Is grafitti art or crime?

It was in the late 1960s when "Julio 204" began writing his "tag" all around the city of New York. Soon following Julio came a Greek youth from Manhattan named Demitrius who tagged his own "Taki183" all over the city as well. Taki also focused on writing on the subway in New York. Even though what Julio 204 and Taki 183 did in New York eventually developed into what was called by some "New York Style" graffiti, these New York writers only popularized it. (Farell and Webb par., 3)

A tag is usually decorated with a variety of stylish marks. Although they may have style, they still lack an aspect

There are a lot of ways to make revolution, to attack authority. Arts might not be the most effective in terms of their effects on hierarchies: no tag, no matter how good, is really going to stop the presidents grip on political and economic power (Austin 13-14). Graffiti is real; graffiti is enjoyable to make and to see; graffiti is persistent and it changes the world. Graffiti is in fact, an art.

Graffiti is joined to hip-hop at the hip and arose with it in New York and Philadelphia. As you saw references to graffiti are made very often in hip-hop songs. Graffiti represents many of the same impulses and techniques visually that hip hop represents in sound. The idea of using pre-recorded tracks and rapping over them (a technique that originates in Jamaica) is a cheap and relatively simple way to make music: analogous to spray paint. And the rapper repeating his name and bragging on his abilities and threatening his enemies in crews: all of that is analogous to the tag. Graffiti and hip-hop both grew out of regional or even neighborhood styles, but as hip-hop was disseminated in tapes and vinyl, graffiti has been disseminated through painting trains. (Tucker par. 15)

New York is beyond having an argument about whether graffiti is art. That was a reasonable argument twenty years ago or more, when people, including writers themselves, were trying to make a case. But now graffiti is art history as well as an everyday thing. Obviously art of various kinds has been illegal, and this is an example. (Sartwell par. 30)

As with anything that changes overtime, graffiti has developed over the years in style, skill and creativity and is always changi

Some topics in this essay:
York Philadelphia, Farell Webb, , Sounds Silence, African American, York City, Julio Greek, York Julio, York Style, Simon Garfunkel's, history graffiti, sartwell par, graffiti art, tag graffiti, tucker par, julio 204, graffiti hip-hop, songs graffiti, art history, late 1960s,