Cave paintings, hieroglyphics, Renaissance frescoes. Whatever the millennium, it seems humans have always loved drawing on walls. There is something liberating about turning a blank, structural necessity into a visually stunning work of art. The modern day canvas of choice has been any accessible side of a building or subway train, but graffiti artists are going uptown and taking their show indoors.
photo via W Magazine
Graffiti art has come into its own with a newly discovered popularity. Many artists are “tagging” everything from sculpture and skateboards to the most elegant of indoor spaces. Here are few samples of graffiti that, for us, answers the question, is it graffiti or is it art? Undoubtedly, it is both.
Keith Haring was best known for his graffiti-inspired drawings, which were first made in subway stations. Influenced by the colorful graffiti art of the N.Y. city streets, Haring began filling in empty advertising panels on the subway station walls with quickly drawn pictures.
Jean-Michel Basquiat was best known for his primitive style and his collaboration with pop artist Andy Warhol. He first attracted attention for his graffiti in N.Y. City in the late 70’s, under the name “SAMO”. He Tagged subway trains and Manhattan buildings with cryptic aphorisms.
S.Cortes Basquiat Inspired Abstract Head Print II, Available at On Madison
Graffiti artist Retna creates work that blends photography with painted graffiti styling, taking influences from ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics as well as Arabic, Hebrew and Asian calligraphy.
Angel Ortiz goes by the street name LAII. During the early 1980’s he collaborated with Keith Haring on a number of works including canvases, sculpture and street arts. Haring was greatly influenced by
LAII’s distinctive style.
LAII pictured with Keith Haring.
La Roc, LAII (Angel Ortiz), Available at On Madison
Chillin’ LAII (Angel Ortiz), Available at On Madison
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