A Bit of History

Truly trying to define graffiti is difficult. It is so encompassing through different styles, genres and types that there is no completely definitive answer. According to the Merriam-Webster (n.d.) graffiti is both a noun and a verb. The definition of the noun is “usually unauthorized writing or drawing on a public surface” (para. 1). The verb definition is “to draw graffiti on: to deface with graffiti” (para. 2). White (2014) supports this definition while defining that “graffiti derives from the Latin, graphīre, which means to write but is directly related to the Italian graffito for inscription or design; the noun literally means ‘to scratch’ (p. 2). Graffiti can be traced back to cave drawings, where people drew on cave walls to tell their story. They can also be found on Egyptian Tombs as White (2014) describes through drawings to celebrate Pharaohs. White (2014) also explains that, “words and names in the form of graffiti have survived in Mayan, Viking, and Renaissance cultures (p. 3). While White (2014) states that these words and names are in the form of graffiti, back then it was not known as graffiti in the modern sense we know it today. Personally, I believe we call it that now using what we know of modern graffiti, but back then, it was probably not known as graffiti.

Left wall of the Hall of Bulls, Lascaux II (replica of the original cave, which is closed to the public), original cave: c. 16,000-14,000 B.C.E., 11 feet 6 inches long, (Retrieved from https://smarthistory.org/hall-of-bulls-lascaux/)

McCormick, J. (2016). Kilroy was here on truck (Retrieved from https://www.warhistoryonline.com/featured/kilroy-graffiti-cartoon-bolstered-troops-wwii.html.) Prior to the modern-day graffiti that we know today, Duncan (2019) explains, during World War II a message “KILROY WAS HERE,” was left by soldiers as a way to allow new soldiers coming in to that area know that other allied soldiers had been there before. As I heard it from my grandfather, and also read it through McCormick (2016), this phrase and picture was a way to calm new soldiers fears and allow them to connect to this brotherhood in this wartime. Duncan (2019) states, “it became popular for soldiers to write the phrase ‘Kilroy was here,’ along with a simple sketch of a bald figure with a large nose peeking over a ledge, on surfaces along their route” (para. 2 in history and concepts).

There are many types of graffiti, but two types of graffiti are illegal and legal. The difference between to two comes down to receiving permission to ‘tag’ or create a graffiti ‘piece’ at a certain location. C.L. (1995) states how graffiti in the beginning was associated with gangs, therefore when graffiti was done in neighborhoods, many citizens became concerned that gangs had infiltrated their community. Christensen (2015) notes that now we have turned a corner from this gang type graffiti, seen in a seedy back alley, to it being everywhere today such as on billboards, clothing and store signs. The modern graffiti we know today can be traced back to a young man named Darryl McCray who was also known as Cornbread in the early seventies. This young Philadelphian man started writing ‘Cornbread loves Cynthia’ all over the city to capture this young lady’s attention. Cornbread enjoyed this modern-day graffiti that he continued to ‘tag’ his name all over the city and eventually, as Gray (2015) writes, tagged a, “jet plane that belonged to the Jackson 5 and an elephant in the local zoo which resulted in an arrest” (para. 2) Sprayplanet. (2018). Black and white photograph of Cornbread with his tag. A History of Graffiti - The 60's and 70's. Retrieved from https://www.sprayplanet.com/blogs/news/ahistory-of-graffiti-the-60s-and-70s.

The Bowery Boys. (2010). The wild times of the subway graffiti era 1970-1989. Retrieved from https://www.boweryboyshistory.com/2010/09/wild-era-ofsubway-graffiti-1970-1989.html. In the 1980s another graffiti staple emerged. This was known as the New York Subway Graffiti. Graffiti writers started to get more daring and take more chances when it came to graffiti. Duncan (2019) explains that this location would attract more prestige for the artist as it put them at risk of getting caught by authorities. With graffiti writers wanting others to see their work and receive more prestige, “writing on subway cars was also a sure way to rapidly increase one’s fame, as the artwork would travel around the city’s subway system, being seen by a far greater number of people than would a stationary piece on a wall” (Duncan, 2019. para. 2).

While modern-day graffiti started by writing names on walls, graffiti in today’s world can be a lot more than that. C.L. (1995) writes, as people started to grow tired of just writing their names, a new artistic graffiti started to take shape where artists would spray paint large artistic works of art often called street art. Street art is different than the standard graffiti of ‘tags’ (“In the context of graffiti, ‘tags’ stands for one-colored signatures (pseudonyms) of graffiti writers” (Graffiti Empire, 2021, para. 2) ) and ‘throwups’ (“Slightly more complicated than graffiti tags and include the use of more colors” (Anapur, 2016, para. 2).

Hughes (2009) explains that graffiti is often names done with paint or spray-paint, street art combines lettering, stencils and other mediums such as stickers and posters (p. 1). Cluver (2011) echoes this idea on street art explaining, “A middle-ground between graffiti and decorative or visually stunning wall paintings was occupied by the rich production of murals in ethnic communities, which produced scenes of vital interest to them, often polemical, often emphasizing their shared heritage (p. 299).

As seen with the graffiti artist Banksy, “Street art has emerged as a socio-political and artistic phenomenon within society” (Dyomin, Ivashko, 2019, p.144). Banksy is a British street artist who is known for his political activist graffiti style. As Abrams (2015) describes, “Banksy’s images were appreciated by a public often in conflict with authority, all too eager for a chance to mock the establishment while raising serious political questions” (para. 5), proving how graffiti could be used to get people’s attention and raise awareness of issues. Banksy has become famous all over the world and has even brought his graffiti to places such as New York. Banksy is not just a graffiti artist, tagging his name in places, he is an activist bringing political satire to the masses and

promoting awareness to the injustices of the world. The problem with street art is that is often gets covered of by other graffiti artist or owners of the buildings and even the city and towns themselves. Ingram (2020) quotes Sheppard Fairey, a graffiti street artist, sticker bomber and poster graffiti artist, “As an artist you have to be comfortable with enjoying the process and not being precious about the product” (para. 16).

In today's world, many graffiti pieces are works artists creating in the public and not gang related as it was once thought of. Christenson (2015) quotes Kan by saying, “graffiti is the most familiar form of ‘visual culture’ of everyday living” (p. 53), showing how strong graffiti activism could be in the modern world. Lacktman (2013) describes how “graffiti is an anomaly in the art world because only a percentage is the aesthetic quality, while the rest relies on the sport of how and where it is done” (p. 13).

Graffiti is still changing today with technology leading the way. New ways to create graffiti, without actually vandalizing or even physically creating it is possible. New apps for phones allow users to draw and create a graffiti piece and see it on public places as if one is there physically through using phone apps.