The term graffiti comes from Greek word ‘graphein’ which means ‘to write’. Street art ‘graffiti’ had arisen in New York. The scrawled names and slogan were seen as ugly and aggressive, the work of vandals seeking to express their identities or even make a political point. Up to the 1970s, most New Yorkers hated graffiti, considering it as an eyesore that was illegal and punishable by fines.
Since those days, graffiti has changed a lot and it is no longer found only in the subway and the poor ghetto areas of the city. Nowadays, it has the status of ‘street art’ and you get where you wouldn’t expect to – in advertisements, on clothes, on toys. Graffiti became very popular in 80s due to hip-hop subculture. It became as a part of hip-hop subculture. The Groninger Museum in Holland is one of the few in the world that displays and recognized graffiti as an art form.
History of Russian graffiti began in 1985 along with craze on break-dance. The first graffiti’s package the festival decoration, then were shocking people. Every graffiti artist has their style. Graffiti artists have put on a special slang. Most graffiti artists prefer to be called ‘writers’.
A writer’s signature with spray paint or marker is called a ‘tag’. Communities of writers who are friends are know as ‘crews’. Those writers who are inexperienced or new to an area are called ‘toys’. Also exist precepts of use spray paint. Professional graffiti artist has special protectants: mask and gloves.
Some people think that graffiti is another form of expressing art, other think that graffiti is vandalism. In my opinion, graffiti is vandalism, because it makes our cities look really run-down and ugly.
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