Street art or graffiti

1. Street Art or Grafitti
Jo Lowes

2. A mural of graffiti.
By MataOne in Renaix. Photo by
Startape Photographe.

3. Ghetto product placement
Satyr, Goser, 4Gets and Mr. Ef in East
Bay. Photo by FunkandJazz.

4. Pop-contemporary egoism
Adek and MQ in San Francisco. Photo by
FunkandJazz

5. Slap-stick
vandalism
By Lush in
Australia.
Photo by
Merciful
Fate.

6. Caricature of
a “graffiti
artist”
painted
illegally.
By Graphis in
Brazil.

7. Noncommissioned neo-cubist mural
BemsGF in France. Photo by
GhettoFarceur.

8. Graffiti disguised as street art.
Ed Mun in Brazil.

9. Art school vandalism
Snek, Graphis and Terone. Photo
by Graphis.

10. You Decide Street Art or Graffiti
Cranio in Brazil.

11. Feustay, Sway and Kalouf in Niort.
Photo by Startape Photographe

12. Mr. Wany and Coze. Photo by Heavy
Artillery.

13. A tag by Amour in Paris. Photo by
Morac19.

14. The Difference….
• Graffiti writing and street art are often confused with one another. Both
are subversive art movements where work is displayed in public rather
than a gallery setting. While graffiti artists place their work in public,
generally speaking they are not interested in the public understanding
their work; they want to speak to other graffiti artists. Street artists want
everyone to view and be engaged by their work. They are trying to make a
statement. Graffiti writing and street art are closely related contemporary
art movements, however, they differ in terms of technique, function and
intent.
• Graffiti is as old as human civilization. “Graffiti (sgraffiti), meaning
drawings or scribblings on a flat surface and deriving from the Italian
sgraffio (‘scratch’), with a nod to the Greek graphein (‘to write’), originally
referred to those marks found on ancient Roman architecture” (Manco 9).
“Tagging” is a modern form of scratching one’s name in the wall. It is
usually done with spray paint or markers. The first ‘tags’ appeared in New
York City in the late 1960s (Manco 9).

15. • The tag is the core of graffiti writing. A graffiti writer might be insulted to be called
a “graffiti artist” or “street artist.” Within this subculture there exists one main
delineation between graffiti writers and street artists, and that delineation is
marked by the intention of the artist. Street art is a subset of graffiti writing.
Although there is a distinct difference between the two, they are closely related
and there is a great deal of crossover between the genres. Because graffiti writing
has a bad public reputation as a destructive and vandalistic behavior, many artists
prefer to be called “street artists.” Conversely, many graffiti writers, specifically
“taggers” are out to destroy and vandalize public property. They find the term
“art” offensive and are happy to be known as “saboteurs” (Lewisohn 18).
• Because they are conceptual artists, street artists want the general public to not
just see their work, but to interact, understand what they are seeing and have an
emotional response. Although a street artist may have a tag name, most don’t use
just a tag to get their message across (Lewisohn 21). Their artwork may contain
their tag name, but it is not usually the focus of the artwork. If a tag is used, it is
more like a signature at the bottom of a painting or a form of branding. Street
artists generally focus on iconic visual symbols, rather than tags. “Street Artists
have taken the concept from Dada and Pop art that iconic images of popular
culture or even unremarkable objects can be elevated into symbols of expression”
(Manco 150). Because of this use of symbolic imagery, it is fairly easy to visually
differentiate street art from a tag.
• In addition to symbolic language, the materials and techniques that are commonly
associated with street artists also help them stand apart from graffiti writers. Such
materials include: stickers, stencils, wheat-paste posters, and the hijacking of
outdoor advertising media. Part of the visual surprise or captivation that one
receives from street art is due to its unexpected placement in public, where it is
juxtaposed against functional signage or advertising.