Where did the graffiti appear? Graffiti styles and types

Etymology

Graffiti And graffito come from the Italian concept graffiato (“scratched”). The name "graffiti" in art history is usually used to refer to images that have been scratched onto a surface. A related concept is “graffito,” which refers to the removal of one layer of pigment by scratching the surface so that a second layer of color underneath is revealed. This technology was used primarily by potters, who, after finishing work, carved their signature on the products. In ancient times, graffiti was applied to walls using a sharp object, sometimes using chalk or charcoal. The Greek verb γράφειν - graphein (in Russian - “to write”) has the same root.

Story

Wall inscriptions have been known since ancient times; they have been discovered in countries Ancient East, in Greece, in Rome (Pompeii, Roman catacombs). The meaning of this word over time came to mean any graphics applied to a surface and regarded by many as an act of vandalism.

Ancient world

The earliest graffiti appeared in the 30th millennium BC. e. These were then represented in the form of prehistoric cave paintings and pictographs painted on walls with tools such as animal bones and pigments. Similar drawings were often made in ritual and sacred places inside the caves. Most often they depicted animals, wildlife and hunting scenes. This form of graffiti often causes debate as to how likely it is that such images were created by members of a prehistoric society.

Considered to be a proto-Arabic language, the only known source to date of the Safan language is graffiti: inscriptions scrawled on rocks and huge boulders primarily in the basalt deserts of southern Syria, eastern Jordan and northern Saudi Arabia. The Safan language has existed since the 1st century BC. e. to the 4th century AD e.

Antiquity

Graffiti in Pompeii

The first example of the “new style” of graffiti was preserved in the ancient Greek city of Ephesus (in modern Turkey). Local guides call it an advertising message for prostitution. Located next to expensively decorated mosaics and stones, the graffiti depicted a handprint vaguely reminiscent of a heart, a footprint and a number. This meant that there was a brothel somewhere nearby; the handprint symbolized payment.

The ancient Romans painted graffiti on walls and statues, examples of which also survive in Egypt. Graffiti in the classical world had a completely different meaning and content than in modern society. Ancient graffiti represented love confessions, political rhetoric, and simple thoughts that could be compared to today's popular messages about social and political ideals. Graffiti at Pompeii depicted the eruption of Vesuvius, and also contained Latin curses, magic spells, declarations of love, the alphabet, political slogans and famous literary quotes - all of which provide excellent insight into street life ancient Romans. One inscription contained the address of a woman named Novella Primigenia from Nuceria, probably a very beautiful prostitute whose services were in great demand. Another drawing showed a phallus, which was accompanied by the inscription “mansueta tene”: “Handle with care.” Typical graffiti on the wall of the Pompeii Lupanarium:

Anti-Christian caricature found during excavations ancient Rome and dating from the 2nd century. The inscription "ALEXAMENOS SEBETE THEON" translates as "Alexamenos worships God"

Graffiti helped us learn some details about the lifestyle and languages ​​of long-gone cultures. Spelling and grammatical errors in graffiti indicate the low educational level of the people who lived then, and at the same time help to unravel the mysteries of spoken Latin. Examples are CIL IV, 7838: Vettium Firmum / aed quactiliar rog. In this case, "qu" is pronounced like "co". The 83 piece of graffiti found in CIL IV, 4706-85 makes evident the ability to read and write among sections of society considered illiterate. Drawings can even be found on the peristyle, restored during the eruption of Vesuvius by the architect Cresens. The graffiti was left by both the boss and the workers. Brothel VII, 12, 18-20 contains more than 120 drawings, some of them were drawn by prostitutes and their clients. The Gladiator Academy (CIL IV, 4397) was covered in graffiti scrawled by the gladiator Celadus ( Suspirium puellarum Celadus thraex: “Celadus of Thracia makes girls sigh”). Another image found in Pompeii on the walls of a tavern was the words about the owner of the tavern and his dubious wine:

In Egypt, on the territory of the Giza architectural complex, a lot of graffiti left by builders and pilgrims was discovered.

Middle Ages

Graffiti was widespread in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. In one of the largest Mayan sites, Tikal, many well-preserved drawings were discovered. Viking graffiti that survived in Rome and Ireland on the Newgrange mound, as well as the famous inscription of a Varangian who scratched his name (Halfdan) in runes on the railings of the St. Sophia Cathedral in Constantinople - all these graffiti help us learn some facts from Everyday life past cultures. Graffiti known as Tacherons are often found on walls in Romanesque-Scandinavian churches.

Medieval graffiti in Rus'

U Eastern Slavs graffiti has a long and rich history. In Novgorod, 10 graffiti from the 11th century have been preserved. . Big number graffiti from the 11th to 15th centuries can be found in the Cathedral of St. Sofia in Kyiv, they contain both drawings and (more often) text. For the most part, ancient Russian graffiti is written on the walls of churches, so their most common content is prayer requests to God or saints, but there are also humorous texts, and entries like “so-and-so was here,” and folk spells. Many graffiti contain precise dates and are important historical, linguistic and paleographic sources. For Kyiv, where, unlike Novgorod, there are no birch bark letters, graffiti is one of the main sources of information about everyday writing and colloquial speech.

Renaissance

Modern history

Soldier in Italy (1943-1944)

It is believed that graffiti is closely related to hip-hop culture and the countless styles that originated from New York subway graffiti. Despite this, there are many other great examples of graffiti. At the beginning of the 20th century, graffiti began to appear in freight cars and underground passages. One such graffiti - Texino - dates back to the 1920s to the present day. During World War II and over the next several decades, the phrase "Kilroy was here", complete with an image, became common throughout the world. The phrase was used by American troops and quickly permeated American popular culture. Shortly after the death of Charlie Parker (he was nicknamed "Yardbird" or "Bird"), graffiti with the words "Bird Lives" began to appear throughout New York City. During the May 1968 student protests and general strike in Paris, the city became awash with revolutionary, anarchist and situationist slogans such as L'ennui est contre-révolutionnaire ("Boredom is counter-revolutionary"), which were rendered in graffiti, poster and stencil art styles . During this time, political slogans (such as "Free Huey", dedicated to Huey Newton, leader of the Black Panther movement) became popular for a short period in the United States. A famous piece of graffiti from the 1970s was the famous "Dick Nixon Before He Dicks You", reflecting youth hostility towards the US President.

Graffiti in Moscow

Graffiti today is a type of street art, one of the most relevant forms of artistic expression around the world. There are many different styles and types of graffiti. The works created by graffiti artists are an independent genre of modern art, an integral part of culture and urban lifestyle. Many countries and cities have their own famous writers, creating real masterpieces on the streets of the city.

In most countries around the world, writing graffiti on someone's property without the permission of the property owner is considered vandalism and is punishable by law. Sometimes graffiti is used to spread political and social messages. For some people, graffiti is real art, worthy of being displayed in galleries and exhibitions; for others, it is vandalism.

Since graffiti became an integral part of pop culture, it has become associated with hip hop, hardcore, beatdown and breakdancing music. For many, it is a way of life, hidden from the public and incomprehensible to the general public.

Graffiti is also used as a gang signal to mark territory or serve as a designation or "tag" for that same gang's activities. The controversy surrounding this type of art continues to fuel divisions between law enforcement officers and graffiti artists who seek to display their work for the public to see. It is a fast-growing art form whose value is fiercely defended by its adherents in wars of words with government officials, although the same legislation often protects graffiti.

The Birth of Modern Graffiti

Appearance modern graffiti can be dated back to the early 1920s, when drawings and inscriptions were used to mark boxcars traveling throughout the United States. However, the origin of the graffiti movement in its modern sense is associated with the activities of political activists who used graffiti to spread their ideas. Graffiti was also applied by street gangs such as the Savage Skulls, La Familia, DTBFBC, and the Savage Nomads to mark “their” territory. By the end of the 1960s, signatures, so-called tags, began to appear everywhere, performed by writers from New York whose names were Lord, Cornbread, Cool Earl, Topcat 126. Writer Cornbread is often called one of the founders of modern graffiti.

Spray paint can, the most popular graffiti tool

The period from 1969 to 1974 can be called revolutionary for graffiti. During this time, its popularity grew markedly, many new styles emerged, and the center of the graffiti movement moved from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to New York City. Writers tried to leave their tags wherever possible, and as many times as possible. Soon after New York City became the new hub of graffiti, the media took notice of this new cultural phenomenon. The first writer to whom the newspaper article was dedicated was TAKI 183. He was a teenager from the Washington Heights neighborhood in Manhattan. His tag TAKI 183 consisted of his name Demetrius (or Demetraki, Taki) and the number of the street where he lived - 183. Taki worked as a courier, so he often had to take the subway. Wherever he went, he left his tags everywhere. In 1971, the New York Times published an article dedicated to him entitled “Taki Created a Wave of Followers.” Julio 204 is also considered one of the early writers, but at that time he went unnoticed by the media. Other notable graffiti artists included Stay High 149, PHASE 2, Stitch 1, Joe 182 and Cay 161. Barbara 62 and Eva 62 were the first women to become famous for their graffiti.

At the same time, graffiti began to appear more often in the subway than on city streets. Writers began to compete with each other, and the point of their competition was to write their name as many times as possible in as many places as possible. The attention of graffiti artists gradually turned to railway depots, where they had the opportunity to carry out large complex works with less risk. It was then that the key principles of the modern concept of “bombing” were formed.

Tags in Sao Paulo

Tag example

By 1971, the way tags were performed changed and became more sophisticated and complex. This is due to the huge number of graffiti artists, each of whom tried to attract attention. The rivalry between writers stimulated the emergence of new styles in graffiti. The artists complicated the drawing itself, trying to make it original, but in addition they began to noticeably increase the size of the letters, the thickness of the lines and use a contour for the letters. This led to the creation in 1972 of large drawings, the so-called “masterpieces” or “pieces”. It is believed that the writer Super Kool 223 was the first to perform such “pieces”.

Various options for decorating graffiti have come into fashion: polka dot patterns, checkered patterns, hatching, etc. The volume of use of aerosol paint has increased significantly, as writers have increased the size of their works. At that time, “pieces” began to appear that occupied the height of the entire carriage; they were called “top-to-bottoms,” that is, “from top to bottom.” The development of graffiti as a new artistic phenomenon, its ubiquity and the growing level of skill of writers could not go unnoticed. In 1972, Hugo Martinez founded the United Graffiti Artists, which included many of the best graffiti artists of the time. The organization sought to present graffiti works to the general public within the framework of an art gallery. By 1974, writers began to include images of cartoon characters and scenes in their works. The TF5 team (“The Fabulous Five”) became famous for skillfully painting entire carriages.

Mid 1970s

Heavily painted subway car. New York, 1973

By the mid-1970s, the basic principles of graffiti art and culture were established. This period marked the peak of graffiti's popularity and prevalence, in part because financial conditions did not allow the New York City administration to combat street art by implementing programs to remove graffiti or improve the maintenance of city transportation. In addition, graffiti in the “top-to-bottoms” style began to occupy entire carriages. The mid-1970s were marked by the enormous popularity of "throw-ups", that is, graffiti that is more complex to execute than "tags", but less intricate than "pieces". Soon after the introduction of throw-ups, writers began to compete to see who could perform the most throw-ups in the least amount of time.

The graffiti movement took on a competitive nature, and artists set out to paint the entire city. They wanted their names to appear in every area of ​​New York. Ultimately, the standards and requirements set in the early 1970s became outdated, and by the early 1980s many writers were hungry for change.

Modern graffiti on a carriage

However, at the turn of the 1970s - 1980s, graffiti experienced a wave of new creative ideas. Another key figure in the graffiti movement of these years was Fab 5 Freddy (Fred Brathwaite), who organized a wall-writing group in Brooklyn. He notes that in the late 1970s different techniques The spray paint and lettering styles that distinguished northern Manhattan graffiti from Brooklyn graffiti began to intermingle, eventually creating the wild style. Fab 5 Freddy is credited with bringing graffiti and rap music beyond the Bronx, where it originated. With its help, connections were established between graffiti and official art, as well as modern music. For the first time since Hugo Martinez organized a writers' exhibition in the early 1970s, graffiti was being taken seriously by established fine art.

The late 1970s marked the last wave of widespread bombing before the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority set its sights on clearing graffiti from transit. Metro authorities began strengthening fences and railings at the depot, as well as mass destruction of graffiti. The active work of city organizations often led to many writers quitting graffiti, as the constant destruction of their work led them to despair.

Spread of graffiti culture

In 1979, art dealer Claudio Bruni gave graffiti artists Lee Quiñones and Fab 5 Freddy a gallery in Rome. For many writers working outside of New York, this was their first exposure to traditional art forms. The friendship between Fab 5 Freddy and Blondie singer Debbie Harry inspired Blondie's 1981 single "Rapture". The video for this song, which also features Jean-Michel Basquiat, famous for his SAMO graffiti, shows viewers elements of graffiti and hip-hop culture for the first time. Although more significant in this sense was the release in 1983 of the feature film “Wild Style” by independent director Charlie Ahearn, as well as documentary film“Style Wars”, produced by the Public Broadcasting Service (USA National Broadcasting Service) in 1983. Music hits"The Message" and "Planet Rock" helped increase interest in hip-hop outside of New York City. The film “Style Wars” not only showed the public such famous writers as Skeme, Dondi, MinOne and Zephyr, but also strengthened the role of graffiti in the emerging hip-hop culture in New York: in addition to writers, famous breakdance groups appeared in the cinema, such as Rock Steady Crew, and the soundtrack is exclusively rap. It is still considered that the film “Style Wars” most accurately reflected what was happening in hip-hop culture in the early 1980s. As part of the 1983 New York City Rap Tour Fab, 5 Freddy and Futura 2000 demonstrated hip-hop graffiti to European audiences in Paris and London. Hollywood also showed attention to hip-hop when in 1984 the film “Beat Street” was released, which again featured hip-hop culture. The director consulted with the PHASE 2 writer during the making of this film.

New York, 1985-1989

In the period from 1985 to 1989, the most persistent writers remained in graffiti. The final blow for the graffiti artists was that subway cars began to be scrapped. Due to stricter government measures, graffiti art has taken a step back in its development: the former intricate, elaborate pieces on the outside of trains have been replaced by simplified tags made using ordinary markers.

It could be said that by mid-1986, the New York and Chicago Metropolitan Transit Authorities were winning the “war on graffiti,” and the number of active writers had dropped markedly. At the same time, the level of violence associated with graffiti teams and bombings has also dropped. Some writers in the 1980s began to climb onto rooftops and draw there. Famous graffiti artists Cope2, Claw Money, Sane Smith, Zephyr and T Kid were active during this time.

Campaign to clean up New York trains

This era of graffiti is characterized by the fact that most graffiti artists moved their work from subway cars and trains to "street galleries". The campaign to clean up New York's trains began in May 1989, when New York City officials began simply removing trains containing graffiti from the city's transit system. Therefore, a huge number of writers had to look for new ways of self-expression. The question of whether graffiti is an art form has been hotly debated.

Before the movement to clean up New York's traffic began, the streets of many cities, not just New York, were untouched by graffiti. But after authorities began clearing subways and trains, the graffiti poured onto the streets of American cities, where it was exposed to an unresponsive public.

Many writers found a way out of this situation by showing their work in galleries or organizing their own studios.

Back in the early 1980s, graffiti artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, who started with regular tagging (SAMO, his signature, stood for Same Old Shit, that is, “good old marijuana”), as well as Keith Haring, turned to this. who managed to produce art within art studios.

Sometimes writers created such complex and beautiful graffiti on store facades that store owners did not dare to paint over them. Often such elaborate works were performed in memory of the dead. In fact, immediately after the death of rapper Big Pun, huge murals dedicated to his life appeared in the Bronx, made by BG183, Bio, Nicer TATS CRU. Writers reacted similarly to the death of The Notorious B.I.G. , Tupac Shakur , Big L and Jam Master Jay .

Commercialization of graffiti and its emergence in pop culture

Stencil on the Berlin Wall

After gaining widespread popularity and relative legality, graffiti moved to a new level of commercialization. In 2001, computer giant IBM launched an advertising campaign in Chicago and San Francisco that showed people spray-painting a peace symbol, a heart, and a penguin (Penguin is the Linux mascot) on sidewalks. This was how the slogan “Peace, Love and Linux” was demonstrated. Despite this, due to the illegality of graffiti, some "street artists" were arrested for vandalism, and IBM had to pay a $120,000 fine.

In 2005, Sony Corporation launched a similar campaign. This time the new PSP handheld gaming system was advertised. The TATS CRU writing team performed graffiti for this campaign in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Miami. Given IBM's bad experience, Sony paid building owners in advance for the right to paint on their walls. The graffiti depicted shocked city children playing with a PSP as if it were a skateboard or toy horse rather than a video game console.

Graffiti has also been used in video games, usually in a positive way. For example, the Jet Set Radio series of games (2000-2003) tells the story of how a group of teenagers fights the oppression of the totalitarian police, who are trying to limit the freedom of speech of graffiti artists. The plots of some video games reflect the negative attitude of non-profit artists towards the fact that art begins to work for advertising. For example, the Rakugaki Ōkoku series (2003-2005) for the Sony PlayStation 2 follows a nameless hero and his animated graffiti against an evil king who only allows art to exist that will benefit him. Another video game, Marc Eckō's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure (2006), turns to graffiti as a means of political struggle and tells the story of the battle against a corrupt city in which free speech is suppressed.

Another game where graffiti appears was Bomb the World(2004), created by writer Clark Kent. This is an online graffiti simulator in which you can virtually paint trains in 20 locations around the world. In the game Super Mario Sunshine (2002) main character, Mario, must clear the city of graffiti left by a villain named Bowser Jr. The story recalls the success of New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's anti-graffiti campaigns and similar programs undertaken by Chicago Mayor Richard Daley.

Graffiti image of the 1978 game Space Invaders

Graffiti image of pop star Michael Jackson

Keith Haring is another famous graffiti artist who brought pop art and graffiti to a commercial level. In the 1980s, Haring opened his first Pop Shop, a store where he displayed his work, which he had previously painted on city streets. In the Pop Shop you could also purchase ordinary goods - bags or T-shirts. Haring explains it this way: “The Pop Shop makes my work accessible to the public. This participation is for more high level. The point is that we didn't want to make things that would cheapen the art. In other words, art remains art."

Graffiti has become a launching pad for artists and designers in North America and all over the world. American graffiti artists Mike Giant, Pursue, Rime, Noah and a huge number of others have made careers in the design of skateboards, clothing and shoes, in such famous companies as DC Shoes, Adidas, Rebel8 Osiris or Circa. At the same time, many writers, such as DZINE, Daze, Blade, The Mac, turned into artists working in official galleries, often using in their work not only spray paint, their first tool, but also other materials.

But perhaps the most remarkable example of how graffiti has infiltrated pop culture is French team 123Klan. The 123Klan team was founded in 1989 by Scien and Klor. Gradually they turned to illustration and design, while continuing to practice graffiti. As a result, they began to develop designs, logos, illustrations, shoes and clothing for Nike, Adidas, Lamborghini, Coca Cola, Stussy, Sony, Nasdaq and others.

Development of graffiti in the world

South America

Artful graffiti in Olinda, Brazil

Brazil “is proud of a unique and rich graffiti heritage. It has gained an international reputation as a place to go for creative inspiration." Graffiti "literally blooms in every possible corner of Brazilian cities." A parallel is often drawn “between modern Sao Paulo and New York in the 1970s.” “Rapidly growing Sao Paulo has become a new Mecca for graffiti artists”; renowned graffiti artist and stencil maker Tristan Manco says the main sources that fuel Brazil's "vibrant, vibrant graffiti culture" are Brazil's "chronic poverty and unemployment, the constant struggle and poor living conditions of the disadvantaged people." Compared to other countries, “Brazil has the most unstable income distribution. Laws and taxes change very often." All these factors, Manco adds, mean that economic barriers and social tensions, splitting an already unstable society, support and promote the flourishing of “folkloric vandalism and urban sports of the lower classes”, that is, South American graffiti.

Near East

At the turn of the century, graffiti is becoming increasingly popular among young people, with access to professional paint, specialized publications and videos. The first graffiti festivals and events begin to take place.

Materials and techniques for creating graffiti

Today, a graffiti artist uses a whole arsenal of tools to create a successful drawing. Aerosol paint in cans is the most important and necessary tool in graffiti. Using these two materials, a writer can create a huge variety of styles and techniques. Spray paint is sold at graffiti shops, hardware stores, or art supply stores, and paint can be found in almost any shade these days.

Many graffiti artists are also interested in a similar art form - stencil graffiti. Basically, it consists of applying a design with spray paint through a stencil. Artist Mathangi Arulpragasam, also performing under the pseudonym M.I.A. , who rose to fame in the early 2000s after organizing an exhibition and publishing some color stencils on the theme of ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka and urban life in Britain, is also known for her music videos for the singles "Galang" and "Bucky Done Gun", in which she interprets the theme of political cruelty in his own way. Stickers of her designs often appear on poles and road signs in London. M.I.A. herself became a muse for many graffiti writers and artists from many countries.

John Feckner, dubbed by the writer Lucy Lippard as “the premier urban writer, the opposition PR man,” is known around the world for the enormous letter installations he stencilled onto buildings throughout New York City. His messages almost always pointed to social and political problems.

Anonymous artists

Graffiti artists constantly face the threat of punishment for creating their work in public places, so for the sake of safety, many of them prefer to remain anonymous. Banksy is one of the most famous and popular street artists who continues to hide his name and face from the public. He became famous for his political and anti-war stencil graffiti in Bristol, but his work can be seen in locations from Los Angeles to the Palestinian territories. In Britain, Banksy has become something of an icon of a new art movement. There are a lot of his drawings on the streets of London and in the suburbs. In 2005, Banksy painted on the walls of the Israeli separation barrier, where he satirically depicted life on the other side of the wall. On one side he painted a hole in the concrete, through which a paradise beach can be seen, and on the other, a mountain landscape. Since 2000, exhibitions of his works have been held, and some of them have brought the organizers a lot of money. Banksy's art is an excellent example of the classic juxtaposition of vandalism and art. Many art connoisseurs approve and support his activities, while city authorities consider his works to be acts of vandalism and destruction of private property. Many Bristolians believe that Banksy's graffiti is reducing the value of buildings and setting a bad example.

Punk graffiti developed in Amsterdam: the entire city was literally covered with the names 'De Zoot', 'WoRmi', 'Vendex' and 'Dr Rat'. A punk magazine called Gallery Anus was founded specifically to document this graffiti. So when the hip-hop movement entered Europe in the early 1980s, there was already a vibrant and active graffiti culture thriving here.

The development of graffiti in art gallery, college, street and underground art settings led to the re-emergence of art forms that openly expressed political and cultural tensions in the 1990s. This was expressed in anti-advertising, the creation of slogans and images that break the conformist image of the world imposed by the media.

To this day, graffiti art is considered illegal, except in cases where the artist does not use permanent paint. Since the 1990s, more and more graffiti artists have turned to permanent paints for a number of reasons, but mainly because it makes it difficult for police to charge the artist. In some communities, these short-lived works last longer than works created with permanent paint because they often express the thoughts and sentiments of an entire community. This is similar to the civil protest of people speaking at street demonstrations - the same short-lived, but still effective protest.

Sometimes, when many artists in one place decide to work with non-permanent materials, something like an unofficial competition arises between them. That is, the longer the drawing remains untouched and does not collapse, the more respect and honor the artist will earn. Immature, poorly thought out works are immediately erased, and the most talented artists can last up to several days.

Permanent paints are used primarily by those for whom it is more important to assert control over property than to create a strong work of art expressing political or other views.

Contemporary artists use diverse and often incompatible techniques and media. For example, Alexander Brener used and modified the works of other artists, giving them a political sound. He even presented the court sentences handed down to him as a form of protest.

The means of expression used by artists or their associations vary greatly and change, and the artists themselves do not always approve of each other's work. For example, in 2004, the anti-capitalist group the Space Hijackers created a drawing about Banksy's controversial use of capitalist elements in his drawings and his interpretation of political imagery.

The highest manifestation of political graffiti is graffiti through which political groups express their opinions. This method, due to its illegality, has become a favorite among groups excluded from the established political system (for example, the far left or the far right). They justify such activities on the grounds that they do not have the money - or the desire - for official advertising, and that the "establishment" or "establishment" controls the media, preventing the expression of alternative or radical points of view. The type of graffiti used by such groups is usually very simple and ordinary. For example, fascists carelessly draw swastikas or other Nazi symbols.

Another innovative form of graffiti was invented in Britain in the 1970s by members of the Money Liberation Front. It was a loose association of underground journalists and writers that included poet and playwright Heathcote Williams and publisher and playwright J. Geoff Johns. They began to use paper money as a means of promoting countercultural ideas: they reprinted banknotes, usually depicting John Bull, a caricature of a typical Englishman, on them. Despite its short existence, the Money Liberation Front became a prominent member of London's alternative literary community, which was based in Ladbroke Grove. This street has always had a lot of humorous graffiti expressing anti-establishment ideas.

Graffiti is used to delimit territory, where each group has a certain set of tags and logos. Such graffiti seems to show a stranger whose territory it is. Drawings associated with street gangs contain mysterious signs and highly stylized initials. With their help, the composition of the groups, the names of opponents and allies are announced, but most often these images simply mark boundaries - both territorial and ideological.

One of the most famous graffiti socialist era There was an image of the Kiss of Brezhnev and Honecker on the Berlin Wall. Author Dmitry Vrubel.

Graffiti as a means of legal and illegal advertising

Legal graffiti on a grocery store window. Warsaw Poland

Graffiti has been used as a means of both legal and illegal advertising. New York-based writing team TATS CRU became famous for creating advertising campaigns for corporations such as Cola, McDonalds, Toyota and MTV. The Boxfresh store in Covent Garden used stenciled graffiti depicting revolutionary Zapatista posters, hoping that the unusual advertising would help promote the brand. The alcohol company Smirnoff hired artists to create “reverse graffiti,” which meant artists erased dirt and dust from various surfaces around the city so that the clean spots made up a design or advertising text (reverse graffiti). Shepard Fairey, who designed Barack Obama's iconic 'HOPE' poster, began with sticker campaigns across America that read "Andre the Giant Has His Own Gang." Fans of the Charlie Keeper book used stenciled graffiti of dragons and stylized book titles to attract attention to the book.

Many graffiti artists regard legal advertising as nothing more than “paid and legalized graffiti” and oppose official advertising.

Decorative and high art

The exhibition consisted of 22 works by New York graffiti artists, including Crash, Daze and Lady Pink. In an article in Time Out Magazine, exhibition curator Charlotte Kotick expressed hope that the exhibition will force viewers to reconsider their views on graffiti. Here's how Terence Lindall, artist and executive director of the Williamsburg Art and History Center, responded to the exhibition:

“In my opinion, graffiti is revolutionary. Any revolution can be considered a crime, but oppressed and depressed people want to express themselves, they need an outlet, so they write on the walls - it’s natural.”

In Australia, art critics have regarded some of the local graffiti as having sufficient artistic value and have defined graffiti as a form of fine art. Australian Painting 1788-2000, published by Oxford University Press, concludes with a long discussion of the place of graffiti in contemporary visual culture.

Modern artistic graffiti is the result of a long history of traditional graffiti, which began as simply scratched words or phrases and has now evolved into a pictorial expression of thoughts and feelings.

From March to April 2009, 150 artists exhibited 300 graffiti pieces at the Grand Palais in Paris. Thus the French art world adopted a new form of fine art.

The relationship between graffiti and power

North America

Criminal gang sign on road sign. Spokane, Washington

Advocates perceive graffiti as a way to transform public space or as an open display of works of art; their opponents consider graffiti an unwanted nuisance or an act of vandalism that requires significant funds to restore damaged property. Graffiti can also be viewed in the context of living standards: opponents of graffiti emphasize that where there is graffiti, there is a feeling of poverty, desolation, as well as an increased sense of danger.

As of January 1, 2006, a law proposed by City Councilman Peter Vallone made it illegal for anyone under 21 to possess spray paint or permanent markers. This law caused violent indignation on the part of the famous businessman and fashion designer Marc Eco. On behalf of young artists and "legitimate" graffiti artists, he sued Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Councilman Vallone. On May 1, 2006, a court hearing was held at which Judge George Daniels satisfied the plaintiff's demands. As of May 4, 2006, recent anti-graffiti legislative amendments were repealed and the Police Department was prohibited from increasing graffiti restrictions. A similar measure was introduced in April 2006 in New Castle County, Delaware, and was officially adopted a month later.

In 1992, Chicago passed a law banning the sale and possession of spray paint, certain types of engraving tools, and markers. The law was carried out under Chapter 8-4 of the Administrative Code on Public Order and Welfare, Section 100: Vagrancy. A special law (8-4-130) recognized graffiti as a crime and imposed a fine of at least $500, which exceeds the penalties for being in a public place while intoxicated, for carrying out petty trading, and for violating a religious service.

In 2005, the city of Pittsburgh created a graffiti database that recorded different types of graffiti that appeared in the city. Using this database, it was possible to find all the graffiti of one writer based on the principle of similarity. Thus, the amount of evidence against the suspected artist significantly increased. The first graffiti artist to be recognized for creating a huge amount of graffiti throughout the city was Daniel Joseph Montano. He was called the "Graffiti King" for tagging more than 200 buildings. He was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison.

Europe

In Europe, graffiti removal units were also created, which sometimes took on their duties with unbridled energy. This happened in 1992 in France, when members of a local scout team were so eager to destroy graffiti that they damaged two prehistoric images of a bison in the Mairie Cave, near the French village of Bruniquel. For this, the scout team was awarded the Ig Nobel Prize for Archeology in 1992.

Astronaut. Artist Victor Ash. Berlin, 2007

19Ž44 logo of Lithuania

In September 2006, the European Parliament raised the issue of the need for the European Commission to create new laws relating to the urban environment. The purpose of such laws should be to prevent and control dirt, litter, graffiti, animal excrement, and excessive noise produced by home and mobile music systems on the streets of European cities.

The Anti-Social Behavior Act 2003 was one of the newest in British anti-graffiti legislation. In August 2004, the Keep Britain Clean campaign issued a press release calling for a crackdown on graffiti and supporting the idea of ​​fining writers at the scene of the crime, as well as a ban on the sale of spray paint to under-16s. years . This press release condemns the use of graffiti in advertising and music videos. According to the authors of the release, real side the graffiti is very different from his "cool" image.

In support of this campaign, 123 members of the British Parliament (including Prime Minister Tony Blair) signed a charter that stated: “Graffiti is not art, graffiti is a crime. On behalf of my constituents, I will do everything in my power to rid our community of this problem." Despite this, it was in England that the artist, or, as he calls himself, art terrorist Banksy, appeared, who turned the style of British graffiti upside down (by highlighting stencil graffiti - for greater speed) and changed its content. His works are full of satire about the social and political state of Great Britain. He often draws monkeys and rats.

Under anti-social behavior legislation, British town councils have the power to take action against owners of damaged property. This usually happens to building owners who do not remove graffiti and other types of contamination from protective shields.

"Approved graffiti" in Stroud. Gloucestershire, England

In July 2008, graffiti artists were convicted for the first time for participating in a premeditated crime. Police kept nine members of the DMP team under surveillance for three months. They were charged with premeditated damage to property valued at £1 million. Five team members received prison sentences from 18 months to 2 years. The unprecedented scope of the investigation and the severity of the punishment have reignited public debate over whether graffiti should be considered art or a crime.

Some town councils, such as Stroud in Gloucestershire, have designated entire areas where graffiti artists can paint. Such areas include underground tunnels, parking lots and walls, on which graffiti will appear in any case - legally or illegally.

Australia

In an effort to reduce vandalism, many Australian cities have designated walls and areas for graffiti artists. One such example is the "Graffiti Tunnel", located on the grounds of the University of Sydney. Any university student can draw there, advertise something, put up posters or express themselves in any other way.

Supporters of the idea say it reduces petty vandalism and encourages artists to create real art without the fear of being caught for vandalism or property damage. Opponents condemn this approach and argue that the existence of legal graffiti spaces does not necessarily reduce the amount of illegal graffiti elsewhere. In some areas of Australia, "anti-graffiti teams" are springing up to clean up graffiti in their area. Graffiti groups like BCW (Buffers Can't Win) try to stay one step ahead of such teams.

Many state governments have banned the sale or possession of spray paint by persons under 18 years of age. Despite this, several local authorities government controlled recognized cultural value certain graffiti, among which are prominent political graffiti. Australia's strict anti-graffiti laws carry fines of up to A$26,000 and two years' imprisonment.

New Zealand

In February 2008, New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark announced tougher punitive measures against graffiti. She called graffiti a crime involving trespass and damage to public and private property. Legislation passed later banned the sale of spray paint to people under 18 and increased the fine for graffiti from NZ$200 to NZ$2,000. Instead of a fine, the court may impose a long term public works. The issue of tagging was hotly debated after an incident in January 2008 in Auckland, in which an elderly homeowner stabbed one of two writers adolescence. The young man died, and the man was charged with manslaughter.

Asia

Street art in poetic form. Taiwan

Graffiti as vandalism

see also

Literature

• Fedorova E.V., Latin inscriptions, M., 1976;
• Stern E.R. “Graffiti on ancient South Russian vessels” // ZOO, vol. XX, 1897;
• Vysotsky S. Kyiv graffiti XI-XVII centuries. - K., 1985;
• Powers S. The Art of Getting Over. Graffiti at the Millennium. - N.Y., 1999;
• Rappaport A. Graffiti and High Art // State Center for Contemporary Art, 09.11.2008.

Documentary and feature films about graffiti

• 1979 - 80 Blocks from Tiffany's - documentary film about the notorious gangs of the South Bronx in the 1970s. It brings an unusual perspective to the Puerto Rican community of the South Bronx, past and present gang members, police and community leaders.
• 1980 - Stations of the Elevated - the first documentary film about graffiti in the New York subway. Composer: Charles Mingus.
• 1983 - Wild Style - a drama about hip-hop and graffiti culture in New York.
• 1983 - Style Wars - one of the earliest documentaries dedicated to hip-hop culture. Filmed in New York.
• 2002 - Bomb the System (“Bomb the System”) - a drama about a team of graffiti artists working in modern New York.
• 2004 - Quality of Life - a drama about graffiti, filmed in San Francisco. The main role was played by a former graffiti artist. He also contributed to the screenplay
• 2004 - The Graffiti Artist (Graffiti Artist) - Feature Film about the life of a young artist, very lonely. His drawings are all he has in this life.
• 2005 - Piece by Piece ("Piece by Piece") - a feature-length documentary film dedicated to the history of graffiti in San Francisco from the 1980s to the present day.
• 2005 - Infamy (" Bad reputation") is a feature-length documentary about graffiti culture, which is presented in the stories of six famous graffiti artists and a graffiti lover. A
• 2005 - NEXT: A Primer on Urban Painting (“NEXT: a dictionary of urban painting”) - a documentary film about graffiti culture around the world
• 2005 - RASH (“Flash”) - a full-length documentary film about graffiti in Melbourne and graffiti artists who make street art.
• 2007 - BOMB IT - a documentary film about graffiti and street art on five continents.
• 2006 -

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 around the world as an organic part of urban culture, an independent genre of modern art with its 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 direction in avant-garde art of the last quarter of the 20th century, a characteristic feature of which is the focus on amateur street paintings of youth groups, brightness, emotionality, and the 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.

The emergence of 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 themselves. 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, the Metro Administration and city administrations have carried out actions to eliminate it in various ways, with greater or lesser success.

Therefore, graffiti art, street by nature, was looking for new ways and means of expression. A new round of increased interest in graffiti among the American and European public was the use of graffiti in advertising campaigns, the creation of graffiti studios, the provision of galleries for graffiti artists, the inclusion of graffiti in hip-hop culture, the creation of video clips using graffiti, the documentary film “Style Wars”, produced by the National US television, the demonstration of graffiti in Europe as part of the 1983 hip-hop music tour and, finally, the creation of computer games incorporating 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 the famous companies DC Shoes, Adidas, Rebel8 Osiris or Circa.

So what is graffiti? Vandalism or art?

Today, graffiti is considered a form of street art and one of the most popular forms of artistic expression around the world.

Exist various styles and types of graffiti. Graffiti has already established itself as an independent genre of contemporary art and as part of culture and urban lifestyle. In many countries and cities, writers create real masterpieces on city streets.

Graffiti is often used to convey political and social messages. However, you should be aware that in most countries of the world, applying graffiti to someone's property without the permission of the owner of that property is considered vandalism and is punishable by law.
The history of graffiti goes back a long way. But first things first.

Origin of the term

(from Italian graffito, plural graffiti) - images, drawings or inscriptions scratched or drawn with paint (ink) on walls and other surfaces. Graffiare (Italian) – “to scratch.”
And currently the most popular spray art, drawing graffiti using spray paint. In ancient times, graffiti was applied to walls using a sharp object, chalk or coal.

History of graffiti

Everyone knows that wall inscriptions existed in the countries of the Ancient East, in Greece, in Rome.
The earliest graffiti dates back to the 30th millennium BC. These are prehistoric cave paintings and pictographs painted on walls. The drawings were made in ritual and sacred places inside the caves. Most often they depicted animals or hunting scenes. The Safan language, which existed from the 1st century. BC. to the 4th century n. e., only survived in the form of graffiti - inscriptions scratched on rocks in southern Syria, eastern Jordan and northern Saudi Arabia.

Graffiti in ancient Pompeii: caricature of an official
Ancient graffiti has also been preserved in the ancient Greek city of Ephesus (the territory of modern Turkey). There is Viking graffiti.

What did ancient people write about? About the same things they write about now: about love, about politics and about other pressing matters. They wrote the same way: with grammatical and spelling errors. There are inscriptions like “Vasya was here.” There's nothing new under the sun!
What was the situation with graffiti in Rus'? Wonderful! In Novgorod there are 10 graffiti of the 11th century, and in Kyiv ( Ancient Rus') – about 300 graffiti from the 11th to 15th centuries. are located in the Cathedral of St. Sofia. They talk about the political events of that time.
In its modern form, graffiti appeared at the beginning of the 20th century. - in the New York subway, and then on freight cars and in underground passages. Since then, graffiti has become part of pop culture and has become associated with hip-hop, hardcore, beatdown and breakdancing music. For many, graffiti is a way of life, hidden from the public and incomprehensible to others. Political activists used graffiti to spread their ideas.
By the 1970s, the popularity of graffiti had grown greatly, and new styles began to be distinguished. The first writer to gain fame was TAKI 183, a teenager from the Washington Heights neighborhood in Manhattan. His tag TAKI 183 consisted of his name Demetrius (or Demetraki, Taki) and the number of the street where he lived - 183. Taki worked as a courier, and wherever he went by subway, he left his tags everywhere. He gained a lot of followers.
Gradually, the style of tagging began to become more complex, new styles of graffiti began to appear, and the movement itself acquired a competitive nature.

More complex tag
In this regard, city authorities began to fight graffiti artists. After all, not all the work was skillful enough, and graffiti began to be identified with the littering of city streets - scribbles on the walls were equated with garbage, landfills and desolation. Huge amounts of money were spent on combating graffiti. But at the same time, sometimes writers created such complex and beautiful graffiti on store facades that store owners did not dare to paint over them. In some countries, special places were allocated for writers on the streets, in underground passages, etc., where they could freely express themselves.

“Legal graffiti” in Stroud (England)
The question of whether graffiti is an art form began to be seriously discussed. Meanwhile, graffiti began to conquer more and more space: it began to be used in computer advertising, in video games, in the design of skateboards, clothing and shoes.
Graffiti has become widespread throughout the world. Today, Sao Paulo (Brazil) is considered the capital of graffiti and a place of inspiration for writers from all over the world.

Graffiti in Olinda (Brazil)

What about in Russia?

The massive movement of modern graffiti in Russia dates back to the 1980s. In 2006, an international graffiti festival was held in St. Petersburg. And in large cities of Russia, annual graffiti festivals are held. Let's talk about one of them.

Snickers Urbania (SNICKERS URBANIA)– annual youth festival of street culture. The festival was first held in 2001 and includes the main areas of street culture: extreme sports, graffiti, breakdancing, beatboxing, freestyle. Its goal: to give modern youth a chance to express themselves and their talent, as well as provide an opportunity to try their hand at professional equipment for extreme sports. The festival was held in the largest cities of Russia: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov-on-Don, Volgograd, Samara, Kazan, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, as well as in Kazakhstan - Almaty.

BombART site
In the early 1980s. stencil graffiti was also born. It is created by cutting shapes from a tough, dense material. The finished stencil is applied to the canvas and aerosol paint is sprayed over it with quick, light and precise movements. This technique has become popular due to its fast execution.
The most important tool in graffiti is spray paint in cans. Use paint rollers and stencils, brushes, markers, wax rods, crayons, etc.

Graffiti in the modern world

Most graffiti is done on the streets (building walls, underground passages, garages, payphone booths, parked cars, asphalt pavement in courtyards, etc.); on transport; in entrances and staircases (including apartment doors, mailboxes, etc.); in the interiors of institutions.
Very slowly, but graffiti is beginning to acquire the status of a socially neutral phenomenon and is perceived as an integral element of a modern metropolis, a mass cultural phenomenon. It loses the meaning of protest. The language of graffiti is becoming a universal code of urban communication.

Types and styles of graffiti

Tagging is a quick application of the author's signature on a surface. A separate signature is called a “tag” (from the English tag - mark). Teggers are not very interested in the meaning and aesthetics of their creations; the main thing is to leave as many “autographs” as possible. Often tags are incomprehensible to people not privy to the details.
Writers value tags placed in hard-to-reach but visible places. The command tag is called "single".
Lettering is usually applied using spray paint or thick markers. Experienced writers can write a tag in 2-3 seconds.

Wild(English: Wildstyle - wild style). The main feature This style features intricate tangles of letters, sharp corners, splinters and arrows. The name of the style was given by the character of the drawing: wild, incomprehensible, since often the letters are so intertwined and many extraneous elements are introduced that readability becomes zero. From the wild there is a 3D Wildstyle (volume is added to the regular wild).

Wild style
Blockbuster(eng. Blockbuster). Just big letters without interlacing or graphic flourishes. Usually mono- or two-color. Rollers are often used to paint them, since very large surfaces need to be covered in a short time.

Blockbuster
Bubble(English: bubble letters - inflated letters). All letters are rounded, become similar to each other and appear as if inflated, like bubbles.

Graffiti is now widely recognized as part of youth culture, but in the 70s, when the New York experiments were just beginning, everyone watched the daily tattooing of the city and could not imagine where it all could lead. Some saw this only as vandalism and degradation of the city. But for the writers who risked their lives, were arrested, and the youth, directors, and ultimately the curators who admired it, graffiti was an art form. Galleries and museums only caught up with this point of view in the early 80s, when graffiti became part of the artistic boom era.

By the mid-1970s, many subway cars were covered in top-to-bottom designs (also called “masterpieces”), making it impossible to see what was going on outside from inside the subway car. For writers, this was a golden time, it was then that the most nimble and prolific could become “kings” by going through the “all-city” (the entire city - author’s note.), writing their name on all five boroughs of New York. Mayor Lindsay declared the first war on graffiti in 1972, a protracted battle that slowly came to a head in May 1989 when the last graffitied train was finally taken out of service.

Today, graffiti is being wiped off with solvent from the windows of subway cars, and yet it is still alive and well on the outskirts of the city. And thanks largely to the Internet, which is teeming with graffiti sites, it has become a worldwide phenomenon.

The Beginning (1969)

Ivor L. Miller, author of Aerosol Kingdom: Subway Painters of New York City: People have been writing symbols on walls since time immemorial. But the most reliable place to call the origin is New York in the late 60s, when the younger generation gave an artistic response to the public protests of "Black Power" and movements for civil rights. Undoubtedly, something new appeared with the introduction of paint cans, the influence of psychedelic posters and the advent of color television. The Manhattanville Projects, which were north of 125th Street in West Harlem, were home to a very important writer named TOPCAT 126.

Sharp: TOPCAT 126 came from Philadelphia in the late 60s, possibly 1968. He started tagging in the streets, then hooked up with Julio 204 and TAKI 183 and together they lit a fire

.C.A.T. 87: In the late 60s, I saw little letters with the name TAKI 183 everywhere, JOE 182 and Julio 204. One day I was playing on 182nd street and JOE 182 came out. He was one of the hottest writers back then. He said, “Look what they write in the newspapers!” There was a cartoon of a guy caught painting on the wall and saying, "Are you JOE 182?" And the writer answered him, “No, I’m his ghost.” Because no one could catch him. He was a very mysterious person.

MICO: We started out in different areas, but we all had one thing in common: we all wanted to be famous. I started painting in East Flatbush in 1970. Then I slowly met people from all four districts. Everyone came to the writers' bench at 149th Street and the Grand Concourse in the Bronx. And there was another bench for Brooklyn writers on Atlantic Avenue. In Washington Heights, these were benches at 188th Street and Audubon Avenue. We just went out for a walk, looked at our work, and anyone could come up and get our autograph. C.A.T. 87 was from Washington Heights. TRACY 168 was from the first generation. COCO 144 usually resided at 144th Street and Broadway, hence the number 144.

LEE: I met a lot of people sitting on a bench on 149th Street. At that time it was very easy, everyone came and told stories.

I grew up in the Bronx. My friend FJC4 and I carried legal documents around Queens - his father was a lawyer and during these walks we pulled out markers. We never thought we'd see our tag again, but... way back we came across the same train and next to our tag someone had already put a new signature. It was like communication. At that time, New York was plunged into darkness. We had beefy veterans returning from Vietnam, we had war protests and we had street gangs.

C.A.T. 87: I was in the Savage Nomads gang. We had the Saints on 137th and Broadway, and the Young Galaxies were based on 170th. But I was a C.A.T. 87 and the guys from other areas saw my name and instead of trying to beat me they asked for autographs.

Jeff Chang, author of Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation: Many gangs had graffiti writers, especially the largest gangs such as the Black Spades, Savage Skulls and Ghetto Brothers. They marked the territory and painted the vests of the participants. At the same time, there were graffiti teams that moved separately from the gangs and could cross their territorial boundaries. In the end, gangs have outlived their usefulness and graffiti writers can be considered the harbingers of a new era.

MICO: We didn't call it graffiti in the early seventies. We just said, “Let's go paint tonight.” Graffiti is a term coined by the New York Times and it denigrates art because it was a color invented by youth. If this had been invented by the children of rich and powerful parents, they would have labeled it avant-garde Pop Art.

Hugo Martinez, founder of United Graffiti Artists: In 1971, when CAY 161 and JUNIOR 161 painted the wall at the 116th Street station from top to bottom. This moment is significant. And Norman Mailer wrote about this in the book “The Faith of Graffiti” - this was the first book that was dedicated to graffiti. Around 1971, CAY 161 also painted the angel wing on the Bethesda Fountain in Central Park. Everyone was talking about it. This was the moment when the Puerto Ricans took over the Bethesda fountain.

You need the largest and most dangerous place for your drawing to be recognized as the most. I wrote my name in white paint on the angel's wing at the Bethesda fountain and a lot of people said, "Wow, how did he get up there and do that?" I pulled myself up on one wing and climbed up.

Richard Goldstein, author of the article “The Graffiti ‘Hit’ Parade”: I liked the idea that graffiti is the deterioration of surfaces and I recreated it in a different form. It was very creative in how it brings the new kind old spaces, abandoned buildings, dilapidated underground passages and turns them into real centers energy. I found Hugo Martinez, who was a student at the time, and he introduced me to a couple of kids in the subject. They were all from Washington Heights. And I started looking at the social aspect of it all. This allowed people to unite and create teams. And all this had its own jargon, there was a competitive spirit between regions.

War of Styles (1971)

Jeff Chang: Your name is your brand, and writing your name is like printing money. Quality (aesthetic style) and quantity (the number of trains and walls you made) are the main ways that a brand's market share grows. If you are the biggest name on the line or in the area, then you are the king. After the New York Times reported on the Taki 183, there was more competition, prompting a faster change in style.

LEE: This was a reflection of the great side of capitalism, where everyone wanted the largest portfolio of stocks or bonds, or the fastest or most expensive car.

MICO: In 1971, I spent one night in Sheepshead Bay, the tunnel where trains stop during rush hour. And we found the names PAN 144, COCO 144, and ACE 137 on some trains. The paint was still fresh. It opened our eyes to how the whole city could be done.

: I lived near the IRT, and there was a septic tank between 137th and 145th streets, between the stops. We sneaked in there every Saturday and Sunday morning and destroyed the trains inside and out. We then called my style a hit (from English - hit): just a signature in one line.

MICO: “Hitting” (from English - hitting) was just a way to rise up and shine around. The more hits you made, the more famous you became. "Murder" (from English - killing) or "bombing" (from English - bombing) were a little more varied. This meant decorating the walls of the area - with hundreds of hits from MICO, MICO, MICO and killing a subway car. Or you could make a full-fledged piece (from English - masterpiece), a really large piece that you planned out starting from the sketch.

I was the first to use a stencil. It was a COCO 144 stencil with a crown on top. I tried to develop speed and I drew my name around this way much faster.

MICO: The letters became more sophisticated, larger and longer. Each tried to outdo the other. I was engaged in social and political work and, unfortunately, I had no competition in this area. One of the most important points I consider my career to be formed by United Graffiti Artists.

Hugo Martinez: I conceived United Graffiti Artists in 1972 as a collective that could provide an alternative to the art world. I saw this as the beginning of American painting, among other things, long before it all appeared in Europe. These children were full of hippie ideas about love, peace, freedom and the democratization of culture, redefining the purpose of art. They represented the triumph of the salt of the earth over private property.

MICO: It was a union of the best writers from different regions. You could become a participant, if you were good enough, then you were invited for an interview. I had my first exhibition in Soho, at the Razor gallery. The first canvas that I sold to a collector for 400 Baku was a canvas with an image of the Puerto Rican flag. It was an attempt to bring a form of underground art to galleries.

LEE: Most of the writers were more concerned with the development of the elements, they did not think about getting together on the gallery walls. The young people were interested in creating a brand, literally, on their own territory. This position looked heroic.

That's all for today,
Expect a continuation of this story soon...