These days graffiti is literally everywhere you turn. You see it on buildings, in the metro, on pipes, school hallways and anywhere there’s a canvas for someone to make their mark. Varying from scribbled letters of someone’s name done in haste to carefully thought-out pieces that can be described as art, graffiti has come a long way from its roots. Once an illegal act of vandalism, it’s now being thought of in a more positive light thanks to the likes of famous street artists like Bansky (although many cases are still considered vandalism depending on where the graffiti is done). Here’s some insight on the history of graffiti through the ages.
Its Meaning
The word “graffiti” is Italian in nature and is plural for the Italian word “graffito,” and both are derived from the word “graffito,” which translates to “a scratch” since the original graffiti was actually scratched into a surface and not painted on. But the word is ultimately derived from the Greek word “graphein,” which means to draw, write or scratch.
The First Use Of The Term
The first time the term graffiti was ever used was back in 1851 in a reference to ancient inscriptions that were etched into the walls like “scratches” of the Pompeii ruins in Italy. If you know you’re history, you’ll remember that Pompeii was a city that was turned to ash by the volcano Mt. Vesuvius in 79 C.E. And now that “scratch” definition has since then evolved to becoming a term used to describe public art – anything from hastily made drawings on a sidewalk to highly executed street art done on the walls of massive buildings.
Graffiti Goes back To Paleolithic Times
Even though the first time it was referenced was in 1851, graffiti actually stems all the way back to the earliest era of humans during the Paleolithic, or “Old Stone Age,” when humans first made their homes in caves and drew on the cave walls – the first time humans ever expressed themselves artistically even though they were simple drawings of animals and abstract shapes.
Petroglyphs – The Earliest Forms of Graffiti
Petroglyphs are images that are created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, carving and abrading, and make up a form of rock art. These cave paintings are images that are directly etched into the stone (or cave walls). These kinds of works have been discovered all over the Earth and were primarily observations of the world around the earliest humans.
Ancient ad for a brothel in Ephesus
Scribbling on rocks and walls is nothing new and 2,000 years ago the people of the Mediterranean were doing the same thing. It was actually the Ancient Greeks who have provided us with the first piece of documented modern graffiti and is also considered as one of the first real advertisements for services. Found in Ephesus (which is in Turkey) was an ad for an ancient brothel, which the carvings featuring a woman’s head, foot, heart and some money. It has been translated as ‘turn left at the cross roads where you can buy a woman’s love’. The brothel is positioned opposite the famous ancient library.
Ephesus was home to the Temple of Artemis, which was known throughout the ancient world for its prostitutes and hedonistic celebrations.
Graffiti Of Ancient Rome
In Ancient Rome, graffiti on walls usually mocked politicians, described the artist’s sexual power or just told the world that the artist was there for the moment. It’s during this time that graffiti evolved, thus evoking a response from the people who saw it or as a way to express an opinion of the artist.
Pompeii
The city that was preserved by volcanic has still displays graffiti on walls on its buildings some 2,000 years old. Historians have found graffiti depicting sexual boasting to simple declarations that are similar to what you’d find on public bathroom stall walls. Close to the Vesuvius gate, visitors can still read, “Marcus loves Spendusa.”
The Palace Of Sigiriya
Sri Lanka is the location of the historical site of Sigiriya, which was the capital city and home to the royal palace of King Kasyapa who ruled around 477-495 CE. After the king’s death it was abandoned and became a monastery. Sigiriya gets its name from the literal translation which means The Lion Rock. He built his palace on the top of this rock and on a small plateau about halfway up the side of this rock he built a gateway in the form of an enormous lion. In the 600s, the monastery fell on hard times and turned to allowing pilgrims and tourist groups in to survive.
It’s here you’ll see many of its frescoes of beautiful women and tourists left their thoughts on the palace etched in the Mirror wall that describe declarations of love, things done, things regretted and simply declaring that they were there.
Graffiti’s Rich History
Some form of graffiti has been found etched onto the surfaces of several places on Earth. From the runestones of the Vikings in Scandinavia to ancient Mayan sites, graffiti has been a medium for people to jot down their thoughts and ideas or to simply declare their presence to the world.
Five thousand years ago Orkney had a bustling comminity with over 30,000 people living there. Long before the Celts and Picts, and way before the Romans or ancient Greeks, even before the Great Pyramids, and centuries before Stonehenge was discovered— Some of the ring’s stones in Orkney are decorated in “graffiti” style pictures.
Maes Howe Chambered Cairn is part of the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site. This huge tomb is packed full of rune stones and clay, built around 5,000 years ago. The entrance hall has been specifically designed so that it lines up with the rays of the setting sun on the shortest day of the year, 21st December.
Graffiti in the 20th Century
Of course, over time, graffiti has evolved and it really made an impact on society and culture in the 20th century. Even with modern technology enhancements, people are still compelled to leave their mark anywhere they can.
The Hobo Language
In the early years of the 20th century, hobos who would ride freight trains in search for work used graffiti as a way to communicate with each other. They used symbols that were unknown to outsiders and they’d write their messages in chalk or coal near train yards, bridges or other known hobo spots for others to read. Some of their communication warned others hobos about strict law enforcement in the area or recommended a place to work or camp out.
“Kilroy Was Here”
Thanks to the two World Wars, the graffiti phenomenon of “Kilroy was here” flourished across the globe. There were simple drawings that were accompanied by those words that appeared in various places throughout the war years. There was the “Foo” of Australia and “Chad” in the U.K., with “Kilroy” graffiti variations scribbled on shipments and equipment meant for war all across the globe.
Kilroy was a 46 year old ship yard employee from Halifax, Massachusetts. During the war he worked as a checker at the Fore River Shipyard. Kilroy used chalk to check the rivets and would mark off how much the riveters needed to be paid. Some riveters rubbed his chalk marks off but he then added his signature to the countings stating “Kilroy was Here”. The warships would generally get painted but because they had to leave the yard so quickly there wasnt time to paint them so Kilroys signature appeared all over the globe on the side of ships. The service men on the ships were at times baffled by the signature and all they knew was Kilroy had been on the ship before they had. As a joke, U.S. servicemen began placing the graffiti wherever they landed, claiming it was already there when they arrived.It became a challenge to place the logo in the most unlikely places imaginable. As the war went on the legend of Kilroy grew.
In 1945, an outhouse was built for the exclusive use of Roosvelt, Stalin, and Churchill at the Potsdam conference. The first person inside was Stalin, who emerged and asked his aide (in Russian), “Who is Kilroy?.”
Lots of people wanted to be Kilroy as there was a reward out to find his identity. With the aid of his riveter friends he proved his identity and won the prize of a real trolley car.
The Berlin Wall
Constructed in 1961, the Berlin Wall is a perfect example of modern graffiti. Built as a way to divide West Berlin from the Communist East Berlin, the wall divided the city until 1989 when political liberations would sweep across Germany, eventually coming down in a historical way. Although people were prohibited from approaching the wall on the east side, those on the west were free to approach the wall and they not only came up to it, but adorned it with lots of street art and graffiti. To this day, it’s alive with colorful illustrations of the sentiments of peace and love.
Graffiti in the 1980s in the NYC
New York is like Mecca for graffiti and the city has birthed several famous graffiti artists over the years. But the height of this movement was in the 1980s, with the rise of notable figures like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring and Futura 2000. All three have very different styles and expressions, but emerged from the same environment and continue to inspire other creative across the world.
Futura 2000
Keith Haring
Jean-Michel Basquiat
The early NYC Days
Before the huge graffiti movement of the 1980s, the first tags in the city were made in the late-‘60s by poor kids growing up in the Bronx and Brooklyn as they looked for a way to express themselves and get some street fame and cred. By the 1970s the movement had truly expanded before it burst into the ‘80s. But it should be noted that officials tried to keep the city clean of graffiti and the city was declared graffiti-free in 1989, which caused many to move their work on the outskirts of the city and even into galleries.
One famous piece of graffiti is “Stop the Bomb,” painted on a train by Lee Quiñones in 1979 and featured below.
TAKI 183
One of the first dudes to make his name go viral in the city was TAKI 183, who was one of the city’s first tag writers. He was a Greek teen who was bored at work as a delivery boy and made his mark around the city. His name or tag as they are called is short for Demetaki, the Greek alternative for his real name Demetrius. The number 183 came from his address on 183rd Street in Washington Heights. TAKI 183 started a trend with graffiti artists to compete to have their names on walls and buildings around New York City.
The Most Coveted Canvas
As more and more kids got involved with leaving their mark around NYC, writers started to move their art and expressions into the subway, which quickly became the most coveted canvas for these early street writers with markers. The 1970s saw a huge boom in NYC subway graffiti, causing officials to frown upon the act of vandalism. Below is a graffitied car on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line in 1973.
The Appearance Of Notable Names
The late-‘70s saw the emergence of those who helped define the graffiti movement, pushing it forward to the art scene. These greats helped transform graffiti from street art to high art displayed in galleries. Some of these notable names were going by their taggable code names—Bil Rock, Breezer, Daze, Jon One, Kel, KR, Lady Pink, Sak, Sharp, Skeme, Spin, and Team.
Three of these can be seen at city hall late at night. Bill Rock,Min and Kel.
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Around the late-‘70s, NYC started to see the SAMO tag everywhere, which is pronounced “Same-Oh” – a derivative of the saying “same-old shit.” That tag belonged to Jean-Michel Basquiat, a young writer, who often wrote it with a copyright sign. He stopped tagging in 1980, but it’s his early writings that helped launch the artist to fame. He’s worked with the likes of David Bowie, Andy Warhol and became a well-known visual artist whose work was heavily influenced by graffiti.
Cassius Clay. Jean-Michel Basquiat, 1982.
Keith Haring
As a friend of Basquiat, he was a prominent graffiti artist in the 1980s and created one of the most recognizable personal iconographies in art history – his little men and women that carried a positive message for gay activism.
Futura 2000
One of the graffiti legends of this time was Futura 200, who started tagging on subway cars. He’s best know for his angular, abstract style. His tagging is recognizable as a separate, non-lettered style of the art, which is still used today.
The Hip-Hop Connection
Around the 1980s when hop-hop was an up-and-coming music genre, graffiti started to become associated with the new sound and still has strong ties to hip-hop culture. Along with DJing, MCing and breaking, graffiti is a central part to this culture – with it all being traced back to the Bronx in the NYC.
Global Expansion
Around the same time that NYC’s graffiti scene was booming, the art was also spreading across the globe. Taggers and artists were making the city their canvas in all cities, including London, Rome, Paris and more.
Graffiti In The 1990s
By the 1990s, graffiti was everywhere and become its own art form. Many of the originators were growing up and expanding their talents, while a new crop of kids started to work on their writings. Custom-made spray paint came to market and this allowed street artists to do more intricate paintings, thus increasing the quality of these works of art. One early 90’s UK graffiti movement was called DryBreadZ Crew. The famous artist Banksy was said to be a member of DryBreadZ Crew and a lot of his early work saw him spraying freehand rather than using stencils.
New Techniques
It was during this time that new techniques came about, with artists now using stickers and stencils to apply their art, which allowed them to create elaborate drawings that could easily be prepared in advance and then applied quickly, which was ultra important to avoid getting caught by officials.
“Happy 1984” – Stencil graffiti found on the Berlin Wall in 2005. The object depicted is a DualShock video game controller.
Graffiti In The 2000s
By the time Y2K rolled around, graffiti was now thought of as a form of art and many appreciated these urban forms of expression more than ever. Collectors were now trying to commission some of the hottest street artists for personal work and it’s around this time that the “Banksy Effect” became a cultural phenomenon.
Banksy and the Future of Graffiti
Although the England-based graffiti artist may have become famous in the 2000s, his work goes back to 1990 when he was a freehand graffiti artist until 1994 as part of Bristol’s DryBreadZ Crew. Although he started as a freehand artist, he would also incorporate stencils and by 2000, he had turned the art of stenciling as his full-time technique. The unidentified artist displays his work on publically visible places like walls and self-built props that usually have some sort of political message for the masses with various subjects, including apes, rats, soldiers, children, the elderly and policemen. He’s since then become the most famous graffiti artist in the world. Many of his artworks end up on graffiti art canvas prints , they are that popular.
New Banksy piece based on Les Miserables
After Banksy became famous, street art suddenly became a new way of making money for many artists as they turned taggings and wall art into an actual career. Many street artists would no longer use their street names and would try to build their reputations under their own names.
The Future Of Graffiti
Thanks to the Internet and social media, gone are the days where street artists wanted to stay unknown as kids use it as a way to make a living. But this acceptance has actually helped the culture as more and more commercial commissions are being made, so street artists no longer need to run and hide from officials.
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