1. Street Art vs. Graffiti
By: Josh, Kyle, Lauren,
Melanie, and Trevor
2. Introduction
• Basic differences between Street Art and
Graffiti
• A brief history of street art and graffiti
• How society views street art
• How the artists view their work
3. What is graffiti?
• Vandalism
• Generally words
– Names of people
– Gangs
• Sometimes offensive
4. What is Street art?
• Art that is made to be a
part of a public place
– Paintings
– Posters
– Statues
• Often used to raise
awareness of social or
political issues
6. History
• Graffiti has really been around forever
• American graffiti started in the 1960’s in
Philadelphia
and New York
City
7. Basic History
• New York City is the real birthplace of graffiti
• Gang art was the beginning but it soon
transformed into something more individual
• Artists began “tagging” subway cars as a way
of gaining notoriety
• Started off with simple names, but soon grew
into big, fancy designs
• The goal was to show your dominance in the
art
8. Basic History (Continued)
• At first, artists just wanted their name out
there
• Soon they began developing masterpieces,
or pieces, to further distinguish themselves
• Led to the development of different styles
9. Top to Bottom
• Artists tagged the subway car from the top to
the bottom with there masterpieces
10. Throw Up
• No not puke
• One of the original styles of tagging
• Characterized by
one color outline
and one color filler
13. Metropolitan Transit Authority
• They did not appreciate the graffiti on their
cars
• The government allotted more money to the
anti graffiti division
• Led to the train yards being better monitored
and harder to sneak into
14. • Cut down on the amount of graffiti and
started cleaning cars off
• By 1986 most lines were running clean cars
• Artists began returning to the streets
• Today most artists paint on the streets but the
few who believe the only true graffiti art is on
subway cars continue their fight against the
MTA
15. Society’s View
• Most people want to see it in today’s world
• Museum of Contemporary Arts (L.A.) held
exhibition
• Drew over 200,000 visitors over a summer
• Largest amount of visitors the museum has ever had
16. • Society has an unwillingness to
find the art in its true form
• Found mainly in urban areas
along with graffiti
• Artists can be paid or anonymous
17. • Can bring communities together
• Rough neighborhood banded
together
• Gang members, children, parents
and others helped paint mural
18. Artists’ Views
• Personal interviews with street and graffiti
artists
• Asked them all the same questions:
– Similarities/differences
– Opinion on controversial aspects
• Whether or not it’s illegal
• Conflicts with society’s views
• Conflicts between artists themselves
19. Artists’ Views
• Agreed on the technical side of street art and
graffiti
– Both are forms of public art
– Graffiti has more rules
– Graffiti is created on the spot, while street art
begins in a studio
– Both have legal and illegal components
20. Artists’ Views
• Differences found in the artist’s motivation
– Graffiti
• Exclusive and codified
• Created for other graffiti artists in an attempt to make
themselves well known
• Destructive
– Street art
• Inclusive
• Created for a larger audience
• Aims to send a message without letting people know who
the artist is
21. Artists’ Views
• Age affects an artist’s motivation
– Graffiti is more popular for young people
• Rebellion
• Respect from peers
– Many artists start with graffiti and become street
artists later in life as they mature
22. Artists’ Views
• Others said there was no difference at all
– Differences are just forced upon them by society
– Everything has become too commercialized
– Artists should be free to do what they want and it
is up to society to accept that
23. Conclusion
• The basic differences that separate graffiti and
street art
• A overview of the history of this art form
• How society views street art and the
difference they see between graffiti and street
art
• How artists see their work
