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ssue
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Excerpts from



F
lu
ture
Cul
BY Timothy Werwath
www.artcrimes.com/faq/werwath/werwath.html
“People with money can put up signs...if you don’t have money you’re marginalized...you’re not allowed
to express yourself or to put up words or messages that you think other people should see. Camel
(cigarettes), they’re up all over the country and look at the message Camel is sending...they’re just trying
to keep the masses paralyzed so they can go about their business with little resistance.” —Eskae
Graffiti is art.
the purpose of communicating a message artist to artist. However, these motives can
to the general public. The term comes from be categorically placed in two main groups:

the Greek term “Graphein,” which means ‘to Mass Communication/Cultural Frustration
Aesthetic criteria and motives behind the art
write.’ Graffiti has been around since men first and Individual Expression.
ist's work far outweigh arguments on legality
started drawing pictures in caves. However, In the first category there exist a variety of
or unconventional presentation.
the focus of this paper is not on pre historic different explanations. Largely, artists in this
Graffiti is the act of inscribing or drawing on
or amateur graffiti, but on the modern category turn to graffiti to state their opinion
walls for
hip hop graffiti movement that began in on a culturally significant situation that they
the late 1960s. feel strongly about. Artists in this category
There are three major types of modern may also turn to graffiti because of boredom,
graffiti art. The most basic type is a partially because they feel ostracized from so
‘tag,’ in which the artist writes his ciety or the elite art scene. Less often graffiti
name in his own unique style. A crews will tag a certain area to mark territory,
more advanced form of tagging is a as to let the public know that they “own” a
‘throw up,’ in which the artist may use certain block or alley. The motives of this
bubble letters or ‘wild style’ to create specific type of graffiti art come into question
a more intricate design. The next because of the murky border between vandal
type of graffiti is a ‘piece’ or ‘master ism and art, although it is important enough to
piece,’ which usually depicts a scene be recognized.
or well known characters with some
sort of slogan. This type of graffiti HISTORY
often requires the collaboration The origins of modern graffiti can be traced
of multiple artists. These are most back to what is deemed the birthplace of
often found on subway trains hip hop style, New York City. At this time, the
(often taking up an entire car) or city was almost unrecognizable compared to
on private walls. the booming economic hub that we know to
Since the root of the word “graf day. After the population peaked in the years
fiti” is “to write,” then graffiti after World War II, the city declined as indus
can be interpreted as an instinc trialization decreased, crime rates jumped,
tual human need for communi and middle and upper class residents began
cation. Motives for producing moving out of the city and into the suburbs.
graffiti vary immensely from What was left was a city in which many of the
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