Street Art

A long history
Painting and writing on walls is nothing new. In
prehistoric times, people in Africa and Europe painted
pictures of animals and people in caves. Graffiti has
been found at ancient sites in Greece, Italy, Syria and
Iraq. In the Roman town of Pompeii in Italy,
archaeologists found a lot of graffiti written in Latin,
including political and romantic messages, and even
some magic spells!

Modern times
In the 1970s, young people in New York used pens to write their names, or 'tags', on walls around the city. One of
the first 'taggers' was Demetrius, a teenager from a Greek family. Demetrius's tag was TAKI 183. TAKI was his
nickname and 183 was the number of the street where he lived – 183rd Street. At first, he wrote his tag on walls
in his neighbourhood. Then he started writing it in subway stations on the way to school. When the subway train
stopped at a station, he jumped off, wrote his 'tag' on the wall and then jumped back on the train before the doors
closed. Other teenagers saw Demetrius's tag and started writing their own tags on walls, buses and subway trains
all over New York: Barbara 62, Joe 182, ...

Then, some teenagers stopped using pens and started using aerosol paints. Their tags were bigger and more
colourful. Aerosol paint graffiti became very popular in the 1970s and 1980s and appeared on trains, buses and
walls around the world. In the 1990s and 2000s, a lot of graffiti artists started to make pictures too. Some artists
were interested in politics and tried to make people think about social problems and discrimination with their
pictures. Other artists wanted to make cities more beautiful. In South America, street artists started painting in
poor areas. They brought colour and beauty to grey, city walls.

Art or vandalism?
Is graffiti art or vandalism? In many countries, it is a crime to paint on walls, and street artists can have problems
with the police. In other countries, street art is permitted in certain places. For example, in Taiwan, there are
'graffiti zones' where artists are free to paint and write on walls. In São Paulo in Brazil, the city council allows
some graffiti artists to paint on the city's subway trains.
Nowadays, street art is more popular with the public. In some cities, there are street art festivals. In Bristol in the
UK, there is a street art festival in August every year. Artists paint all the buildings in a street. Lots of people come
to watch the artists and take photos. Street art can be seen in galleries too. There have been exhibitions of street
art in galleries in Paris, London and Los Angeles.

Who are the artists?

Some street artists have become famous. Here are three stars of the street art world:
 Os Gêmeos are identical twin brothers from São Paulo. They paint huge, colourful pictures of people on
buildings. In 2007, they painted a castle in Scotland.
 Blek le Rat is from France. He started off painting rats on the walls of Paris. Nowadays, he paints pictures
of homeless people in big cities. He wants city residents to look at his pictures and think about the
homeless.
 Faith47 is from Cape Town in South Africa. She paints big, colourful pictures of people and animals. She
likes painting in different locations and you can find her pictures on pavements, postboxes, buses, cars
and, of course, on walls!

Street art and the global village

Most street artists are young people who paint in their home city or neighbourhood. Many of them use the internet
to communicate and share photos of their pictures with other street artists around the world. Some street artists
have become famous and their pictures can be seen in galleries or on city walls around the world. Although we
don’t know what will happen to street art in the future, we can be sure that it is here to stay!

Robin Newton
Match the vocabulary with the correct definition

1 the global village _________ a. words or pictures drawn on walls or public places

2. graffiti ________ b. the American English name for an underground train system

3 vandalism _________ c. a kind of paint that is sprayed from a can

4 aerosol paint _________ d. the act of deliberately damaging or destroying things, especially

public property

5 a subway _________ e. the modern world, in which countries seem close together

6 a gallery _________ f. a building containing paintings and other works of art

Answer true or false to the following statements. Justify your response by quoting the text.

The origins of street art can be traced back to prehistoric times True False
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Pictures of people and animals have been found on the walls of Pompeii. True False
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In the 1970s, young people in New York used stencils to write their names, True False
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Demetrius wrote his tag in subway stations in New York. True False
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Other teenagers were inspired by Demetrius's tag True False
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Demetrius was the first to start using aerosol paints True False
_______________________________________________________________________
Aerosol paint graffiti only became very popular in the 1970s and 1980s in New York. True False
_______________________________________________________________________
The 1990s and 2000s, saw the emrgance of a grafitti pictures True False
_______________________________________________________________________
Steet art can also be found in art galeries. True False
_______________________________________________________________________
Os Gêmeos want people to think about the homeless. True False
_______________________________________________________________________
Blek le Rat began by painting rats on the walls of Paris. True False
_______________________________________________________________________
Faith47’s art can be found on pavements, postboxes and buses. True False
_______________________________________________________________________
Answer the following questions based on the text.

What social issues did street artist tackle?

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What is the attitude of the authorities? Fill in the table

Location Is street art tolerated?

Taiwan there are 'graffiti zones' where artists are free to paint and write on
walls.

How do you think the internet helps street artists?

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_______________________________________________________________________

What do you think the message is of this street art by

Banksy

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Hell express whole car by Lee (1979)

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Discussion

What do you think about graffiti? Is it really art?

Is there much graffiti in your town or city?
Do you think it makes your town or city look better or not?
Should the police stop graffiti artists?