HISTORY OF

GRAFFITI

BY: JORDAN LECLAIRE

Graffiti writers have often been protrayed as common criminals & vandals instead of the creative, artistic, community-oriented & socially conscious that they most often are.

Graffiti as we know it today, using spray cans & markers, was born on the Subway trains of New York City in the late 1960s. Originating from a messanger who would use a marker and write his name wherever he went, at subway stations and also the insides and outsides of subway cars.

As graffiti became more & more popu-lar throughout the city, writers would make it their mission to attempt to out do all other writers by adding more paint colors, special effects, & increase the size of their tag.

During the “style wars” of the 1970s, graffiti writers began ramping up the complexity of their pieces. This resulted in the emergence of an entire subculture surrounding graffiti. Graffiti writers began banding together by forming “bombing” gangs to help eachother with pieces, “rack up” paint, & watch out for authorities.

“Bombing” gangs would travel together to avoid the gangs that were prevalent in New York City. A common misconception is that graffiti is all gang-related.

In fact most graffiti is not gang-related. Gang-related graffiti is most often used to mark territory, and not as much time or effort is spent in its creation.

While the 70s were the “Golden Age” of graffiti writing, in the 80s authori-ties would attempt to crack down on what they saw as blatent vandalism.

Graffiti writers would now not only have to deal with attempting to one up other writers but also police patrolling the train yards and MTA painting over their graffiti pieces.

While “Bombing” subway trains has died out, Graffiti artists like Banksy & Shepard Fairey have used graffiti as a way to gain income by getting pieces featured in exclusive galleries and while it continues to influence hip-hop it has began influencing on the world of graphic design

Today graffiti continues to exist as a major part of the urban environment. Youth using it as a form of inspiration & an outlet to express their creativity.