Graffiti Art in New York City And it’s Subways

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Recommended: Graffiti is it art or vandalism

We all know what Graffiti art is; well we think we know because of the “modern” graffiti art that is still occasionally seen. However Graffiti Art has been tracked back all the way to the time of 1851. Firstly graffiti comes from the Italian word “graffiato” meaning scratched and was later called graffiti through the media as we see it today. ‘Additionally early forms of graffiti were seen back in ancient Italy at the ruins of Pompeii’ in 1851. “Painting on sidewalks, and other forms of graffiti, is still common in Rome today. Whereas Romans consider graffiti as a form of urban art, many westerners consider it vandalism unless property owners give consent to the graffiti artists.” (Cyprus, Sheri, and O. Wallace. "What Are the Origins of Graffiti?" WiseGeek. Conjecture, 02 May 2014. Web. 08 May 2014.) Even though all this might seem surprising to some and maybe even considered arguable to not be graffiti; I want to go in depth on graffiti art in America.
Graffiti art was used by gangs as a way to mark their territories. They were also used to warn away any police and of course any other gangs to enter that area. Lastly these gang graffiti signs were used to either memorial a fallen gang member or to show that they are in the business of selling drugs. “Deanna Rodriguez, head of the Brooklyn district attorney's gang unit said ‘gangs have long utilized graffiti as a coded means of communication, but to the untrained eye, it looks like mere vandalism.’” (Belenkaya, Veronika. "Gangs Use Graffiti as a Warning." NY Daily News. Daily News, 12 Feb. 2008. Web. 02 May 2014.) What she is trying to say is that to some people, graffiti is just vandalism on a wall, no harm done but if you knew how to read the graffiti it would be different. A...

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...iti?" WiseGeek. Conjecture, 08 May 2014. Web. 02 May 2014.
3. Belenkaya, Veronika. "Gangs Use Graffiti as a Warning." NY Daily News. Daily News, 12 Feb. 2008. Web. 02 May 2014.
4. Silvestri, Albert. “DNY 1000C- Discover New York.” D’Angelo Center Room 207. Classroom.
5. Thompson, Margo. American Graffiti. New York: Parkstone International, 2009. Print.
6. "Style." - Street-art and Graffiti. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 May 2014.
7. Lady Pink Bio." Lady Pink Bio. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 May 2014.
8. "The Words: Graffiti Glossary." The Words: Graffiti Glossary. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 May 2014.
9. Kabak, Benjamin. "Looking Back at the Battle against Subway Graffiti." Second Ave Sagas RSS. N.p., 09 June 2013. Web. 10 May 2014.
10. Feinman, Mark S. "Www.nycsubway.org." Www.nycsubway.org. N.p., 19 Nov. 2012. Web. 10 May 2014.
11. "Graffiti." - Rap Dictionary. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 May 2014.

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