Graffiti Unit

Graffiti Unit

Grade 7 Art:

W. Jackson

Graffiti Unit:

Graffiti is a form of ART that is usually considered to be an offensive and undesirable form of vandalism – because it is done without approval usually late at night. It ranges from beautiful and unique art – drawings and pictures to ugly scribbling. It is often tied in to gangs, protest groups and hip hop or pop music. Graffiti is a form of CRAP – Canadian RAP-Get it LOL.

Graffiti can be done many ways. It can be scratched, scribbled, sprayed – this is the most common method, painted by brush – usually applies to requisitioned pieces and done using stencils. Graffiti is often associated with protest groups and gangs. Graffiti can be found everywhere in the world – It can even be found at the top of the world – yes it is on Mt. Everest - near the final climb to the summit there is a wall of rocks with writing and pictures on it –it serves as a memorial to the 100s of men and women who have died trying to reach the top. Graffiti can be found on pretty much everything including student desks and work tables LOL. Some popular places for graffiti are; BOXCARS, BENCHES, BRIDGES, SIGNS, GARBAGE CONTAINERS, WALLS, SUBWAY CARS, BUS SHELTERS, TELEPHONE BOOTHS TELEPHONE /LIGHT POLES, MAIL BOXES

Graffiti has been around since the days of the caveman – UG is Ugly – LOL – in Rome the gladiators used to scratch graffiti on the stone walls of their training academy cells. You can find graffiti scribbled and scratched by Viking warriors on Roman monuments and on the walls ofIrish castles and monasteries. Since 500 AD visitors to the citadel of Sigirya in Sri Lanka have carved message or names on the citadels walls and columns. In the 50s spray paint was invented and graffiti became common place to the extent that it like a plague is everywhere and covers everything including churches, government buildings and police stations. In some countries graffiti artists can lose their hands if caught or their life if caught desecrating a mosque or temple. Unsolicited and unapproved graffiti costs Billions to remove. The UK alone spends 1.5 B to remove unsightly graffiti. One city in the US LA spends over 170 M. *

There are many types of Graffiti. In the UK alone there are 27 different types. The most popular are tags, throw ups, WildStyle , sticker and poster, and blockbuster. Tags are a quick scribbling usually done using spray paint of a person’s name initials or the name of a group or gang , basic symbols. They are usually done in 1 or 2 colours. Wild Style is more elaborate and features Letters that merge done using many different shapes and colours. The message can be very hard to read or make out. Throw ups are done very quickly and usually don’t have a lot of colours or shapes – are usually just a fusion of letters or symbols i.e. ~)&*@!&?^%#*^$^+=% . Sticker or Poster graffiti involves covering a wall with pre-made stickers and posters. Sometimes, it comes with a piece – which is akin to an elaborate representation of the artist’s name. Blockbuster or roller graffiti is the most interesting as it usually very detailed , elaborate using lots of shapes and colours and covers a very large area – one blockbuster in LA – is the world’s largest graffiti example – it is on the concrete retention walls of the LA river.

The world’s greatest graffiti artist is BANKSY who lives in the UK. He keeps his identity secret as he has put graffiti onsome very expensive and famous buildings and if caught he will spend the rest of his days in prison.

There is no way to stop graffiti but you can control it by using, guard dogs, security guards, sodium lights, imposing heavy fines and penalties, setting up approved sites, surrounding building with barbed wire fencing, using a special coating that covers the building so when there is graffiti it can be easily removed with a power sprayer. The problem with this is the cost. It is very expensive. The paint is very costly and has to be applied every time the power sprayer is used. The only really effective way would be to ban the sale of aerosol /spray paints. This is not likely to happen given their popularity – they are used for refinishing a host metal objects including cars.*

Assignment Details

You are to draw 3 pictureseach showing a different form or type of graffiti. Each picture will show the graffiti on a different surface so that no 2 pictures use the same surface.In short, you will draw 3 pictures on 3 different surfaces. One of your pictures will use Blockbuster style graffiti. For example, if you choose to use a simple tag then it must be on a wall behind a building facing a laneway with garbage bins …

RUBRIC / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
Effort / Very little effort made work is messy, rushed –page is almost empty -not colored / Most of the page is used – More than 50 percent is coloured / Entire page is used Most images are highlighted or coloured / Entire page is used – all of the images are coloured or highlighted
Creativity / None of the images contain analogous colors / There is at least one image /item related to graffiti Most of the Images are tied into the unit / All of the images fit a central theme. There are at least 1 form of graffiti shown / Student has come up with a unique idea or has expanded on an idea provided in class
Quality / Colours or paints outside the lines, lots of smudges or rips – lettering is plain not coloured
Few if any clear lines only 1 object drawn / Some colouring outside the lines. There are very few smudges and no rips
Some lines are clear At least 2 different objects drawn / Most of the colouring, painting ..is neat and inside the lines. There are no smudges or rips – most lines are clear 3 different objects on the page / All of the colouring or painting is inside the lines. There are no smudges rips – all lines are clear–more than 3 different objects drawn
Overall Appearance / Neither the lettering or images are visually appealing or eye catching / There is at least one thing that is appealing and catches the eye / There are several things on the page that are visually appealing and eye catching / Everything on the page is pleasant, visually appealing and eye catching