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...

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

    1. forestbeast reblogged this from teded
    2. wingsofanillyrian added this GIF to a post
    3. drunkenmoogle added this GIF to a post
    4. simba-slippers reblogged this from teded
    5. laurels-rl reblogged this from intj-all-the-way
    6. oh-sarahjane reblogged this from teded
    7. talvez-um-diario-blog reblogged this from teded
    8. trashyheroin reblogged this from teded
    9. oshinytomato reblogged this from teded
    10. eyesofsinatrablue reblogged this from teded
    11. thecharlyrivera reblogged this from teded
    12. artisticcookie reblogged this from teded
    13. jeanietsumatau reblogged this from teded and added:
      My Dear 1D class,Our 2nd Bi-weekly Post Topic: Public ArtPlease answer to following questions in your 50+ word post.What...
    14. zealtime reblogged this from teded
    15. teded posted this