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. [1] [2] It is considered the most difficult graffiti style to master. [3]
Wildstyle is an extremely complex form of graffiti in which letters have been transformed to the point that it is illegible to those who are not familiar with this style. [1] This illegibility is sometimes considered a defining trait of the style. [2]
Wildstyle has drawn inspiration from traditional calligraphy [4] and has been described by some as partially abstract [5] but does have specific traits associated with the form. The letters in wildstyle graffiti are often highly exaggerated with curves and overlapping, intertwined, and interlocking letters. [1] Arrows are very common in wildstyle graffiti, [1] and are used to suggest the flow within the artwork. [6] Wildstyle pieces often use large amounts of vibrant colours. [7] It is also common practice to incorporate 3D elements into wildstyle paintings. [1]
Some pieces that are considered on the borderline between what is and is not a wildstyle are called semi-wildstyle or semi-wild. [8]
The term "wildstyle" was popularized by the Wild Style graffiti crew formed by Tracy 168 of the Bronx, New York in 1974 [9] and was named after his crew, Wild Style. [1] The style became more popular throughout the 1980s. [2]
Phase 2 is also credited as one of the earliest writers of wildstyle. [10]
Complex and elaborate graffiti writing had previously been known by various names such as "mechanical letters" and "bubble letters". Its first instances were generated as early as 1970, by prominent writers like RIF, Phase 2, and Stan 153 and the crews that they founded in the early 1970s centered around Manhattan subway lines and surrounds. Kase2 later introduced "computer-rock". As this stylistic approach developed, the Wild Style crew expanded and spread throughout New York City. [11]
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.
Fred Brathwaite, more popularly known as Fab 5 Freddy, is an American visual artist, filmmaker, and hip hop pioneer. He is considered one of the architects of the street art movement. Freddy emerged in New York's downtown underground creative scene in the late 1970s as a graffiti artist. He was the bridge between the burgeoning uptown rap scene and the downtown No Wave art scene. He gained wider recognition in 1981 when Debbie Harry rapped on the Blondie song "Rapture" that "Fab 5 Freddy told me everybody's fly." In the late 1980s, Freddy became the first host of the groundbreaking hip-hop music video show Yo! MTV Raps.
Michael "IZ the Wiz" Martin was one of the most prominent graffiti writers of the New York graffiti movement of the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Asemic writing is a wordless open semantic form of writing. The word asemic means "having no specific semantic content", or "without the smallest unit of meaning". With the non-specificity of asemic writing there comes a vacuum of meaning, which is left for the reader to fill in and interpret. All of this is similar to the way one would deduce meaning from an abstract work of art. Where asemic writing distinguishes itself among traditions of abstract art is in the asemic author's use of gestural constraint, and the retention of physical characteristics of writing such as lines and symbols. Asemic writing is a hybrid art form that fuses text and image into a unity, and then sets it free to arbitrary subjective interpretations. It may be compared to free writing or writing for its own sake, instead of writing to produce verbal context. The open nature of asemic works allows for meaning to occur across linguistic understanding; an asemic text may be "read" in a similar fashion regardless of the reader's natural language. Multiple meanings for the same symbolism are another possibility for an asemic work, that is, asemic writing can be polysemantic or have zero meaning, infinite meanings, or its meaning can evolve over time. Asemic works leave for the reader to decide how to translate and explore an asemic text; in this sense, the reader becomes co-creator of the asemic work.
An arrow is a graphical symbol, such as ← or →, or a pictogram, used to point or indicate direction. In its simplest form, an arrow is a triangle, chevron, or concave kite, usually affixed to a line segment or rectangle, and in more complex forms a representation of an actual arrow. The direction indicated by an arrow is the one along the length of the line or rectangle toward the single pointed end.
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.
Martha Cooper is an American photojournalist. She worked as a staff photographer for the New York Post during the 1970s. She is best known for documenting the New York City graffiti scene of the 1970s and 1980s.
Michael Christopher Tracy, known as Tracy 168, was an American graffiti artist. He pioneered the art form known as wildstyle. Tracy 168 came to be known as one of the most influential graffiti and street artists of all time, as variations of wildstyle writing spread around the world. He is acknowledged to have been a seminal figure in the development of street art. Books about 1970s graffiti feature his car-long paintings with their characteristic kinetic script embellished with flames, arrows as well as cartoon characters and the "Tracy face," a grinning shaggy-haired visage in wrap-around shades.
Donald Joseph White, "DONDI" was an American graffiti artist.
Michael Lawrence Marrow, known as PHASE 2 and Lonny Wood, was an American aerosol paint artist based in New York City. Mostly active in the 1970s, Phase 2 is generally credited with originating the "bubble letter" style of aerosol writing, also known as "softies".
Tats Cru is a group of Bronx-based graffiti artists turned professional muralists. The current members of Tats Cru are Bio, BG183, Nicer, HOW and NOSM. Tats Cru were founded by Brim, Bio, BG183 and Nicer.
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.
Graffiti in New York City has had a substantial local, national, and international influence.
Kase2, also known as King Kase2 and Case2; born Jeff Brown, was a graffiti writer and a significant contributor to the hip-hop movement.
United Graffiti Artists was an early American graffiti artists collective, founded in 1972 by Hugo Martinez in New York City. UGA was the first organized group of writers, and the first to promote graffiti as a high art. Martinez, then a student activist at City College of New York, organized a group of teenagers who had been tagging the subways into a loose collective, formalizing their work and paving the way for commercialization. In September 1973, UGA organized the first ever gallery show of graffiti at the Razor Gallery in SoHo.
Gen Atem is a visual and performance artist, musician, writer, and Zen-master. He lives and works in Zurich, Switzerland.
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 and are the form that most artists start with. Tags, perhaps due to their simplicity, are more likely to be considered vandalism than other more elaborate graffiti styles.
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.
Edward Glowaski, known as Caine 1, was an American graffiti artist from Woodside, Queens, New York. He was considered king of the 7 line and was known for painting the first whole train in graffiti history.
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.
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