Suppose you pass a tight corner with a small group of people, and you see a young man holding spray paint, shaking, aiming, and preparing to spray graffiti onto a large, gray concrete wall. Would you come forward to stop him? Report him? Or respect his freedom of creation?
New York in the 1970’s and 80’s: The Rise of Graffiti
In the 1970’s, a new form of graffiti appeared in the slums of New York, called “Tagging”, which used a single symbol or a series of symbols to mark areas repeatedly. In order to attract attention, this kind of graffiti usually appears in cities or community centers. Graffiti quickly evolved into something related to gang crime, as a way to identify an area for its sphere of influence, to commemorate members who have passed away, to brag (often crime-related), a war book challenging the armed struggle of rival gangs, to express views on the injustice of the middle class, and so on. Graffiti can typically be found in public spaces such as subways, billboards, and walls.
TAKI 183 was one of the first graffiti artists to become famous, when the New York Times published a report on him in 1971. As a child of Greek descent, he lived in a community north of Harlem in Manhattan (located across the street from the headquarters of a local gang) and grew up in an environment of mostly Cuban, Dominican, and Puerto Rican minorities. TAKI is his nickname, but his real name is Demetrius, and his house number is 183. TAKI 183 is the first New York graffiti artist to be reported, representing a subculture that has officially gotten a hold of mainstream attention, entered the public eye, and transformed graffiti. In the next five years, graffiti developed into a colorful and stylized form of fresco. It is worth mentioning that throughout his life, TAKI 183 had no enthusiasm for up-and-coming/emerging forms, a way to maintain his “marking” technique.
In the late 1980’s, Langham and railroad workers did graffiti on the trains of New York, an act that marked the beginning of contemporary graffiti art. This kind of graffiti is also called “Moniker”, which uses white crayon in order to share a story with others, occasionally including some words. Many artists have their own unique designs, sometimes writing about the places they’re from, when their “nicknames” were created, and so on. It is also said that a postman left graffiti on the street in order to record the route he sent.
Although the New York Transit Authority and the police actively combatted graffiti at the time, nothing could stop the rise of graffiti art. In addition to popular and animated graffiti fonts, graffiti artist Dondi White wrote about creating a large-scale and original font that valued readability (a style that still exists on the streets today). In the late 1970’s, Lady Pink joined the graffiti circle as one of the only females within the graffiti subculture, using graffiti as an act of rebellion and form of self-expression to fight for women’s rights. She said, “Graffiti is not a boy’s club” and later on, founded Ladies of the Arts, a group of female graffiti artists.
When “Tagging” became mainstream, artist Futura brought up the abstract graffiti style. Because the development of graffiti’s technique, scale, and design has reached a high standard, there is now more room for creativity. Departing from the dominant letters, heavy lines, and strong color contrasts of graffiti, he added a lot of color to his large-scale graffiti works, once using more than 50 cans of spray paint. The fine lines and dots bring a completely different visual impact, adding an oil painting-like layering to the graffiti.
The Spread of Graffiti Art in France
In Europe, the influence of graffiti has been promoted by French graffiti artist Blek Le Rat, who is known as the “father of Stencil Graffiti.” When he was young, he was drawn to New York’s street art, and later started his own street art creations in Paris. In the beginning, his art was mainly about the relationship between the use of art and public space. His stage name and design representation were rat. Blek Le Rat’s “Rat” and art are transposal word formations, and he believes that rats are the most free-flowing creatures in the city, attracting much attention and fear, and even deliberately seen as enemies in the health and sanitation sector. His plan was to “invade” the city with art (like a mouse), and spread the “plague” of street art on every corner of the city. He has always been secretive about his whereabouts, and he was arrested by the French police because he was copying a model of a famous painting in 1991. His true identity was revealed. Not only did this not discourage him from creating in public spaces, but it also enabled him to develop a faster way to finish his graffiti and reduce the risk of being caught. Gradually, he was discovered in cities all over the world. After becoming famous, he also started caring about social issues such as poverty and homelessness.
Blek Le Rat is known as the pioneer of the “guerilla-art movement”. He prepares the template that he will work on (in advance), processes it with spray paint on the spot so that the graffiti can be completed in a short time, and flashes it so that it won’t be found. This creative form and behavior is also the method used by contemporary street graffiti artists Bansky and Invader.
Banksy
British graffiti artist Banksy is currently one of the most observed figures in the art world, not only because of the fact that his identity has not been revealed to the public, but also because his works are full of political, satirical, and social implications. He became famous for the 9 paintings on the wall in Bethlehem, Israel, during his travels to the Middle East. Banksy himself direct a documentary about street art called Exit Through the Gift Shop, which was nominated for an Oscar for best documentary. Like the documentary title, Banksy’s behavior challenged the materialization and commercialization present in contemporary art. Under capitalism, galleries and auction houses define the value of art and he uses his street creations to explore the nature and essence of art. His works shown in galleries, war zones, and slums where art trading don’t occur, represent his detachment to the mainstream art world. Some of his works were even mixed into the collections at famous museums such as the Louvre, Tate Modern, etc. It was also noted that they went undiscovered for eight days, the highest record of not being discovered. Banksy wanted to portray that art is purely democractic, and should not be reduced to a game for collectors. His most well-known act was at Sotheby’s art auction, where he shattered his work, Girl with Balloon.
Graffiti was slowly integrated into various art fields. Fashion communities desired the freedom and unrestrained nature that came with graffiti. For instance, Louis Vuitton’s launch of Graffiti Alma with graffiti style fonts, artist Keith Haring’s iconic patterns, and a series of collaborations with major brands has made this representative. Graffiti art has transformed into an object of consumption.
Overtime, graffiti has evolved into public art, used to enhance communities and tourism projects. For example, the Federal Art Project in the United States used graffiti to paint murals of unique styles for communities in the US. This is regarded as a form of urban art, and while public nuisance remains a concern, this trend has taken the world by storm. Graffiti has appeared in Europe, Melbourne, and Asia, attracting many tourists.
In fact, the use of graffiti in public spaces allows people to question: “What is public space?”, “Who can use it?” and “How do we use it?”, in order to challenge the use of public spaces. The rights for graffiti to be shown in public spaces has returned, and graffiti on walls represent the idea that the public can use spaces freely. One doesn’t need a billboard, but one would have to spend money to rent out a space. Unlike artworks in an art museum, the streets are full of colorful graffiti, and expresses the artist’s ideas.This kind of artistic performance merges into every unknown and becomes part of the city’s scenery.
Photo 1：Lady Diana, Tate Modern 2006 © Blek Le Rat
Photo 2 Top：Futura 80s © Futura
Photo 2 middle left：Black and white rats / rats by Blek Le Rat ; Paris 1983 ©R. Klatzman
Photo 2 middle right：Sheep Blek Le Rat © Blek Le Rat
Photo 2 bottom left： © Blek Le Rat
Photo 2 bottom right：Artist Futura © Futura
