•Drawings
and paintings on cave walls from the Paleolithic period (17, 300 years old)
•Discovered
in 1940 by four teenagers•Depicting scenes of everyday life, hunting etc.
•scratched with animal bones, natural pigments
The cave complex was opened to the public in 1948.[5] By 1955, the carbon dioxide produced by 1,200 visitors per day had visibly damaged the paintings. The cave was closed to the public in 1963 in order to preserve the art. After the cave was closed, the paintings were restored to their original state, and were monitored on a daily basis
Lascaux II, a replica of two of the cave halls — the Great Hall of the Bulls and the Painted Gallery —was opened in 1983, 200 meters from the original.[4] Reproductions of other Lascaux artwork can be seen at the Centre of Prehistoric Art at Le Thot, France.
Ancient Roman Graffiti
•From Pompeii (Italy)– graffiti on wall
•Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried during a long catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning two days in the year AD 79.
Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried during a long catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning two days in the year AD 79. The eruption buried Pompeii under 4 to 6 meters or 10 feet of ash and pumice, and it was lost for nearly 1700 years before its accidental rediscovery in 1749. Since then, its excavation has provided an extraordinarily detailed insight into the life of a city at the height of the Roman Empire
Similar vulgarities to contemporary sexual graffitti
1970's New York
•Spay can graffitti
•Evolves alongside hip hop culture
•Making the language of the streets visible
•Announcing a presence, and saying ‘we will not be ignored’1970’s NY, disco, mainstream culture
Nile Rogers (chic), Studio 54
"Le Freak" is Atlantic Records’ only triple platinum selling single
From on Becoming a Graffiti photgrapher, John Naar
-"you will see that the vast majority of these writers came from the most run-down and neglected sections of New York.. Predominantly Hispanic and African American. The graffiti they sprayed on the fronts of their homes and on the trains.. were a cry for change from tge ghetto to clean up the filthy streets, to improve the quality of the schools, and to reduce the glaring inequality between rich and poor." (p20)
Originally a comic character created by Basquiat
•The City As School 1977-8 Yearbook includes a photo of the SAMO graffiti: SAMO@ AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO PLASTIC FOOD STANDS…
•“It started…as a private joke and then grew” Diaz and Basquiat would later tell the Village Voice in an interview. They took the joke out of the school, giving out small stickers with SAMO aphorisms or the SAMO pamphlet on paper on the subway, and writing down the phrases with marker pens as graffiti, often with an ironic copyright symbol attached. In 1977, while they were still students, Basquiat and Diaz started to put up the first SAMO© Graffiti in Manhattan.
Warhol and Basquitat
General Electtic with waiter, 1984
One of Americas largest corporations
Calloborated towards the end of his life, Basquiat died of a heroin overdoes 18 months after Warhol
In 1981 he sketched his first chalk drawings on black paper and painted plastic, metal and found objects
In 1984, Haring visitied Australia and painted wall murals in Melbourne
Other commisions- Rio, Paris, Berlin
123 Klan (France)
Founded as a graffiti crew in 1989 by Scien and Klor, have gradually turned their hands to illustration and design while still maintaining their graffiti practice and style. In doing so they have designed and produced logos and illustrations, shoes and fashion for the likes of Nike, Adidas, Lamborghini, Coca Cola, Stussy, Sony, Nasdag and more.
Free Art Friday
•Free Art Friday is an art movement in which artists place free art out in public for people to enjoy and take home.
Here is how it works:
Create a piece of art.
•write on an attached tag "free art friday, to take home and enjoy". Adding artist name, email,or web address is optional.
•Hide somewhere in public indoors or out.
•Some make a game out of it and leave clues on Twitter
While artists have been leaving art out for many years My Dog Sighs can be credited with starting Free Art Friday and started his Flickr group in 2006. He has never wavered in his comittment, and his encouragement of others participating has made him a leader in the movement. Here is his Free Art Friday Facebook Page and his own FAF set on flickr
Banksy, 2005
-"The israeli government is building a wall surrounding the occupied Palestinian territories. It stands three times the height of the Berlin Wall and will eventually run for over 700km- the distance from London to Zurich. The wall is illegal under international law and essentially turns Palestine into the worlds largest open Prison. It also makes it the ultimate activity holiday destination for graffiti writers."
Graffiti in Film
-80 Blocks from tiffany (1979) - A rare glimpse into late 70s New York towards the end of the infamous South Bronx gangs. The documentary shows many sides of the mainly Puerto Rican community of the South Bronx, inlcuidng reformed gang members, current gang members, the police and the community leaders who try to reach out to them.
-Style wars (1983) an early documentary on hip hop culture made in New York City
-"Exit through the Gift Shop (2010) is a documentary produced by the notorious artist Banksy tells the story of Thierry Guetta, a french immigrant in LA, and his obsession with street art. Shepherd Fairet and Invader (artist(, who guetta discovers is his cousin, are also in the film.
Bomb it (2007) Tells the story of contemporary graffiti, tracing its roots in ancient roch painting through Picasso to its place in hip hop culture in 1970's New York City. Directore Jon Reiss
