Thursday, May 10, 2007
Glossary concerning graffiti
Glossary
GRAFFITO : The graffito is an inscription, or a drawing which has been either traced, painted, carved or sketched using a spray paint can on surfaces not intended fur such use.
ORIGINS OF THE PHENOMENON: The graffiti began in prehistory, when early men used cave art and carvings to express themselves and their culture: Pompei and Rome in Italy are two perfect examples.
NEW YORK: The modern day graffiti phenomenon that we now know has its origins in New York at the end of the Sixties. It first appeared in socially disadvantaged areas, where the young were victims of social exclusions and racism.
GRAFFITI ARTISTS: those who draw graffiti, in French graffeurs or graffistes, in Italian graffitari.
HIP HOP: The graffiti culture is strictly linked with Hip-Hop music, a genre characterized by emphasis on rhythm and by rapping: the aim is telling the real life of the poorer areas. More generally, they talk of a real Hip-Hop culture, a cultural movement involving an entire generation.
TAG: The tag is a signature which is made up of only one line and often of only one colour. It is not a graffito because it is not a real drawing, it is simpler and it does not lead to aesthetic engagement. While similarities are that they are both means of expression, and both often forbidden.
TAGGERS: those who write tags, often visible on walls, trains, buses or buildings. In French taggeurs, in Italian tagger.
PSEUDONYM: Taggers and graffiti artists often have a psudonym to be known by the graffiti community and “audience”. The pseudonym is characterized by a personal style and is meant to be an identification mark. Exemples of pseudonyms are Acro, Isham, Nolt, Stone, Pat, Kaone.
ENGRAVINGS: This is a quite recent phenomenon, an act of vandalism of trains and undergrounds. In this case, tags are no more drawn on a wall, but directly graved on the windows of public transportation with a sharp stone. In this case the damage is irremediable, and all one can do is to change the damaged part, which cannot be cleaned.
STICKERS: This is common technique among taggers because of its rapidity: it is enough to write his pseudonym on a sticky label and stick it with no risk in the street, on a road sign or on a means of transport.
VANDALISM: An act of vandalism is an action meant to damage, or destroy other’s or public properties for fun, carelessness or rebellion. Graffitis are often considered as an act of vandalism, polluting the environment gratuitously: a free degradation. Of course one’s aesthetic sense is different, reason for which it is difficult to say univocally whether the graffiti is to be considered an act of vandalism or an artistic expression.
ART: As a general defiition, art is an activity involving a production, the result of a research and of aesthetic sense. This is clearly a wide definition which does not allow to state what is art and what is not. The beauty of many graffitis and the interesting techniques employed are excellent reasons to talk about art, so much that some graffitis have even crossed the doors of some museums.
CREW: Crews are groups of graffiti artists who join to stay and act together. They usually have names to distinguish from other city crew, for example A31 (which is the name of the French highway where the crew is active), or ALF-MOS, MST, 5BIOSE etcetera.
TECHNIQUES: Often the graffiti artits use and master in an excellent way the techniques of the most classical art, such as perspective and trompe l’oeil, or shaded colors. Some also manage, thanks to a deep knowledge of color games, to reproduce realistic characters.
Their works may be grouped in two big categories that demand different techniques and skills: the “Vandal”, made in difficult or dangerous conditions, which includes also the Flops, the Chromes and the Blocs, with quite simple letters which have to be traced quickly; and the “WildStyle “, made in safer places, grouping the most complicated and colored writings, often accompanied by backgrounds or drawings which require a more accurate preparation. For this last style, it is often necessary to make a sketch on the paper, to find the right balance of shapes and colors. Colors are not chosen by chance, but they have to be coherent with the effect they are meant to produce.
FRENCH LAW: Deterioration and degradation of commun properties beacuse of engravings, graffitis or tags are punished by the penal code with a fine of 3750 euros and a penalty of socially uselful works.
BELGIAN LAW: It is forbidden to produce any kind of tag or graffiti on any public property. The fine may be up to 200 euros, which become 250 in case of recidivism.
GRAFFITO : The graffito is an inscription, or a drawing which has been either traced, painted, carved or sketched using a spray paint can on surfaces not intended fur such use.
ORIGINS OF THE PHENOMENON: The graffiti began in prehistory, when early men used cave art and carvings to express themselves and their culture: Pompei and Rome in Italy are two perfect examples.
NEW YORK: The modern day graffiti phenomenon that we now know has its origins in New York at the end of the Sixties. It first appeared in socially disadvantaged areas, where the young were victims of social exclusions and racism.
GRAFFITI ARTISTS: those who draw graffiti, in French graffeurs or graffistes, in Italian graffitari.
HIP HOP: The graffiti culture is strictly linked with Hip-Hop music, a genre characterized by emphasis on rhythm and by rapping: the aim is telling the real life of the poorer areas. More generally, they talk of a real Hip-Hop culture, a cultural movement involving an entire generation.
TAG: The tag is a signature which is made up of only one line and often of only one colour. It is not a graffito because it is not a real drawing, it is simpler and it does not lead to aesthetic engagement. While similarities are that they are both means of expression, and both often forbidden.
TAGGERS: those who write tags, often visible on walls, trains, buses or buildings. In French taggeurs, in Italian tagger.
PSEUDONYM: Taggers and graffiti artists often have a psudonym to be known by the graffiti community and “audience”. The pseudonym is characterized by a personal style and is meant to be an identification mark. Exemples of pseudonyms are Acro, Isham, Nolt, Stone, Pat, Kaone.
ENGRAVINGS: This is a quite recent phenomenon, an act of vandalism of trains and undergrounds. In this case, tags are no more drawn on a wall, but directly graved on the windows of public transportation with a sharp stone. In this case the damage is irremediable, and all one can do is to change the damaged part, which cannot be cleaned.
STICKERS: This is common technique among taggers because of its rapidity: it is enough to write his pseudonym on a sticky label and stick it with no risk in the street, on a road sign or on a means of transport.
VANDALISM: An act of vandalism is an action meant to damage, or destroy other’s or public properties for fun, carelessness or rebellion. Graffitis are often considered as an act of vandalism, polluting the environment gratuitously: a free degradation. Of course one’s aesthetic sense is different, reason for which it is difficult to say univocally whether the graffiti is to be considered an act of vandalism or an artistic expression.
ART: As a general defiition, art is an activity involving a production, the result of a research and of aesthetic sense. This is clearly a wide definition which does not allow to state what is art and what is not. The beauty of many graffitis and the interesting techniques employed are excellent reasons to talk about art, so much that some graffitis have even crossed the doors of some museums.
CREW: Crews are groups of graffiti artists who join to stay and act together. They usually have names to distinguish from other city crew, for example A31 (which is the name of the French highway where the crew is active), or ALF-MOS, MST, 5BIOSE etcetera.
TECHNIQUES: Often the graffiti artits use and master in an excellent way the techniques of the most classical art, such as perspective and trompe l’oeil, or shaded colors. Some also manage, thanks to a deep knowledge of color games, to reproduce realistic characters.
Their works may be grouped in two big categories that demand different techniques and skills: the “Vandal”, made in difficult or dangerous conditions, which includes also the Flops, the Chromes and the Blocs, with quite simple letters which have to be traced quickly; and the “WildStyle “, made in safer places, grouping the most complicated and colored writings, often accompanied by backgrounds or drawings which require a more accurate preparation. For this last style, it is often necessary to make a sketch on the paper, to find the right balance of shapes and colors. Colors are not chosen by chance, but they have to be coherent with the effect they are meant to produce.
FRENCH LAW: Deterioration and degradation of commun properties beacuse of engravings, graffitis or tags are punished by the penal code with a fine of 3750 euros and a penalty of socially uselful works.
BELGIAN LAW: It is forbidden to produce any kind of tag or graffiti on any public property. The fine may be up to 200 euros, which become 250 in case of recidivism.
# posted by Luciano Mollica @ 2:43 AM 
