
Instructions
Preparation
The story of street art
Modern graffiti began in big cities in the United States in the 1970s. In New York, young people wrote their names, or 'tags', in pen on walls around the city.
One of the first 'taggers' was a teenager called Demetrius. His tag was TAKI 183. He wrote his tag on walls and in stations in New York. Other teenagers saw Demetrius's tag and started writing their tags too. Soon, there were tags on walls, buses and trains all over New York.
Then, some teenagers started writing their tags with aerosol paint. Their tags were bigger and more colourful. Aerosol paint graffiti became very popular in the 1970s and 1980s. It appeared on trains, buses and walls around the world.
In the 1990s and 2000s, a lot of graffiti artists started painting pictures. Some artists' pictures were about politics. Other artists wanted to make cities beautiful and painted big, colourful pictures on city walls.
Graffiti in galleries
In some countries, writing or painting on walls is a crime. Sometimes, graffiti artists have problems with the police. In other countries, artists can draw and paint in certain places. For example, in Taiwan, there are 'graffiti zones' where artists can paint on walls. In São Paulo in Brazil, street artists can paint pictures on walls and houses. Their pictures are colourful and beautiful. Some tourists visit São Paulo just to see the street art!
In Bristol in the UK, there is a street art festival in August every year. Artists paint all the buildings in a street. Lots of people come to watch the artists and take photos. You can see exhibitions of street art in some galleries too. There have been exhibitions of street art in galleries in Paris, London and Los Angeles.
Who are the artists?
Some street artists have become famous. Here are three stars of the street art world:
- Os Gêmeos are twin brothers from São Paulo. They paint big, colourful pictures of people on buildings. In 2007, they painted a castle in Scotland!
- Blek le Rat is from Paris. He is famous for painting pictures of homeless people in big cities.
- Faith47 is from Cape Town in South Africa. She paints big, colourful pictures of people and animals. She likes painting in different places and you can find her work on pavements, postboxes, buses and, of course, on walls!
The future of street art
Many street artists use the internet to look at photos of street art from around the world. They communicate with other artists online and share ideas. Some street artists are famous and you can see their pictures in galleries. We don't know about the future of street art, but it is here to stay for sure!
Robin Newton
Worksheets and downloads
Discussion
What do you think about graffiti? Is it really art?
Comments
I like grafittis . I think that it is really interesting.
Also in my school ( an artistic school) there is a day when the students can draw graffiti on panels.
I like graffiti. I think they are a nice form to visual art, they give color to the city, but the artists must not draw on the monuments. It is better have "graffiti zone".
great
Graffiti is a revolution , in Egypt we made a revolution and graffiti was its energy
it is a cool
it is a real art
I like graffiti and my favorites are pictures,but there are many signatures in my town which i don't like,they just make everyting looking ugly
this picture don`t cool i think.
I truly believe that graffiti are art. Indeed... I don't understand how some randomly drawn stripes are considered an art, but masterpieces like graffiti are considered vandalism. I don't say all graffiti represent art, but graffiti are perfect way to show your emotions and make your town prettier(especially if it's poor town so instead of luxury you can decorate it with creativiity).
GRAFFITI IS OOMMGG......... Is Amazing...it's so COOL....... I LOVE IT.. :p :*
To be honest I like graffiti, and in some way I think it acutally is art. It's very difficult too, so...I respect people who can that
cool
I think grafitti is really cool, and IT IS ART!!!!!!!
I think they are,in a way.
I like Graffiti too, I do it myself too, I can express my emotions really good with it, for example when I am angry about a situation in my life I really can let go that feeling. Banksy is good and I watched the documentary exit through the giftshop, I can recommand it to you.
greetings Rachel_Momo -> Netherlands
This is cool!!!
I love graffiti. It's really art!
It's really art. Beautiful art.
In Madrid,Spain every year there is a festival called "aquí huele a pintura" in english "here smells like paint". I love graffiti;)
For me, the graffiti is cool in walls and in paper. ALWAYS ART
I adore graffiti. I think It is a true art. But I don't like when some people use It for hate messages.
I wish that I could have my graffiti zone :D
I like Graffiti. They are so cool. :D
Yes it is art.
That´s right but from the police´s view point it´s a crime
graffiti is wondeful street art!)
I personally like graffiti. I think it's a great way of expressing your creativity and also a wonderful way to make your city/town prettier :)
I had some graffiti on my wall . It's coll !
Graffiti is my life style :) <3
in Egypt there is graffiti at Tahrer square
Well,art is one of the ways to express yourself and I think graffiti is a kind of the art, becouse it's a great way to express your feelings, and your point of view of this world and be funny at the same time. I don't have a bad opinion about grafitti only if the writtenigs are propriate.
Now i know the Graffiti Arts On The Wall is Great and The Best Graffiti Arts On The Wall is painting picture of people. There Artists are Awesome for me.
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