Graffiti is all Around Us

Graffiti is one of the most controversial forms of modern “art.” It’s rampant in large cities such as New York. While at one point in time graffiti seemed like a strong indicator that the neighborhood was going down hill, now many don’t seem to mind it at all.

Though graffiti has historically been known as vandalism, there have been massive movements in the last 10 years to remove the stigma of this urban art form. Websites such as 12ozProphet have spawned from the graffiti movement in celebration and support of the art form.

Due to the overwhelming interest in graffiti, a company called Graffiti Tours has popped up, offering paying customers a walking tour of various neighborhoods in New York City, like as SOHO, that have been both the inspiration and the canvas for graffiti artists like as BANKSY, COST, and REV. And, if you can’t make one of their tours, they offer self-guided tour maps for just $5.

There are also websites devoted to graffiti writing instruction in various graffiti styles because graffiti is like its own language. Graffiti artists use codes when they tag and, like any language, you can decipher the meaning of the message if you pay close attention to the details.

Man’s interest in leaving a memorial of their existence during a specific time and at a specific place date back to 30,000 BC in the form of prehistoric cave paintings. Lovers carve their initials in the trunks of trees and passers-by write their names in wet cement on city streets all in an effort to memorialize a special time and place in hopes that their presence won’t ever be forgotten.

For more about the producer and editor of the piece, visit:
AmyStretten.com
and NativeJournalist.com

About Amy Stretten 4 Articles
I have wanted to be a broadcast journalist since I was in the 4th grade. The year was 1994 and I was 9 years old when I wrote an article about the 6.6 Northridge, California earthquake for a class assignment. I was selected to film a field report for a children’s news show that aired on a local public access channel in Los Angeles, California. I attended a public bi-lingual Spanish immersion elementary school. Though much of my schoolwork was done in Spanish, I wrote and read this news story in English. I felt so powerful holding a microphone, standing in front of a video camera, knowing others wanted to hear my story. My tribe, the Chickahominy tribe of Virginia has many stories to tell and I want to be one of our storytellers. I come from a very unique and multi-cultural background and have lived in a variety of places (Los Angeles, Orange County, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Madrid and Seville, Spain, a little town called South Hadley in Massachusetts, and now New York City), so I feel I can identify with a wide range of people. I have traveled throughout Europe and North America and look forward to traveling to other countries I have yet to explore. I am currently a student at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. I expect to graduate with a Master's degree in Journalism in December 2011. After earning my degree, I hope to work as a correspondent for a cable news network. To read some of my most recent work, check out my blog: www.NativeJournalist.com

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