The fascination of painting on walls is perhaps symptomatic of the need of the youth to have a say in the running and use of public spaces, perhaps with more enthusiasm than planning, nevertheless making an ephemeral though independent contribution. The aim is to decorate the urban landscape with colours. City landscapes change and if they can keep up with new ideas are visually less violent. Graffiti done under cover of a pseudonym have various aims, different purposes, somewhat complex and confused, and maybe contradictory since they are the products of youth. This can be said to have two ends.
One of these is rough and ready, close to painting slogans on a wall, and is clearly seeking self-advertisement; this type of work is the work of those who leave their signature or tag and are the original graffiti writers, aware that what they do is illegal and therefore unpopular; “Nobody likes having graffiti painted on their door”. Serving the community, or making space available for free expression in the centre and outskirts of cities could be an alternative.
The other extreme is more sophisticated and nearer to painting murals, which for centuries was a synonym for painting. This type has an aesthetic objective, forms part of the architectural structure, is inscribed on walls and their surroundings and fulfills pre-determined functions.
Urban graffiti has been evolving and the side effects have included commercial and aesthetic interests; the primitive gesture of modern graffiti, the self-expression of those who feel themselves to be a minority, the search for the respect and recognition of fellow-citizens, give a sense of sub-culture to dissident groups or those who feel excluded from the established system. This artistic manifestation of popular culture is analysed by anthropologists as having documentary value, and is also appreciated by sociologists and historians as bearing witness to the present times. From an artistic viewpoint, it offers an evocative wealth of graphic contamination, “The roots, trunk and branches of a movement called graffiti” have developed easily identifiable styles; for this to happen, there must be dialogue and mixing, critical and intense interchange, between graffiti writers and the society in which they live. Some predators, aware of this reality, creative designers in publishing and advertising were the first to phagocyte images and attitudes for application in publicity campaigns with sales methods aimed at the highest spending sectors of the consumer market. Paradoxically, many youth who started by painting illegally in the streets have ended up working in advertising or designing. Others have taken up painting or sculpture as a continuation of their adolescent enthusiasm for graffiti.
