Origination

The precursor of street art is known to us as graffiti, which began its formation during the late 1960s and early 70s in New York City. The arrival of this unique form of art was represented through politically charged motives that consisted mainly of spray painted words, letters, and images on public or private property. Early on in the graffiti trend many gangs looked to graffiti as a promising method of demarcating territory. The term graffiti is also conceived to be deeply connected to the drug and crime culture, as it is an illegal act of vandalism. There was an inseparable attitude between hip-hop and graffiti in its early stages and it still resonates today, though it has branched out into many other sub-cultures as well. Through the years 1971-1974, there was a prolific rise in graffiti writers, or those who "tag" their designated name at specific sites through the use of stylistic lettering and vivid color with spray paint as the primary medium. The peak of this form of public art was achieved during the years 1975-1977 due to political and financial instigation. During this time, many writers flourished and extensive "bombing" or "tagging" occurred.


There were even notions of early street art around this time, as it was natural for image makers to imitate what the writers were doing. Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat worked alongside graffiti writers, and were important figures in the emergence of street art. Immediately after the influence of graffiti peaked, The MTA (Metropolitan Transit Authority) cracked down on the issue of heavy recurrent tagging in the following years, and many pieces were soon "buffed," or removed. The legislation of NYC issued laws that further aided in the removal of pieces, and new structures were built around train stations to keep writing at a minimum. The MTA persisted to discourage and punish writers and this eventually ended in a dramatic decline in graffiti. This dormant state lasted through the 80s and 90s, and only the most die-hard writers continued with their artistic endeavors. In the past decade or so there has been a visible resurgence in grafitti, which has been translated and given new birth to what we know now as contemporary street art.




To learn more about the culture of graffiti, check out Style Wars at http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/style-wars/