Street Art/Graffiti

The word "graffiti" derives from the Italian word "graffare" which means to scratch on a surface. When the term graffiti is mentioned, it is often represented by its most common form known as tags. These tags are known to be a branding/message of artists or groups that are often territorial. Through most of the years that street art has been present, there has been a social stigma to the art form and the people who create it. This is possibly due to media's influences based on what they refer to as "vandalism" by people of the same social group.

Street art differs from the word "graffiti" as it is an open invitation to the general public with its pictorial representations/depictions that often reflect on social and political subjects. Street art is a visual art form in the outdoor environment as opposed to the traditional art venues. It had emerged into the world with a bang at the start of the 1980's. Both graffiti and street art are traditionally used with spray cans, a medium that doesn't wash away from weather and remains bold.

Whether these forms of expression can be seen as art or vandalism supposedly all depends on the cultural and sociological backgrounds of the audiences who view them. This usually includes key factors such as race, class, gender and age.



Source:

http://crln.acrl.org/content/75/4/208.full
https://yougov.co.uk/news/2012/04/05/graffiti-vandalism-or-acceptable-street-art/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_art
https://closetogreatness.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/graffiti.jpg