GRAFFITI
Location:
88 Beet st, Mayfair, London
Date:
August 24, 2017
Graffiti symbolisation
Graffiti is a form of visual expression created by marking surfaces, often in public spaces, using materials like spray paint or markers. It ranges from simple tags to elaborate artworks and has been historically associated with vandalism. However, graffiti has evolved into a recognized art form, often used for personal expression, political messages, or social commentary. Artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, and Banksy have helped bring graffiti into the mainstream, influencing contemporary art.
Graffiti culture is a global subculture that emerged from urban environments, centered around the creation of graffiti as self-expression and rebellion. It involves elements like tagging, crew collaboration, and using public spaces as canvases. Graffiti often carries social or political messages and challenges authority. Originally linked to hip-hop culture, it has evolved from a rebellious act to a recognised art form influencing various aspects of culture, including fashion and visual arts.
Techniques and methods
Graffiti art encompasses a diverse range of styles, each reflecting the artist’s intent, cultural background, and regional influences. There are many different types of methodologies and techniques that they use:
Tagging: The most basic form of graffiti, tagging involves writing the artist’s signature or identifier in a stylised manner, typically using a single colour.
Throw-ups: More elaborate than tags, throw-ups are quickly executed graffiti that often involve bubble-style lettering and two or more colours.
3D Graffiti: Artists use shading and perspective techniques to create three-dimensional effects, making the artwork appear to pop off the surface.
Sticker (Slap): Involves creating designs on stickers, which are then placed in public areas. This method allows for rapid dissemination of the artist’s work.
Blockbuster: This style uses large block letters, often covering substantial surfaces, to achieve maximum visibility.
Wild style: An intricate form of graffiti characterised by complex, interwoven letters and symbols, making it challenging to read for those unfamiliar with the style.
Stencil: This technique involves using pre-cut templates to quickly reproduce images or text, allowing for precise and repeatable designs.
Poster (Paste-Up): Artists create designs on paper and then adhere them to surfaces in public spaces, combining traditional art techniques with street art.
These varied styles highlight the rich diversity within graffiti art, showcasing the myriad ways artists express themselves in urban environments. (Graffiti Styles: Top 10 Types of Graffiti Explained, n.d.)
Fonts and Styles
Graffiti artists utilise a variety of font styles to express their creativity and convey unique messages. Notable styles include:
Wild style: An intricate and abstract form of graffiti characterised by complex, interwoven letters and symbols, often challenging to decipher for those unfamiliar with the style. This approach allows artists to showcase their technical skill and creativity.
Fat Cap: This style employs wide spray paint tips to create bold, thick lines, resulting in a spontaneous and easily readable form of lettering. It’s often used for quick tags and emphasises speed and visibility.
Bubble Letters: Featuring rounded, inflated shapes, bubble letters are typically easy to read and are commonly used for quick tags or throw-ups. Their playful appearance makes them a popular choice among graffiti writers.
Calligraffiti: A fusion of traditional calligraphy and graffiti, this style brings together the elegance of scripted letters with the boldness of street art, resulting in artful and stylised lettering.
Shadow Letters: Utilising block or bubble letters with shadows behind each character, this technique adds a three-dimensional effect, making the lettering appear to pop off the surface.
(Delana, 2009)
These diverse font styles highlight the rich tapestry of graffiti lettering, each contributing to the art form’s evolution and regional distinctiveness.
Global Graffiti Hotspots
New York City became a graffiti hotspot due to its cultural, historical, and social factors. In the 1960s and 1970s, the city’s urban environment, especially the Bronx, offered a canvas for young people to express themselves through graffiti, which emerged as a form of rebellion and self-expression during times of economic hardship (Lewisohn, 2008). The rise of hip-hop culture in the Bronx further fuled the movement, intertwining graffiti with music and dance (Chang, 2005).
The subway system, particularly in the 1970s, served as a mobile canvas, allowing artists to display their work to a broad audience (Gitlin, 2008). Graffiti also became a tool for political and social expression, addressing issues of poverty and inequality (Salloum, 2010). By the 1980s, New York graffiti artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring brought the art form into mainstream culture, bridging the gap between street art and galleries (Vanderpool, 2004). Today, New York continues to be a hub for graffiti due to its rich cultural history and ongoing creative energy.
GRAFFITI SPOTTED
Inspiring Graffiti Artist
BANKSY
Banksy is a world-renowned anonymous street artist from the UK, known for his provocative and politically charged works. His art often features satirical social commentary on issues like war, consumerism, and inequality, using striking imagery and dark humour. While remaining unidentified, Banksy’s works have gained global recognition, with his pieces appearing on public walls, streets, and even on auction stages, challenging the traditional art world and blurring the lines between public space and high art.
His style typically incorporates stensiled images, bold lines, and satirical messages, often critiquing topics such as politics, consumerism, war, and social inequality. Banksy’s use of public spaces as a canvas allows his work to engage directly with the public, creating powerful conversations around the issues he addresses. (‘What Technique Does Banksy Use? Describing Banksy’s Art – By Kerwin,’ 2024)
Banksy’s anonymity has added to his mystique, and his work continues to attract attention worldwide. While many of his pieces are created in public spaces, they have been sold at auction for millions, raising questions about the commercialisation of street art and its shift into the mainstream art world. Despite this, Banksy has remained a defiant figure, continually pushing boundaries between street art, public space, and the art world. (Diehl, 2024)