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This primary source is an article from the New York Times newspaper and was published on July 21, 1971. The article talks about a graffiti writer known as TAKI 183 and gives some info on graffiti and the effects it has. This article was the first time graffiti was brought into the mainstream’s view through a major media source.
The name TAKI 183 was popping up on buildings and bus stops all throughout New York City, and to the average person walking by they made no sense. The article says that “He said he had no idea how many times he had written his name”. He had obviously written his name enough different times in enough different places, to the point where it caught the attention of many people, including the New York Times. The author of the article, who is not named, wanted to find who was responsible for these taggings and why they did it.
TAKI 183 was not the first person in the United States to write graffiti but was the first graffiti writer who was introduced to the world. This was the first real time that graffiti was brought to light and introduced to people who were not in the subculture of graffiti. Regular people were introduced to this foreign subculture because of this article. People who bought a copy of the that
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It includes quotes and viewpoints from both sides of the graffiti argument. It has TAKI 183, and other graffiti writers talk about what they do and then has Floyd Holoway, a transit authority patrolman in New York City, talk a little bit about graffiti and how it affects the city and the transit system. In the article, the author neither condones or condemns graffiti. It may be because graffiti was just starting to become a thing, and many people did not have an opinion on it. Graffiti was nowhere as prevalent back then as it is today, so it is quite possible the author had no opinion on the subject and therefore did not inject any personal bias into the
Style Wars mentions the craze surrounding Taki-183 to highlight that he received media attention at the expense of less-privileged writers. A Greek-American seventeen year-old from Washington Heights, Taki worked in lower Manhattan near media offices, and thus could tag his name in “strategic spots” to garner a front-page New York Times article that popularized graffiti. Understanding graffiti's monetary value, media outlets tended to market writers who lived in wealthier Manhattan neighborhoods instead of writers from other boroughs. Meanwhile, Kase, a one-armed writer who lived in South Bronx public housing, could not get a TV crew to believe that he created intricate window-down burner on a train car. In brief, the media made writers fortunate enough to live and work in Manhattan famous while it discounted impoverished writers from the
Graffiti or street art is considered an art form because it includes aesthetic criteria, incoherence and nonstandard presentation. Graffiti has been developing since the late 1960’s. The origins of graffiti go back to the beginnings of human social interaction. Graffiti has been found in uncovered, ancient Egyptian monuments and graffiti was preserved on walls in Pompeii. Also, graffiti art is colorful and complex. Graffiti artists need a considerable amount of skills to complete their artwork, they need to have creativity for using spray paint. The concerns of modern graffiti art originated in New York and it was known first as New York Style Graffiti. The novel Let the Great World Spin written by Colum McCann discusses graffiti art in New
She starts of by reminiscing about “graffiti’s beginnings” and how it was about “empowering people who had no voice” and graffiti was an “exhilarating chapter in the city’s history” (Grayson par. 5). This is appropriate for her audience because it reminds them why graffiti belongs in New York, and makes them happy to remember this beautiful artwork they remembered seeing. She then goes on to make her audience feel guilty for the negative conception they have about the artists and their art. She evokes that guiltiness when she says, “it is ludicrous to think that an exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum would have inspired gangs of graffiti goons … You know what inspires tagging? Bad architecture. Commercialism. The sanitized state of the city” (Grayson par. 9). It is appropriate because it makes the audience realize that this was a great thing for the city and they need to get it
The most predominant attribute of a graffiti artist is their mindset, for a graffitist is constantly surveying the streets in search for a new spot to “bomb” as well as examining the work of fellow writers. For instance, when a graffiti artist looks at an empty wall or a distant water tower they envision a canvas suitable for displaying their graffiti. A graffiti artist uses specific terminology when speaking to fellow writers as well as average people interested in this illegal art form. The use of terms, such as “tag,” “throw-up,” and “burner” are used to describe different styles of graffiti letters. In addition, the term “bomb” is used when a graffitist paints on numerous surfaces in a given area. When analyzing the desires of a graffitist, they explain the desire to go “all-city.” The term “all-city” describes a writers’ aspiration to display his graffiti throughout the entire city. The lifestyle of a graffiti artist tends to be more active than that of an average person, for graffitist go “bombing” during late hours of the night. The reason for these late-night paint excursions is to avoid cont...
If one drives south on I-69 enough, they may begin to remember that “Bob loves Brenda” or that some bodies, only referred to as we, “hate people.” These things are written on the bridges, billboards, and road signs of the interstate to advertise the artist’s message to the general public, while drivers are left to think why should they care who loves who and who hates what. Graffiti is a part of the world that people see everyday and whether it is truly artful or a visual impediment is up to the individual.
Infused with the emergence of the hip hop culture, the graffiti revolution primarily took place in New York City in the 1970s to the 1980s. Graffiti art has historically been viewed as a form of vandalism, a curious enigma viewed by the governing class, and a general menace to society especially in large urban populations such as cities. Within the 1970s to the 1980s the urban youth began extensively spray-painting subway cars, trains, and walls, giving a voice to the disenfranchised, anti-authoritarian rebels who were seeking an identity to be seen and heard by the city that was now discrediting them. This type style of graffiti-inspired art is still present within the many art communities around the world, ever transforming and altering in
The author makes an appeal to ethos by using a strong academic of use words. This way he can appeal to most intellectuals. He tries to get academically advanced readers be the audience to his article. I think this is the group of people that are most against graffiti. So by having them as audience he can get the people who see graffiti as a low form of art to change their mind about it. To get them to have a better understanding of graffiti, where it came from and why it happens. But by making this article so academic, Jeff Ferrell alienates most readers. He blocks out a lot of potential readers, readers who are not on the same academic level as him will have trouble following his article. His point of graffiti not being a bad thing doesn´t
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. .
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
Many books, magazines, newspapers and so on influence the way people think and alter reality in either a negative or a positive way. The New York Times is one of the many newspapers that make people think in a different way than what reality really is or make things seem like something that it really isn’t. In Taking the Train by Joe Austin, the New York Times helped to produce the framing story of “the war on graffiti”. They did this by publishing stories about graffiti and writers that were not what it seemed to be and using these stories to make New Yorkers think that graffiti was the cause of many of the city’s problems. The New York Times published articles blaming writers and graffiti for the subway “crisis” and making out the writers
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
Ronald, Kramer helps to understand if graffiti is considered as illegal or legal, this article will support my essay because Ronald stress the issues that every graffiti art should be recognized for their work and should be considered as art. I will be using this source to support my idea for my main paragraph Graffiti is also introduced several cultures so they provide a place for graffiti writers to learn and grow their talents.
Looking from the taggers' point of view, one can understand why taggers and graffiti artists draw and do graffiti, but this does not justify the fact that often times this form of self-expression is not acceptable when it is done on other peoples property. Having the opportunity to listen (film, class, talk show) to why taggers and graf...
‘“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 till 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.