Graffiti Art, Mural Art and Banksy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Graffiti Art, Mural Art and Banksy - Essay Example Graffiti is said to be street offshoots of murals, and are commonly called urban or street art, or street subversions. Majority of graffiti are only tagging, where only words or messages are inscribed, shouting to the public the artist’s pent-up emotions and discontentment, and are executed on walls of areas where heavy, constant human traffic is present like underground subway stations, earning graffiti another name, underground art. Underground, which refer to its under-the-surface location, and underground, which pertains to the very nature of its being illegal. Its legal counterpart, murals, has historical and artistic value and has existed since time immemorial. There have been discoveries of pre-historic paintings and carvings in caves, and in tombs of ancient royalties commemorating their lives and their reign. In Europe, old churches sport magnificent frescoes which are believed to date as far back as the 15th century. It was only in the 1920s, when murals began to be commissioned for public buildings in Mexico, that murals became public, and have become outlets for socio-economic realism and community concerns. Three leading Mexican muralists namely Diego Rivera, David Alfonso Siquieros and Jose Clemente Orosco, popularly and collectively called â€Å"Los Tres Grandes† or The Three Greats have been credited with greatly influencing the works of other muralists in the Mission District, San Francisco Area, the central hub of Latinos doing graffiti works. Graffiti became the underground vogue.... Graffiti is said to be street offshoots of murals, and are commonly called urban or street art, or street subversions. Majority of graffiti are only tagging, where only words or messages are inscribed, shouting to the public the artist’s pent-up emotions and discontentment, and are executed on walls of areas where heavy, constant human traffic is present like underground subway stations, earning graffiti another name, underground art. Underground, which refer to its under-the-surface location, and underground, which pertains to the very nature of its being illegal. Its legal counterpart, murals, has historical and artistic value and has existed since time immemorial. There have been discoveries of pre-historic paintings and carvings in caves, and in tombs of ancient royalties commemorating their lives and their reign. In Europe, old churches sport magnificent frescoes which are believed to date as far back as the 15th century. It was only in the 1920s, when murals began to be commissioned for public buildings in Mexico, that murals became public, and have become outlets for socio-economic realism and community concerns. Three leading Mexican muralists namely Diego Rivera, David Alfonso Siquieros and Jose Clemente Orosco, popularly and collectively called â€Å"Los Tres Grandes† or The Three Greats have been credited with greatly influencing the works of other muralists in the Mission District, San Francisco Area, the central hub of Latinos doing graffiti works (Drescher). Graffiti became the underground vogue during the hip-hop generations of the 80s and the 90s, although graffiti artists’ tagging deeds have been