The Transformation of Graffiti Vandalism To Modern Art

Graffiti actually has extremely deep historical roots. The earliest ones are preserved cave paintings that date back to 30,000 B.C. This is even earlier than the earliest human historical records. It attests to mans penchant for leaving his, or her, mark on walls that may outlive the graffiti artist.

In modern times, graffiti has earned a bad name. It has become synonymous with vandalism in certain areas. These are outbursts of misguided youth that rails against the establishment. Because they feel they are neither heard nor seen, they endeavor to leave their mark as graffiti on public walls and even private ones. However, advances in paint technology have helped elevate graffiti once more into an art form.

The Early Spray Paint and The Dark Age" of Graffiti

The modern graffiti boom started with an innocuous invention by Ed Seymour. His first use of spray paint was to demonstrate the radiator aluminum paint coating he was trying to market. At his wifes suggestion, he mixed aerosol and paint in a can equipped with a spray head. The finish produced by this method was great enough to spark widespread interest.

Because it is rather easy to paint graffiti using spray paint, many public and private properties have been defaced by protesters and vandals. These vandals found that spray paint was very easy to conceal. It also dried quickly and allowed them to make a fast getaway when authorities began to investigate or suspect something. Protesters, who felt they were not heard, also resorted to vandalism to attract attention. This earned graffiti a bad name over time.

The Revolution Brought by Increased Color Variety and Quality

In America, spray paint companies like Rust-Oleum and Krylon distanced themselves from graffiti artists. They held back from developing higher quality paints and valves in an effort to discourage such artists, whom they viewed as outlaws.

Fortunately, Europeans welcomed such artistic expressions. Companies like Molotow and Ironlak, available through Bombingscience, developed increasingly wider ranges of color intended for use in graffiti art. They also produced valves that sprayed color in new and interesting ways. These advances in the number of hues available through the spray paint medium helped bring about a revolution that aided in modern recognition of graffiti as art, albeit guerilla art or street art.

Banksy, From Underground To Art Gallery

Many famous artists in the world started out with graffiti art. An excellent example of this is an artist who goes by the name Banksy. He started out when he was 14 and tried to emulate some of the great graffiti art of his time. The complexity of such work made it difficult to finish using just spray paint. He was in danger of being caught this way. He thus came up with stencils. These were cut before he went to the wall he intended to paint and helped facilitate the completion of his planned graffiti.

The people of London took to Banksys comical art and turned it into a cult phenomenon. By 2000, he began exhibiting his art publicly, in a warehouse at first then later in high profile places like London's Cargo gallery and auction houses like Christies. His painting Picnic" was purchased by Angelina Jolie for $226,000 in 2006. Another painting, Keep It Spotless", was sold for $1.8 million in 2008.

In Summary

Graffiti, in these modern times, sprung from the youths propensity to express their rebellion through visual means as you will find out at Stencil revolution. Many have viewed it with derision, and although this may still be true today of graffiti in the form of vadalism, paint technology has brought to light another side of it. The development of spray paint, the increasing number of hues available, and the emergence of increasingly higher quality paint, has helped graffiti become accepted as art. It is now not uncommon to see graffiti art by famous guerilla artists finding their way into modern art collections.