Spray-painted subway cars, tagged bridges, mural-covered walls – graffiti pops up boldly throughout our cities. It can make statements about identity, art, empowerment, and politics while simultaneously being associated with destruction. And, it turns out: it’s nothing new. Graffiti, or the act of writing or scribbling on public property, has been around for thousands of years. And across that span of time, it’s raised the same questions we debate now—is it art? Is it vandalism?
Although graffiti is linked to destruction, it’s also a medium of unrestricted artistic expression. Today, the debate about the boundary between defacing and beautifying continues. Meanwhile, graffiti artists challenge common consensus about the value of art and the degree to which any space can be owned. Whether spraying, scrawling or scratching, graffiti brings these questions of ownership, art and acceptability to the surface.
From the TED-Ed Lesson A brief history of graffiti - Kelly Wall
Animation by Tomás Pichardo-Espaillat