popular color combination is black and chrome.

Riff 170

Tracy 168

Stay High 149

Development of styles

The atmosphere of competition led to the development modern styles. Topcat 126 is considered the founder of the "Broadway" style ( Broadway), which later evolves into huge block fonts and oblique fonts. Then Phase 2 came up with rounded letters - "bubbles" ( bubble letters). "Broadway" and "bubble" were the very first styles in which pieces were performed, and they became the progenitors of all other styles. Soon arrows, curls and connectives begin to be added to the letters. They are becoming more complex and sophisticated and are leading to the emergence of a new “mechanical” style ( mechanical style) or, as it is now called, "wild" style ( wild style).

The rivalry between Phase on the one hand and Riff 170 and PEL on the other led to further development graffiti. Riff was one of the provocateurs of the “style wars” ( style wars). Flint 707 and Pistol made huge contributions to the development of 3D typefaces and brought depth to pieces that would become role models for future generations of writers.

This surge of creativity did not go unnoticed. Hugo Martinez, a sociology graduate from City College of New York, drew attention to creative potential illegal artists of that time. Martinez founded United Graffiti Artists: they selected the best writers who painted in the subway and presented their work in the gallery. It was thanks to UGA that writers had the opportunity to come out of hiding. At Razor Gallery, Martinez exhibited works by Phase 2, Mico, Coco 144, Pistol, Flint 707, Bama, Snake, Stitch.

In 1973, New York Magazine published an article by Richard Goldstein entitled “The Graffiti Hit Parade,” which contributed to public recognition artistic potential of young talents who “came” from the New York subway. Around 1974, Tracy 168, Cliff 159, and Blade began adding landscapes, illustrations, and characters to their fonts to surround the letters. This is how paintings appeared that covered entire carriages ( English whole car - “the whole car”, “the whole car”). The first hole cars were made by AJ 161 and Silver Tips.

Death

Cliff 159

Hondo 1

Heyday: 1975-1977

The main styles were formed sometime after 1974. All standards were spelled out, and writers of the new generation shamelessly used all the achievements of writers of the first wave. New York was hit by an economic crisis, and transport system no one paid attention. This period marked the heyday of painting in the New York subway. At this time, a demarcation began between those who paid primary attention to style (style writers) and those for whom the main thing was speed and quantity of drawings (bombers). It was no longer possible to surprise anyone with hole cards, and the favorite form of self-expression of bombers became throw-ups, also known as flops. Trow-ups grew out of “bubble” fonts: these are pieces made in a hurry, which consist of an outline and careless filling. Most of these works consisted of two or three letters.

Writing, style-writing (English writing - “the process of writing letters”, “writing”; style writing - “stylish writing”) - drawing on walls and trains with an emphasis on the style and shape of letters. Later, only painting on walls became more commonly referred to as writing.

Bombing (English bombing - “bombing”) - drawing tags, flops, pieces.

Blade

Particularly distinguished at that time were the teams POG, 3yb, BYB TC, TOP, and the kings of the flops: Tee, , Dy 167, Pi, In, Le, To, Oi, Fi aka Vinny, Ti 149, Cy, Peo. The real race began: teams and writers competed to see who could make the most throw-ups. The heyday of flops and hole-cars occurred in 1975-1977. At this time, following the path of graffiti pioneers Tracy and Cliff, writers such as Butch, Case, Kindo, Blade, Comet, Ale 1, Doo2, John 150, Kit 17, Mark 198, Lee, Mono, Slave, Slug, Doc 109 Caine One decorated subway and commuter trains with stunning hall cars.

The public still cannot decide what graffiti is - a form of art, a way of self-expression or an act of vandalism. However, it still does not lose its popularity, and the facades of houses with fences continue to be overgrown with all kinds of drawings and inscriptions. How it all started, what styles of graffiti exist and how to draw them - read on.

Graffiti: what is it?

In a historical context, graffiti refers to drawings and inscriptions applied in some way to various surfaces. But in modern understanding graffiti is considered a type of street art, which consists of applying drawings and inscriptions using paint, often aerosol, on all kinds of surfaces, mainly on walls. The people who draw them are called writers.

Attention masses was turned to this direction in 1971, when what graffiti was was first mentioned in printed edition. It was about a writer named Demetraki, who worked as a courier and left his signature in all corners of New York. This signature was the tag Taki183, where Taki is part of his name and 183 is the name of the street where he lived.

Later, inscriptions began to appear more often within the metro and railway depots. The movement has become competitive street artists tried to leave as many of their tags as possible.

Types of graffiti

TO Writing, in fact, include what we most often now understand as graffiti - done in different styles drawings on the walls; More sophisticated than just tags, they are distinguished by thoughtfulness and three-dimensional image.

Bombing they paint on transport and in other extreme places, and the artists are called bombers. This type of graffiti is not particularly complex or accurate in execution, since the main task of the bomber is to make sure that he is not caught while applying the drawing.

This also includes inscriptions in the style Scratching— they are scratched out with a grindstone, usually on glass.

Graffiti styles

The most simple style is Throw-up. This graffiti consists of two contrasting colors: fills the lettering and its outline, usually black. It has a round shape.

Another simple style - Blockbuster- made of no more than three colors and distinguished by large angular letters.

Style Bubbles characterized by large letters resembling the shape of bubbles. Refers to the old school, not common today.

Wild Style It is distinguished by large-scale, hard-to-read text, with sharp, elongated letters, often interlaced. The style is complex and therefore performed only by experienced writers.

Character Style- drawings on the walls in comic book style. Not everyone can do it, because it requires certain drawing skills.

A subspecies that has now become popular is 3D graffiti - large drawings on the floor that look three-dimensional from a certain vantage point.

Not every graffiti can be boxed into a specific style; there are many street works that sometimes amaze with their beauty and look like real paintings, with their own original semantic content.

How to learn to draw graffiti

If you want to start creating your own graffiti, you will have to practice a lot. And before you go out with paint in search of a convenient, unstained wall, your canvas will be plain paper, and you will draw with pencils.

Sketches on paper

Any drawing begins with a sketch. First of all, you must decide on the style in which you want to execute your future drawing. Then choose a word. Write it down on a piece of paper, spacing the letters apart.

After this, use strokes to shape the letters in accordance with the chosen style.


Don’t forget about light and volume: in some places the letters will be thinner to create a shadow effect, and in others they will be more convex.


Now you can slowly add elements that interest you, add volume and darkness to the letters.


When the shape is ready, fill it with color. Use several colors, paint with felt-tip pens or paints - this graffiti will look brighter and more expressive.


We invite you to watch a training video with simple graffiti for beginners:

Remember: the process of sketching with pencil on paper trains your graffiti drawing skills in specific style and technology, but does not practice the ability to make drawings on street surfaces using aerosol paint.

After enough practice on paper, you should start thinking about drawing graffiti on walls.

If you have never held a can in your hands before, then you will need to understand what kind of tool it is and what its operating principle is. Practice spraying on a separate surface, test the operation of the can, the strength and thickness of the paint jet.

Choose a simpler wall, flat, primed, and best of all, made of porous concrete. You need to work on the drawing on a warm, dry day.

In addition to cans of paint and your sketch, do not forget that appropriate equipment is required: thick clothing, a respirator, gloves. You will also need caps - special caps for spraying, changed directly on the can. They are different types, for drawing thin and thick lines, dots and outlines.

The sketch should be made in the color of your main background so that you can always correct a mistake. Only then add an outline and form the volume of the drawing.

Beginning writers can use auxiliary stencils with entire inscriptions, letters or individual elements.

Learn to layer: this graffiti will retain the brightness of the color, but the layers must be thin, otherwise they will take a long time to dry. Don't try to fill out the letters in one motion, draw line by line.

To understand how to draw graffiti in the Throw-up style, you can watch the following video:

Remember that we do not have officially approved places for street art, so your creation will most likely be considered an act of vandalism, and you will be considered a trespasser.

But if you already experienced artist and have prepared a decent sketch, then you can try your luck and win the right to design a residential building, a store, or a kindergarten. Sometimes art festivals are also held, where experienced writers demonstrate their skills in specially designated areas.

It is customary to distinguish five types of graffiti depending on the place and method in which they were applied; in turn, they can be executed in different styles.

Types of graffiti

• Writing- this is the basic type of graffiti familiar to everyone, which is most often found, combining all possible styles. Those who draw graffiti are called writers, and the sketches of the work are sketches. The sketch can be drawn on plain paper or used special program.
• Bombing– an extreme type of graffiti, painted on transport, mainly on trains. Distinctive feature, this is the speed at which the drawing appears, while the detailing of small details often suffers due to lack of time for drawing graffiti.
• Tagging– this is simply the signature of the graffiti artist, his nickname. It is important to note that tags must be placed on your graffiti when it is painted just anywhere - this is vandalism. There is a special one.
• Scratching, or scraping– these are the scratches that you see in the subway or other transport. Even among writers it is considered a different tone, since rarely anything worthwhile can come of it.
• Clean advertising- this trend appeared relatively recently, but is quickly spreading in the West thanks to the support of advertising agencies that order and pay writers for their work. The whole point is that the place where you draw, here the dirt is washed off in the right places, thanks to which a drawing appears. If you want to learn more about this, read the article “”.

Graffiti styles

This is one of the very first styles in graffiti, it is characterized by the writing of exaggerated large letters and three-dimensional shapes, translated from English as “bubble”. Basically, only a couple of paint colors are used that contrast with each other. First, the outline of the letters is drawn, and then everything else is simply painted over. Creating graffiti in this style takes little time, so most often this style is used for illegal and quick drawing V busy places for bombing.

The simplest style originated in New York and is made in two colors. Similar to the Bubble letter style, the main thing is as much as possible larger size inscriptions and simplicity of lines.

Blockbusters- a simple style, sometimes even drawn in one color, characterized by large, wide, often three-dimensional letters, translated from English as “bomb” or “top seller.” Blockbusters, unlike Throw up, originated in Los Angeles, where it was used by street gangs to mark their territory.

Character– it uses images cartoon characters, often with some kind of replica, performed in the style of comics. Only professional writers with artistic skills can work in this style. When drawing, needle attachments are often used to help make fine lines. Not every writer has mastered this style, as it requires artistic skills. More often, a team of several people works in this style rather than single writers due to the high time costs.

Messiah Style- this style was invented by New Yorker Vulcan, in which letters appear to be written on different sheets and superimposed on each other.

Computer Roc Style- This style was invented by a New Yorker under the nickname Case2, this style is also called “break”. It involves dividing letters or images into separate fragments, each such fragment tilted in different directions.

Wild Style or “Wild Style”- This is a dynamic style, difficult to read. It is drawn in 3-4 or more colors, with many different details and weaves that make the text very difficult to read. Often only the authors of the works themselves are able to read what they have drawn. Experienced street artists who have thought through everything before paint in this style. the smallest details on the sketch, but even after all the preparations, drawing graffiti in this style takes quite a lot of time. The wild style was invented to attract the attention of passersby, the main thing is to make them pay attention to the graffiti and arouse their interest in deciphering what is written. There are many subspecies of Wild Style.

Be that as it may, graffiti today is one of the most accessible forms of self-expression, a type of rapidly developing street art. Modern graffiti has become widespread in many countries of the world as an organic part of urban culture, independent genre contemporary art with their own styles, trends and writers - geniuses who create real masterpieces.

If we start from the meaning of the word “graffiti”, which comes from the Italian word graffito (scratched), then it literally means “ancient inscriptions and drawings scratched on the surfaces of walls, vessels,” etc.

Modern Dictionary gives two explanations for the word graffiti. On the one hand, these are inscriptions, drawings, and signs scratched or painted on walls of a symbolic, magical, religious, political or everyday nature. On the other hand, this is a movement in avant-garde art of the last quarter of the 20th century, characteristic feature which is focused on amateur street paintings youth groups, brightness, emotionality, desire to go beyond generally accepted concepts. Graffiti is not only an attribute of the urban environment, but also a type of creativity that is reflected in easel and monumental art.

Emergence modern graffiti dates back to the 1920s and is associated with the appearance of drawings and inscriptions on railroad cars in the United States, with the activities of political activists who used graffiti to propagate their ideas, and street gangs for whom graffiti was a way to mark their territory with tags. The tags were the writer's abbreviated name or nickname and the number of the house in which he lives, for example, Stay High 149, Cay 161.

By the second half of the 20th century, the popularity of graffiti grew so much that the center of the graffiti movement moved to New York, the activities of writers intensified, attracting the attention of the official press. In 1971, the New York Times published an article about the writer Taki 183, “Taki Causes a Wave of Followers.”

The increase in the number of writers led to the emergence of rivalry between them and their movement to the railway depot area, where writers had the opportunity to perform complex work with less risk to yourself. Competition between writers led to the complexity of tags, the emergence of new styles in graffiti, an increase in the size of works (“masterpieces” or “pieces” - for example, the writer Super Kool 223 in 1972), the use of contours, and the decoration of graffiti with patterns. The skill of writers is growing.

By the mid-1970s, the basic principles of graffiti culture had emerged. This is the time when the popularity of graffiti peaks, the movement of writers takes on a competitive nature, and graffiti attracts the attention of professionals.

In 1972, Hugo Martinez founded the United Graffiti Artists organization, which began to popularize graffiti art, seeking to establish it on a professional basis.

However, throughout the history of the development of modern graffiti on the part of the Metro Management and city administrations different ways Actions to eliminate it were carried out with greater or lesser success.

Therefore, graffiti art, street by nature, was looking for new ways and means of expression. A new round of increasing interest of the American and European public in graffiti was the use of graffiti in advertising campaigns, the creation of graffiti studios, the provision of galleries to graffiti artists, the inclusion of graffiti in hip-hop culture, the creation of video clips using graffiti, documentary film"Style Wars" filmed by National Television, the demonstration of graffiti in Europe as part of the 1983 hip-hop music tour and, finally, the creation computer games with the inclusion of graffiti and its virtualization.

The combination of graffiti with video games and hip-hop found expression in the television series Kung Faux by Mickey Neumann. Famous graffiti artists ESPO, KAWS, STASH, & Futura 2000, legendary break dancer Crazy Legs, as well as hip-hop artists Afrika Bambaataa, Biz Markie and Queen Latifah took part in the creation of the film.

By the mid-1980s, the peak of fashion for this type of art had passed, but many writers made serious careers in the art of designing skateboards, clothing and shoes in well-known companies DC Shoes, Adidas, Rebel8 Osiris or Circa.

So what is graffiti? Vandalism or art?

What is the name of different types and graffiti styles? The drawings on the walls are not created in a chaotic manner. Let's take a closer look at the main trends in this type of street art.

Main types of graffiti

Writing- This is one of the main styles of graffiti. All graffiti artists are called “writers.” This direction can be considered the founder of all styles. There are no restrictions or specific techniques; The artist himself determines for himself which style is best for him to paint. This direction includes the use of:

• spray paint;
• wall markers;
• ready-made stencils;
• roller rollers, brushes, etc.

Works done in this style are usually called sketches. Sketch can be prepared in advance on paper or using a special program.

Tagging– tagging is used to indicate a name and is often used as a caption for a work. The technique of calligraphy and mixed technologies writing. Moreover, tags can only be placed under own works, the chaotic application of one’s own signature on various objects is usually classified as vandalism. Tags can also be drawn by hand or prepared in a special program.

Bombing- This is an extreme direction of graffiti. The essence of this method is to draw an image as quickly as possible on moving objects or in dangerous conditions. For example, on the edge of a bridge or on a high balcony. This style tends to have poor rendering of small details, since graffiti artists do not have enough time and opportunity to work out small details.

Scratching/Scrabbing– involves applying images through scratches. This style of execution is not very respected among writers. This style always implies damage to the surface various items and objects, and most graffiti artists agree that such a style will not lead to anything worthy.

Clean Advertising– this is a relatively new direction that relates to commercial activities; another way to advertise, as well as a source of income for commercial artists.

Graffiti drawing styles

Bubble Letter– “bubble” translated from English means “bubble”. And, as the name implies, this style is characterized by round and puffy shapes. In this style, primitive drawings are made and words are created. Also one of the first types of graffiti. When using the Bubble Letter technique, two similar colors are combined to give the drawing volume.

Throw-up– this style of graffiti is usually considered one of the simplest. He first appeared in New York. Characteristic for this style is expressed in the use of two colors and simple lines. Such drawings are usually very large and voluminous.

Blockbusters– was invented in Los Angeles. Used by street gangs to mark their territories. Key Feature This style of painting involves using one or two colors. The drawing should be as simple and concise as possible and display the symbolism of the author’s group.

Characters– drawing of various cartoon characters, famous films and books. This trend can also include characters created independently in another universe, for example, in comics. This is one of the most complex styles, as it requires artistic skills. This technique is often used fine needle with paint for drawing small details.

Messiah Style– this graffiti trend was invented by a famous writer from New York nicknamed Vulcan. This style uses letters with an effect similar to layering.

Wild Style– one of the most difficult styles to read. When creating it, three or more colors are used. Often the weaves are so complex that only the authors themselves can decipher them. Preparing such a drawing takes a lot of time and requires high level skill. Even after the drawing is thought out to the smallest detail, it will take a lot of time to realize the image.

Computer Roc Style– the author’s idea of ​​another performer from New York under the pseudonym Case2. The second name for this style is “perel”. This style is characterized by separation different fragments pattern and tilting them in different directions.

3D/FX Style– one of the new (relatively) varieties, which involves applying images in 3D format. Optical illusions look very advantageous on wall surfaces; it is for this reason that many graffiti artists create works in this style.

New drawing techniques are being developed every day and the development of this art direction does not stand still. Perhaps in the future we will be able to see a new style of performance and the most daring decisions.