Graffiti is a form of art that is used to express the artists feeling and emotions. Just like pouring out your feelings in a diary, only using a different medium. Although many people see graffiti as a nuisance and also see it as vandalism, it is hard to not be interested in its unique style and free expression. Graffiti is a social expression, often a voice of the discontented youth, and is part of the urban world around us.
It is generally harmless, vibrant and creative and often brightens up walls and buildings. Graffiti has many different styles but the two most common types are tagging and hip hop graffiti. Different styles of graffiti fall into different categories.
Hip hop graffiti pieces are usually very large and are created using aerosol spray paints. They usually are a complex mix of letters or a cartoon sketch. Hip hop graffiti usually takes longer to achieve as it takes a lot of planning and designing first.
Tagging graffiti is used as a means to 'mark territory'. This type of graffiti is used as a way to mark one's presence, to say 'so and so was here'. Often the letter styles in one territory will be different to another and signatures are very territorial indeed. Some graffiti is racially motivated or sometimes even politically motivated and bears some relation to urban street fighting.
Commercial graffiti is seen as a big problem. This involves private organisations paying graffiti artists to spray paint advertising logos on walkways and buildings so that they can promote their product. This is an illegal form of advertising.
Graffiti is amazing and its a great way to express yourself through colours, pictures and words. Graffiti can mean everything to an artist so they use it as means of expressing their feelings if they have a lot kept in. It is a stress relief and it is fun painting a wall.
Some people like to express their feelings by writing them down or speaking to someone else. Others may choose to paint words in fierce, vibrant colours, that come across as a message in a piece of art. This could be a message in itself, indicating that they are being driven to the wall because no-one is really listening. So many young people, especially in the inner cities, find that their families are usually too busy trying to survive to have quality time to spend with them. So they form sub-cultures and their own styles of communication to express what they need to say.
