Graffiti Artists

Art isn't static, so neither is where it is displayed. Though Banksy and Keith Haring may be the names that first come to mind when imagining graffiti, the movement was and is still rooted in being of and for the public and their spaces. Emerging in the late 1960s, Graffiti was born out of the blank concrete walls of Philadelphia and New York. Those who tagged with their mobile and easily obtained medium of 'the spray can' followed in the footsteps of pioneers, Cornbread and Taki 183 to densely fill the walls of cities and grab their own small share of glory. But when such art aggressively demands your attention, graffiti becomes a political target. One that by the mid-70s needed 'cleaning up'. This would be detrimental to the emerging artists like Daze and Seen who used the subway carts on metro lines in New York to transport their work across the city and be seen by as many people as possible. Such movement means that graffiti was (and is) impossible to contain and is now cemented in the spirit of the big city. This isn't confined to North America with the likes of Dondi White being the first graffiti artist to show in Europe, across the Atlantic street art tours can be found in Berlin, London, Paris, Dublin & Brussels. By the 80s different graffiti styles started to emerge. The spikey, almost Baroque-like 'wild style' developed by Tracy 163, became synonymous with graffiti as a movement. This style still influences street artists today along with echoes of White's merging of writing and pop-culture imagery.  As you delve into our selection of works, let Tracy 163's words ring in your ears, that graffiti is not just a tag or a style to be developed, it is the “way we lived." Keep an eye out on your next commute…

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