About Graffiti Lettering
From subways and trains to museums and academic books, graffiti is everywhere. Though it has existed since ancient times, modern graffiti gained popularity in the mid-'70s as a relevant, though in many cases illegal, way to convey political messages and gain notoriety. Today, graffiti lettering is a recognized form of art and a popular style of typefaces in graphic design.
Function
Graffiti is all about self-expression. It's a way for people to get their ideas---and art---into the world. Graffiti is part of a subculture where people gain notoriety through "tagging," writing their signature in as many public places as possible. Some graffiti artists (or "vandals," as they are breaking the law), known as "writers," simply want to be known and will scale the highest billboard to spray-paint their name. Others use graffiti to explore political, socioeconomic, and racial issues. Gangs also use graffiti to mark their territory.
History
The word graffiti derives from the Italian word "grafitto," meaning "to scribble." The practice of drawing symbols on public spaces dates to ancient Greece and Rome, where people wrote on cave walls. Modern graffiti can be traced back to the late 1960s in Philadelphia and New York. The subculture of graffiti, hip-hop music, and break dancing reached popularity from 1975 to 1977. Graffiti writing then spread from an underground subculture to a more mainstream art form.
Significance
Graffiti lettering evolved from cave drawings to being showcased in museums. In the late '60s and early '70s, graffiti was a popular tool for political change. Writers were often political activists and their work was embedded with social, class, and racial issues. Many writers grew up underprivileged. Gangs also used graffiti to mark their territory, or "turf." Eventually, art historians took note of graffiti and considered it a form of public art and took it from being sprayed on subway cars to being showcased in art museums.
Identification
Even though graffiti can be loosely identified as writing on public property, there are a few characteristics common in graffiti lettering. Many graffiti artists write using bubble or block letters in all caps. Letters are usually exaggerated---serifs are drawn out, hearts or stars are used for dots, and words become smashed together. Writers "tag" their graffiti with their own stylized signature. All artists develop their own style of writing that sets them apart from others.
Types
The most common types of graffiti are tagging, throw-up style, and wild style. A tag is a signature. It's a highly readable version of your name in Roman-style letters sprayed in a public place. Most writers have their own distinct nickname and style of writing their signature. Throw-up style incorporates outlines of letters into the design. The block and bubble letters you doodled on your junior high school notebook are similar to throw-up style letters. Most letters touch one another, are written in upper-case and are somewhat readable. Wild style uses decorated and difficult-to-read text. It looks abstract, like a haphazard pile of letters.
