Graffiti: everything about this art

Graffiti (or Graffiti) has been growing more and more as an artistic expression, and before we have an opinion about it, positive or negative, we must recognize its characteristics.
graffiti

What is graffiti?

Simply and directly, graffiti is an artistic intervention in public spaces. However, its meaning can be much greater than that. Based on images and – as a rule – with many colors, it is a form of cultural and social manifestation.
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Although it is prohibited in many countries, graffiti is one of the most common ways for society to protest against numerous issues. Large buildings and public walls in Brazil and around the world are now panels on which people have begun to have a voice on the most varied subjects.

There is no official rule or definition about graffiti, but it is very easy to recognize. With the improvement of art, today it is used not only on the street, but also indoors. Many events feature graffiti as part of their visual language, bringing the spirit of the street and a more laid-back atmosphere to the venues.

Difference between graffiti and tagging

But after all, are graffiti and tagging the same thing? This controversy has been increasingly debated, due to the large-scale interventions promoted by the government.

There are clear differences between graffiti and tagging. The first is directly linked to authorization. Graffiti, in its essence, is a public intervention, but done with authorization. Beco do Batman, one of the main graffiti strongholds, located in the Vila Madalena neighborhood in São Paulo, has become one of the most important open-air graffiti galleries in the world with authorization from the local residents.

In addition, graffiti is almost always done only with words, and the content is closely linked to people or groups. Graffiti, as we said, focuses on social criticism through drawings and lots and lots of colors.

The techniques used in both are also quite different, since graffiti is done only with spray paint, and graffiti has many other means that go far beyond just holding a can in your hand.
History of graffiti

There is some controversy about the origins of graffiti. Although it is generally agreed that it was practiced in Ancient Rome, and even in prehistoric times, it is difficult to know when it first appeared in more recent times. Many attribute it to young North Americans in the late 1950s. However, some historians claim that this type of manifestation was already common in Paris at that time, with the French being the precursors.

In prehistoric times, it was common for people who painted in caves to use the blood or urine of animals as a base for their paintings, as well as other substances extracted from plants and vegetables. They painted inscriptions about hunts, battles and even everyday situations on the walls of the streets.

For those who like series, Rome, produced by HBO, was built with a setting identical to what the city was like at the time. It is easy to identify artistic expressions on the walls of the streets that we can classify as the graffiti of that time. Many business scholars claim that these were the first personal marketing actions, as they aimed to highlight the deeds of some gladiators or hunters.

Graffiti in Brazil

In Brazil, graffiti arrived approximately in the mid-1970s, in the form of a stencil, brought by the artist Alex Vallauri – an Ethiopian living in Brazil.

Over time, graffiti grew and began to be recognized as a legitimate expression. Although many still do not like it, either due to lack of knowledge or prejudice, Brazil is a must-see for anyone who wants to study this aspect of contemporary art. The search for events with a street theme also led to the growth and professionalization of the medium, and the budget for interventions has only increased.

The mocking and at the same time creative style of Brazilians created a unique language for graffiti, which is copied in every corner of the world. The difference between what is practiced here and the drawings of New York in the 1970s is so obvious that it doesn't even seem like the same thing.

Main graffiti artists

Brazil is the home country of some of the world's leading graffiti artists. Two of them stand out and are in demand for work all over the world: Eduardo Kobra and the duo OSGÊMEOS. It is not known for sure why or when this prominence arose, but some of the largest and most important graffiti works in the world are theirs.

Kobra is from São Paulo, 45 years old, and is the owner of the largest graffiti mural in the world. In 2016, he painted the work “Etnias” for the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, covering 2,500 square meters. Not content with that, in 2017 he broke his own record with a 5,742-meter mural that pays homage to chocolate on the Castelo Branco Highway in São Paulo. However, his most famous work was painted in 2012 and erased four years later. “O Beijo” was painted in New York and was a reinterpretation of one of the most iconic photos from the end of World War II, taken by photographer Alfred Eisenstaed.

OSGÊMEOS is the name of the duo also from São Paulo, formed by brothers Gustavo and Otávio Pandolfo. Born in Cambuci, they spent much of the 1980s involved in the Hip Hop movement, and gained prominence on the local and then global scene.

If today they claim that their work goes beyond graffiti, it is important to remember that they have murals in Cuba, Chile, the United States, Italy, Spain, England, Germany, Lithuania and Japan

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