Modern Street Art vs. Graffiti

Modern street art and graffiti are undeniably tied together. Graffiti could be considered the forefather of street art in many ways- it has paved the way for the development of modern street art. Yet, while both are still hotly debated topics, street art is seen in a more positive light while graffiti is still considered to be a negative term. Graffiti is associated with the vandalism that the government desperately wanted to erase. Graffiti has played a huge role in the development of street art that we all know today. Conklin notes this in her paper. She describes graffiti as an exclusive world that only those inside the group are privy to. However, to Conklin, street art is made accessible to all in that it is not necessarily exclusive and that anyone can understand street art, as it is supposed to be a way to communicate with their community. The very form of street art and graffiti differ from one another, as do their messages and end point. Graffiti is a tag of sorts- it relies mainly on text and is used to announce an individual. While some graffiti artists, like the Mission School did plan out their works, graffiti is more about the actual form of rebellion and establishing oneself than it is about the message that it is trying to get across. If it was more inclusive, it would be understandable to people outside to graffiti culture. Street art, on the other hand, takes its surroundings into consideration. Conklin herself notes that the term "street art" was supposed to be in an attempt to portray the work and other similar works in a more positive light. It should be noted, however, that street artists and graffiti artists have often clashed over a difference in opinions.
Graffiti began to appear in cities like New York an...

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