Are They Art Or Vandalism?

Regardless of which part of the world you live in, it's almost guaranteed at one point or another you've encountered graffiti while walking throughout your town. Perhaps you love it, perhaps you hate it and maybe you've even done a little graffiti yourself. Some people consider it art while others consider it vandalism. Those involved in the graffiti scene understand it to be more than just senseless vandalism.

The graffiti characters, tags and memorials that get painted everywhere are an expression of oneself and an art. Not all graffiti is illegal, therefore it could be said not all graffiti is art. Thankfully, many councils have set up areas that are deemed graffiti friendly where artists can come and spray paint to their hearts content. This has given some artists such as Banksy notoriety outside the scene and made some artists very rich.

There are many different types of graffiti. As mentioned earlier, some people create graffiti characters to paint onto trains, tunnels and highways that run across the country. Tags or tagging is a very popular form of graffiti and it is often the name of the graffiti artist. Tags are used to show "I was here" or gangs have been known to use them to mark their territory.

With the growth of the hip hop movement, memorials dedicated to friends who have passed on have sprung up. One of the more popular memorial pieces of art is the Biggie Smalls portrait in Brooklyn. Graffiti memorials are not just for superstars though as there are many memorials painted around the world for those involved in the graffiti scene who would be unknown outside of the niche. There's usually a good story behind each piece of work so don't be quick to misjudge them as vandalism.

While some graffiti is placed on walls where it is illegal to paint such things, it's considered highly offensive if another artist paints of another persons graffiti. This has lead to competition amongst graffiti groups to cover up as much of their competitors art as possible. Often this leads to mass attacks of graffiti where individuals or parties will go out and spray their own tags and "bomb" other peoples graffiti.

Graffiti has always been some what of an interesting culture to participate in or just observe. No doubt it will continue to be for some time into the future as attitudes change and mature towards this art form.

Graffiti Style Writing

Today, graffiti is considered a form of art which is primarily used to express social or political views. The word originates from Italian and literally means scratched. Even in ancient times, graffiti was used as we can see in cave drawings, ruins, sepulchers and even pictographs. Some languages have originated for graffiti. One example is the Safaitic language, which is an ancient Arabic dialect.

The first modern graffiti style of writing was found in ancient Greece, in the city of Ephesus. This city is today located in Turkey. Similar sites have been found in Guatemala and Ireland.

Many people think that this art of writing is a complete waste of time and is not an art at all. However, this style helps us to understand the modern lifestyle and language. Writings invariably showcase the social condition in any era, and this style actually helps to showcase the mood of a particular period in history throw its graphical depictions.

In today's world, this style of writing is seen as street art and has huge potential. However, defacing public property with this art or writing offensive messages is a crime and you should never indulge in it.

You can write in this style using chalk, spray paint, pastels or sparkles, but one of the most beautiful work of art can be created in the following manner.

First write the text in a fluid motion not sticking to any convention, uniformity or spacing between letters. Then thicken the letters by using double lines or making them into blocks. You can add a bit of artistry here by allowing the letters to overlap. Each letter should be legible but should not be a separate entity.

If you want, you can patterns to the letters while writing. Some common patterns used are serif or simple tail lines. However, if you use shadow lines, you can really bring out the written text to the forefront. You can use shadowing only on one side of the letter or add a shadow on every alternate letter on both sides. The choice is yours. Some graffiti artists use geometric shapes in such a way that they end up reading as text.

Once you have finished writing your text and adding all the special effects, it is time to color it. Use the same color to highlight similar patterns in the text. This will add life to your art.

After that, you can add special effects by using sparkle pens. And then, you are all set to stand back and admire your art.

In the US, in some cities, corporations are paying graffiti artists to advertise their products and services through this art. For many street artists, it has become a lucrative business. However, these advertisements cannot be done in public places. Some companies using legal form of this art for advertisement are Coca Cola, McDonald's and Toyota.