The meaning of the term ‘graffiti’ simply is – drawings or words scribbled or scratched on a wall. It has been derived from the Greek word ‘graphein’, which means ‘to write’, while the term ‘graffiti’ itself is the plural form of ‘graffito’, an Italian word.
The art of drawing graffiti began making its way on public walls in the latter part of the 1960s, which the famous folk singer duo, Simon and Garfunkel expressed in their song of the ’60s, ‘Sounds of Silence’: "The words of the prophets were written on the subway walls and the tenement halls…"
However, graffiti as a form of unsolicited messages has existed forever, with the ancient cave paintings, dating back 40,000 years to the Upper Paleolithic era coming to mind. And of course, right from those times, drawing has always been a means of human being’s deep need and desire to communicate.
A Peek into the History of the Art of Drawing Graffiti Letters
Although the art of drawing graffiti letters began in the 60s, the period between 1971-1974 is generally regarded as the era when most of the pioneering work in graffiti was done, since this was the time when this form of art began spreading and getting publicity. For some of the youth of that time, it was a means through which they could vent their angst at a world they found oppressive, and as a way of rebelling against a society they thought was unjust and corrupt.
However, for others, these graffiti characters were simply a pleasurable means of expressing their creativity, just as a unique art form. Like conventional artists, they used walls as a canvas onto which they poured their souls, their dreams, their hopes, and their fears with a spray-can of bright colors. It was during 1975 to 1977 that the art of drawing graffiti reached its peak, with standards of drawing graffiti letters being established.
However, as the 70s slipped into the 80s, being a graffiti artist became more challenging, as the authorities began clamping down harder on them, since it was considered vandalism, because much of the graffiti was made by gangsters, who were young and usually poor. This was known as the ‘die hard’ era, as graffiti culture withdrew under cover.
Today’s graffiti culture is referred to as the ‘clean train era’, as many graffiti artists are taking their art from the subway walls and the insides of train cars into studios and galleries, with the establishment increasingly viewing it as a genuine art form.
And hence, these days some cities have provided particular areas to graffiti artists where they are allowed to display their art. The trouble with this is that a previous work has to be painted over in order to use the space. Therefore, good graffiti artists usually do not use such spaces.
One of the most important features of drawing graffiti is that each piece of art has the artist’s name. Spray paint is the medium used, and there are particular techniques that have been established for drawing graffiti letters.
What are the Various Styles of Drawing Graffiti?
Technically, graffiti is any kind of art that is made on a building or wall. When graffiti drawings first started appearing, which was in New York City, the tools used to create them were usually spray paint or wide tipped markers, which were used basically to get up ‘tags’, or the graffiti writer’s name, and not any art as such. This was done to make themselves known all over the city. The bigger and the more colorful they could make their tag, the more attention they got. This gave rise to graffiti ‘wars’ springing up, with each artist trying to outdo the other in making their tag bolder and bigger. However, once these graffiti artists figured that anybody could spray on huge letters, style began making its appearance.
Graffiti Styles:
To people who are unfamiliar with the art, all graffiti seems the same, however, there are several distinctive graffiti styles. Most of these styles are about using particular fonts to create graffiti letters or graffiti characters.
- Tagging: This graffiti style is used mainly for displaying penmanship, and is considered as lacking in artistic form.
- Blockbuster: As the name of this style implies, large sized block letters are used.
- Wildstyle: Interweaving graffiti letters with designs.
- Throw-Ups: Graffiti drawing that is done very quickly using few colors.
- Bubble Letters: Large graffiti letters written in a rounded style.
Each of these graffiti styles can be used to create various types of graffiti:
- Hip-Hop Graffiti: Reflecting African-American culture, this is considered to be the most traditional type of graffiti.
- Challenge Graffiti: The intention of this type of graffiti is just to express that somebody ‘was here.’
- Poster Graffiti: Graffiti made on posters that have people’s pictures on them.
- Aircraft Graffiti: Drawing tags on airplanes, usually on the dirt on it.
- Tree Graffiti: As is apparent from its name, graffiti that is painted or carved on trees.
- Invisible Graffiti: Purely symbolic graffiti, like logos made on computer microchips, which although are there, can’t be seen by anybody.
By Rita Putatunda
