Tags are one of the primary forms of modern graffiti, along with throw ups and pieces. The act of writing a tag is known as tagging. Tags are often thought of as the simplest form of graffiti art, prioritising legibility and flow [1] and are the form that most artists start with. [2] Tags, perhaps due to their simplicity, are more likely to be considered vandalism than other more elaborate graffiti styles. [3] Tags are an artist signature and vary through uniqueness and methods. [4] [5]
Often done in spray paint or markers, tags are established from throw-up and pieces. They are two-dimensional, often smaller in size, and with thinner lines reflecting the need for quick execution due to the often illegal nature of tagging. [2] This necessity for speed has led to tags which are written in a single stroke called one-liners. [6]
While throw-ups and pieces may be formed from any word or even a sentence, a tag functions similarly to a signature, as if they are the graffiti artist's pseudonym (although rarely a personal name may be used) written in the artist's unique style so that two artists with the same name would be distinguishable, although an artist using a name of an existing artist in their locale or a "king" (well-respected artists) is a faux pas [ jargon ]. An individual's unique style is called a handstyle. [7]
Tags may be existing words or made-up by the writer, but are usually only 3–5 letters or digits long, again due to the necessity of speed. [8] Many tags use Latin script even in countries where this is not the primary writing system. [9] [7]
About tagging, graffiti artist Kaves said “with graffiti, most people can pass by and not even give a shit about it while other people are looking at the style, the letters—the technical stuff, y’know? The many layers of it. So, learning that over the years, you start to find your own style—your own voice". [10]
Tags were the first form of modern graffiti. While people have been writing their names on things since ancient times, [11] [12] tags were unique as stylised monikers writers used to "get up" (make their name seen by as many people as possible).
Tags originated in Philadelphia with writer Cornbread, [13] and became hugely popular in New York City in the 1960s and 70s with artists such as TAKI 183 and Julio 204 who unlike Cornbread, wrote over the whole city rather than just their own small locale. [14]
The purpose of tags is for an artist to have their tags recognised by other artists in their locale. [2] The most prevalent taggers in an area are known as "all city", a term that originated in traditional New York graffiti. [15]
While tags are often written onto objects directly, they are also sometimes written onto stickers (known as "slaps") and stuck onto things, which is faster and safer when illegally tagging. [16] Postal and "my name is..." stickers are commonly used for this purpose.
Crew tags function differently to personal tags, as they are written by multiple members of the same crew, who all have their own handstyles. Crew tags are often initials [17] and tend to be shorter than personal tags using only 2-3 letters.
They are sometimes postcodes. [18] Crew tags are often put up next to personal tags, or used to sign larger pieces, especially if made by multiple members of a crew. [19]
Graffiti is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elaborate wall paintings, and has existed since ancient times, with examples dating back to ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, and the Roman Empire.
Sticker art is a form of street art in which an image or message is publicly displayed using stickers. These stickers may promote a political agenda, comment on a policy or issue, or comprise a subcategory of graffiti.
TAKI 183 is the "tag" of a Greek-American graffitist who was active during the late 1960s and early 1970s in New York City. The graffitist, whose given name is Demetrios, has never revealed his full name.
Wildstyle is a complicated and intricate form of graffiti, the most complex type of graffiti piece. Due to its complexity, wildstyle can be difficult to read for those unfamiliar with the form and process. It is considered the most difficult graffiti style to master.
A number of words and phrases that have come to describe different styles and aspects of graffiti and its subculture. Like other jargon and colloquialisms, some of these terms may vary regionally, taking on different meanings across different cities and countries. The following terminology originates primarily in the United States.
Donald Joseph White, "DONDI" was an American graffiti artist.
JULIO 204 was a Puerto Rican resident of Inwood who wrote graffiti in his youth. He's usually credited as being the original New York City writer and the inspiration for Taki 183. He started writing his nickname in his neighborhood as early as 1967. He retired when he was arrested for vandalism in the summer of 1970.
Francisco Rodrigues da Silva also known as "Nunca" is a Brazilian graffiti who uses Native Brazillian themes in his art. His artist name "Nunca" means "Never" in Portuguese.
Pichação, sometimes misspelled as pixação, is the name given to a type of Brazilian graffiti. It consists of tagging done in a distinctive, cryptic style, mainly on walls and vacant buildings. Many pichadores compete to paint in high and inaccessible places, using such techniques as free climbing and abseiling to reach the locations. Pichação is mostly condemned both by society and the government as an act of vandalism. The main difference between graffiti and pichação is both the consenting nature and benevolent artistic expression of graffiti, whereas pichação is made as an act of vandalism without consent and to uglify a public space as a form of protest and social validation.
Graffiti are writing or drawings scribbled, scratched, or sprayed illicitly on a wall or other surface in a public place. Graffiti ranges from simple written words to elaborate wall paintings. Graffiti, consisting of the defacement of public spaces and buildings, remains a nuisance issue for cities.
Niels Shoe Meulman is a visual artist, graffiti writer, graphic designer and art director, born, raised and based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. ”Experimenting within the traditional medium of paint-on-canvas, but also venturing into other domains like conceptual installations and poetry, Niels Shoe Meulman keeps pushing the limits of the global urban contemporary art movement," writes the Museum of Graffiiti, who collected his artwork into their permanent collection, as has the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam and The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and private collectors.
Graffiti in New York City has had a substantial local, national, and international influence.
Graffiti in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a cause of much disagreement among its residents. Graffiti is seen by some as an art form adding to the Toronto culture; however, others see graffiti as form of vandalism, viewing it as ugly, or as a form of property damage.
In Russia, graffiti is an ambiguous phenomenon, i.e. considered to be desecration by some, and art by others. It is done for a variety of reasons, including expressing oneself through an art form, or protesting against a corporation or ideology.
Handstyle or hand style is a term in graffiti culture denoting the unique handwriting or signature/tag of an artist, also known as a writer. The same way that in typography there are different typefaces or fonts, in graffiti there are different handstyles. Similarly to the way a typographer would focus on typefaces, point sizes, line lengths, line-spacing (leading), and letter-spacing (tracking), a writer would focus on line lengths, line direction, line curvature, letter size and letter balance.
San Francisco Bay Area Street Art are any visual images created in public places such as on walls or street walk ways. Street art is often developed in order to create artworks that are outside of the scope of normalized art standards. Street Art has been a major part of the Bay Area's culture since the early 1980s. As the years went on street art became more and more prevalent in the Bay Area. While in some areas of San Francisco this art is done with the permission of the wall owners the majority is done illegally.
Michael McLeer, better known as Kaves, is an American fine art painter, graffiti artist, illustrator, director, actor, author, rapper, and entrepreneur. From Brooklyn, New York, Kaves started doing graffitis in the 1980s. Part of the early 1980s train car movement, his talent got noticed, and appeared in Henry Chalfant's book Spraycan Art (1987). Shortly after, with his brother, they created the hip-hop group Lordz of Brooklyn. They had four releases All in the Family (1995), Graffiti Roc (2003),The Brooklyn Way (2006), and Family Reunion (2020).
Pieces, short for masterpieces, are a form of graffiti that involves large, elaborate and detailed letter forms. They are one of the main forms of modern graffiti, along with tags and throw ups, and are the least controversial of the three and least likely to be seen as vandalism.
Throw ups, or throwies, are a form of graffiti that fall between tags and pieces in complexity. The name comes from the way they are designed to be "thrown" onto a surface as quickly as possible. They are almost always done with aerosol paint.
Characters, or karaks, are an integral part of modern graffiti culture. Characters are "creatures or personas” that feature in graffiti works. They may be taken from popular culture or created by the writer as a signature character. Chararacters are found in almost all forms of graffiti, including ancient graffiti and the earliest forms of modern graffiti.
handstyle graffiti.
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