Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Graffiti in new york essay
Graffiti in new york essay
Graffiti in new york essay
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Graffiti in new york essay
The history of the underground art movement known by many names, most commonly graffiti begins in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the mid to late 60's, and started with bombing. The writers who are credited with the first effort are CORNBREAD and COOL EARL. They wrote their names all over the city gaining attention from the community and the local press. Then the movement made way to New York City where the teenagers would write graffiti on the subways. It is unclear whether this concept made way to New York City on purpose or if it was an accident.
Shortly after the CORNBREAD and COOL EARL effort, the Washington Heights section of Manhattan was giving birth to new writers. In 1971 The New York Times published an article on one of these writers. Taki 183 was an alias of a kid from Washington Heights. TAKI was a nickname for Demetrius and 183 was the number of the street where he lived. He was employed as a messenger, so he was on the subway frequently and he took advantage of it, by doing tags.
On the streets of Brooklyn a movement was going as well. Alot of writers were active. FRIENDLY FREDDIE was an early writer to gain fame. The subway system proved to be a good source for communication and established a foundation for interbouruogh competition. Writing started moving from the streets to the subway. At this point writing consisted of mostly tags and the goal was to have as many as possible. Writers would ride the trains hitting as many subway cars as possible. It wasn't long before writers discovered that in a train yard they could hit many more subway cars in much less time and with less chance of getting caught. The concept and method of bombing had been established.
After a while there were so many people writin...
... middle of paper ...
...ll over the United States and Canada bomb freight trains. The geographic root of the freight movement are difficult to pin point but is widely thought of as a West Coast phenomenon.
By the late '80s the European movement was long established and was in full force. The second generation Europeans were forging friendships with their American idols. The Europeans thirsted to paint in the birthplace of the art. The Americans hosted "Pilgrimages to Mecca". Many European writers bomb New York so effectively, that people believe they are from New York. Many New York writers also went to Europe. Some European were so willing to cater to American writers that they would provide airfare, and paint. The bragging rights for painting with an American were priceless. For some Americans going to hit trains in Italy or Germany has become just like a trip form Brooklyn to the Bronx.
The quotes at the beginning are from New York City graffiti artists Bando and Seco, and came from Subway Art, by Henry Chalfant and Martha Cooper. This book and another, Spraycan Art (by Chalfant and James Prigoff), have been invaluable resources.
At the turn of the twentieth century, the United States went through a series of major changes known as Industrialization and Urbanization. These developments had a major impact on American life, especially in newly urbanized cities such as New York and Chicago. Americans moved very rapidly from agriculture to machinery, and big businesses boomed, as well as the pockets of a select few. However, along with this change, unprecedented consequences faced thousands of unfortunate Americans who lived in these inner cities but did not get the chance to share in the profits of the country’s economic growth. As other Americans grew extremely rich due to their successful business and investments, the poor in America only grew poorer. They worked numerous hours a week for an extremely low pay rate in places such as factories where conditions were harsh. These laborers would most likely live in buildings called tenements, which were overcrowded apartment buildings in the poorest part of a city. As these negative consequences of urbanization and industrialization ravaged through cities, social reformers began to take action to combat these ills. One social reformer, by the name of Jacob Riis, exposed these appalling conditions to the American public through his experience with journalism and photography and uncovered the horrific effects of Urbanization and Industrialization in New York City in the late nineteenth century and the early twentieth century. His actions sustained the Progressive Movement in the city and were the reasons for several measures taken by the city to repair these social ills.
New York is considered the birthplace of artistic graffiti, even though the act was performed all over the world before 1960. The history of graffiti is recent and brief, but has a monumental place in the art world. It is the only art movement that is illegal. And it does not contain a series of welfare kids from torn and broken single-parent homes that are screaming for attention. The phenomenon differs from all other sorts of writing on the bathroom wall of a run-down bar.
Graffiti is an art form that was bred from the rebellion of youths. The first sighting of graffiti was seen on subways, and other impoverished areas around New York. This form involved what is called tagging , where the artist signs his or her name, nickname, or group name, on the side of a building or other surface. It is well known for its bold, colorful presence and intricate script. It is still prominent and visible in those areas of the Bronx today.
"Tracing the Roots of Modern Street-Art and Graffiti." Tracing the Roots of Modern Street-Art and Graffiti | WebUrbanist. WebUrbanist | From Urban Art & 3D Graffiti to Abandoned Cities. Webist Media Publishing, 22 Apr. 2009. Web. 05 Dec. 2011. .
Although many people believe that Graffiti is vandalism, it is infact art because many museums display graffiti, people are interested in it, and it displays beauty and emotional power. Many people have learned to appreciate graffiti as an art form and have opened their eyes to the beauty and emotional power it holds. From the video on CBS News, “Is Graffiti Art or Vandalism,” Laura Fanning (museum visitor) explains at 1:42 “… now I see it as more of a commentary and a statement of ‘I’m leaving my mark’…” This quote exhibits a museum visitor whose perception of graffiti changed when she went to a museum that displayed Graffiti. The same message is delivered in the article, “Graffiti Art at the Museum of the City of New York: Writing Was on the Wall, and Some Still Remains” by Ken Johnson. Page one of the article reads, “In 1989, Mr. Wong founded his Museum of American Graffiti on the top floor of a townhouse in the East Village, but real estate complications ended that venture after only six months. In 1994, suffering from AIDS, Mr. Wong donated his collection to the Museum of the City of New York and returned to his hometown, San Francisco, where he died in 1999.” The quote from this article informs the reader that museums will accept people’s collections of graffiti to use in their museum. Museums are usually interested in art and when a museum accepts someone’s personal collection that they have donated it must mean that it is truly art. Not only are museums interested in graffiti as an art form, but many people have come to accept graffiti as an art and take interest in it too.
Graffiti forms from Graffito, an ancient inscription. Graffito was found in the form of drawings and writings on walls of Pompeii in the ancient city of Rome. During the 1960’s and 1970’s the phenomenon of this writing was created into Graffiti and opinions began to emerge.
The identity of a graffiti artist is hardly ever known unless they want to tag their art with their name or a nickname. Graffiti writers as a subculture are trying to express their political views through civil disobedience by painting pictures that speak out against the government. This subculture developed because they were tired of being oppressed by the government. Graffiti is one of the most enduring acts of protest. It is an important tool for the resistance movement as a way to publicize their protest. It is a visible and powerful form of protest that is going to promote change in the social justice by allowing oppressed groups of people express their viewpoints without being penalized by the
It all began in the 1990’s in Bristol England, when Banksy began as a freehand graffiti artist. With the help of two other graffiti writers, Kato and Tes, they formed Bristols DryBreadZ Crew (DBZ). Their inspiration stemmed from the local hip hop and breakdancing community and eventually they gained notoriety and size. By the late 1990’s Bristol became too small for Banksy as he was starting to become a street art sensation. Concerned about his anonymity, since graffiti is highly illegal, he fled to London ...
Graffiti has been on the rise in popularity since its beginnings fifty years ago. Danielle Crinnion provides a brief history of graffiti arguing that “Philadelphia
Many things happened in the world of new york city culture. People came to NYC to flee the average and find a group of likeminded souls. It was the place of acceptance. It was the place of opportunity, Freedom and hope. We decided to take risks (Dan Wakefield (writer) )
During the Roman Empire and ancient Greek, graffiti was well known as an inscription but graffiti was discovered long before the Roman Empire and ancient Greek. Graffiti was discovered 30,000 BCE in caves paintings using tools such as animal bones and pigments. These illustrations were often placed in ceremonial and sacred locations inside of the caves. Today graffiti is a form of art conveying political social messages in artistic form.
At the end of the day, people should stop underestimating graffiti art. Banksy, in his book, “Banging Your Head Against A Brick Wall,” said “Graffiti is one of the few tools you have if you have almost nothing. And even if you don't come up with a picture to cure world poverty you can make someone smile while they're having a piss.” Graffiti work should be admired by everyone else because it holds so many significance whether it's only a phrase or a sketch. People shouldn't just absentmindedly assume it as the worst thing ever or as an awful thing. I agree that it can be vandalism to the public but graffiti can also be made in many other places legally so why think of it in the dark side? People should take care on how they are judging the striking art behind graffiti and criticizing it without really evaluating all the great meaning behind it.
Although street art and graffiti art seem very similar, upon closer examination the differences in technique, function, culture, and intent are revealed (Weisburg.) ‘“Graffiti (sgraffiti), meaning drawings or scribblings on a flat surface and deriving from the Italian sgraffio (‘scratch’), with a nod to the Greek graphein (‘to write’), originally referred to those marks found on ancient Roman architecture”’(Weisburg). Though, it is unknown when or where graffiti first made an appearance; modern graffiti did not come around until the late 1960’s to early 1970’s in New York. The term “tagging” is the modern form of scratching (Weisburg). It also is considered the origin of all modern graffiti, including street art.