Alternative spellings

• graffito

Noun

Singular graffiti

Plural uncountable

graffiti (uncountable)

1. (archaeology, countable) Informal inscriptions, figure drawings, etc., as opposed to official inscriptions.
2. (chiefly uncountable) A form of vandalism involving painted text or images in public places.
3. (chiefly uncountable) Any graffiti art produced as a result of that act of vandalism.

Verb

Infinitive to graffiti

Third person singular graffitis

Simple past graffitied

Past participle graffitied

Present participle graffitiing

to graffiti (third-person singular simple present graffitis, present participle graffitiing, simple past and past participle graffitied)

1. To spray graffiti onto.

Graffiti (singular: graffito; the plural is used as a mass noun) is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property. Graffiti is any type of public markings that may appear in the forms of simple written words to elaborate wall paintings. Graffiti has existed since ancient times, with examples dating back to Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire. In modern times, spray paint, normal paint and markers have become the most commonly used materials. In most countries, defacing property with graffiti without the property owner's consent is considered vandalism, which is punishable by law. Sometimes graffiti is employed to communicate social and political messages. To some, it is an art form worthy of display in galleries and exhibitions; to others it is merely vandalism. Graffiti has since evolved into a pop culture existence often related to underground hip hop music and b-boying creating a lifestyle that remains hidden from the general public. Graffiti is used as a gang signal to mark territory or to serve as an indicator or "tag" for gang-related activity. The controversies that surround graffiti continue to create disagreement amongst city officials/ law enforcement and graffitists looking to display their work in public locations. There are many different types and styles of graffiti and it is a rapidly developing artform whose value is highly contested, being reviled by many authorities while also subject to protection, sometimes within the same jurisdiction.

Types of Street Art Graffiti • Stencils • Sticker art Wheatpasting • Poster Art

List of Street Artists List of Stencil Artists List of Wheatpaste Artists List of Poster Artists Graffiti artists Category

Activism Culture jamming Direct Action Graffiti terminology Graffiti uses Guerrilla art Hip hop culture Installation art Murals Propaganda Screenprinting Spray paint art Stencil

Art intervention Anarchism Communism Anti-consumerism Community ownership Contemporary art Property is theft! Punk ideology Reclaim the Streets Situationism Subversion Subvertising

Built environment MTA Private Property Public Art Public Space Psychogeography Rapid transit Street Party Urban Planning Vandalism

Australia • Spain • Germany United States • Italy • Greece