Broadly speaking, I’ve noticed 2 “styles” of tag graffiti: Serif-y line signature-like tags and big bubble writing. This is broadly speaking, there are of course subtleties, but as an outsider, graffiti can look very similar and does feel like they mostly fall into these 2 groups, whether it’s in North America, Europe, etc. You don’t usually hear “that is European style tagging”, I just see bubbly text no matter the location, and they not noticeable different to an outsider the way, say, American food looks different than Chinese food.
Was tagging a thing everywhere and they happened to look similar? Did styles in different places converge? Was there a cult of bubble taggers and the leader told them to spread the gospel around the world? Am I wrong with a biased dataset (noting of course there can be lesser seen visual styles)? ELI5.
Flairing as “other” as this is sort of a sociology topic, probably.
In: 362
“Modern” American graffiti originated on the East Coast in the late 60’s with the availability of the aerosol spray can. Initially, the first writers just used simple “tags” which are essentially signatures. These are generally quick and simple so the writer can make their mark undetected. More sophisticated writing styles (what you might call “bubble”) became commonplace in New York and Philadelphia by the early to mid 70’s. Cornbread, Taki 183, Zephyr, and Dondi are just a few of the names synonymous with the origins of this movement. While Hollywood film undoubtedly played a role in spreading the visibility of graffiti, the modern art form as we know it definitely did not originate in SoCal during the 80s-90s as someone else suggested.
Writing styles used to be regionally distinctive, with cities like Philly, New York, and the L.A. each having their own unique stylistic tendencies… Philly being more script-based, New York emphasizing the contrast of curvilinear and straight serif fonts, and LA taking inspiration from the boxy vertical forms of Old English calligraphy common in biblical texts. Google them and you’ll see what I mean. The rise of Hip Hop and electronic music in the mid to late 80’s helped greatly to insert graffiti into pop culture. The popularity of Pop Art as a legitimate genre was also an important factor in the world beginning to see value in “outsider” artists. Mass media at large helped to spread graffiti worldwide so that Paris, Berlin, and London each developed their own distinctive styles, which were not always limited to letters or names. Civil unrest, political conflict or war, counterculture, musical tastes, and overall societal identity all played a part in regional graffiti styles. Eventually artists from all over the world have had opportunities to contribute their own spins on the art form, with distinctive twists being introduced everywhere from Brazil to Japan to Johannesburg. However style is no longer regionally relevant like it was in the 20th century. The rapidly expanding exchange of information in our world has led to an overall homogenization of styles because anyone can study and replicate anyone else’s style from anywhere in the world. Graffiti has become more commodified and ingrained in society at large, so the distinction between styles has become increasingly difficult to spot.
Source: I’m an art teacher and used to write
Edit: clarity
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