The History of Graffiti

When you think of graffiti what comes to mind? Drawings on the side of a building? Scribbles on the side of a train?

When I think of graffiti, I don’t think about Ancient Egypt or Greece, but that is exactly where/when graffti or “graffito” originates from. Graffiti means writing or drawings that are scribbled, scratched, or sprayed illicitly on a wall or other surface in a public place.

Dating back centuries, people would scratch figure drawings or scripts on walls to tell a story or leave a message.

(Poetry graffito from the stairwell of the House of Maius Castricius, Pompeii. (Credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Read more at http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1113411831/why-ancient-roman-graffiti-is-so-important-to-archaeologists-010516/#hwlMXZwiiFOsYGth.99)

During the Enlightenment and Renaissance eras, the interest in graffiti declined as sculptures and the use of canvases became popular.  

Unfortunately, it’s not until World War I and World War II that graffiti resurged and took a new form.

(1918? “Never again”)

Rather than being scratched onto the wall the use of aerosol paint, also referred to as spray paint, became popular. Soldiers would spray paint their planes with messages or symbols.  

This form of graffiti is still popular today as popular artists such as BANKSY integrate spray paint with stencil techniques.

Banksy – Follow Your Dreams – Cancelled

While the history of graffiti wasn’t always a pretty one, we embrace its past and welcome the future. As you see, graffiti was always meant to tell a story/message. Each piece of work tells a different story and it’s up to us to leave a positive message behind.

We’ve incorporated graffiti into our new Color + Build kits to highlight words of positivity because that’s the message and mark we want to leave.

Take a stroll this weekend and show us some of the cool graffiti you see by tagging us @PaperPunk. And if you’re feeling up to the challenge, #MakeSomething.

 

Art and Social Activism

Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, Reddit, etc., are our communication channels that bring out positive and negative commentary and experiences. They are a way for people to connect to each other and with the world around us, and also serve as a medium to express our thoughts.

Two blogs ago, we discussed how art can be used as (and is for some)  a form of therapy for those who are feeling stressed or for the many people who want to discover more about themselves. We wanted to dive in a little further and not only talk about how art is used as a way to express oneself, but how art can be used as a tool for social activism. Craftivism, if you will.

Coined by poet Allen Ginsberg, the “Flower Power” movement became a popular form of nonviolent protesting in the late 60s and early 70s. This was a movement where demonstrators would insert a flower into a soldier’s gun as an act of peaceful protest against the Vietnamese war. The gesture would later be embraced by hippies and become the embodiment and staple of their movement.

What do you think of when you see the below image?

The gym? Most people associate the “We Can Do It” picture to the women’s rights movement even though it first surfaced in the 40s to promote female war production workers. However, the photo is best known for feminism as it became popular in the 80s to promote the movement and other political issues surrounding this period.

Art is a constant reminder of events and allows us to discuss social and political issues, even when we sometimes don’t know what to say. Take for example the work of James deCaires Taylor that features sculptures submerged 14 feet underwater off the coast of the Canary Islands. They depict the “Raft of Lampedusa” which references the current immigration crisis:  

Paper Punk is our expression of art and craft that we use to take aim at the excessive use of technology and our need to be connected.

How do you use art to express yourself?

January 24, 2017 by Grace Hawthorne