Graffiti are words or images written illicitly in a public space. Graffiti has been documented over time from writing on bathroom walls to Nazi propaganda during the second world war to student revolts in France in the 1960s. Graffiti blew up as an art form when teens began tagging New York City subway cars with spray pain in the 1970s. Since then, graffiti is not only seen as an art form but a political statement communicated to the mainstream through public space. Artists began using different materials to get their message up: from stencils, to wheat paste, to stickers, or paint, these artists attempt to express a message and ask those witnessing the graffiti to question their surrounding environment. These messages are powerful and give power to those who usually don't have a voice in mainstream society.
We wanted to research graffiti as a form of social resistance and chose to focus on stencil graffiti. While we tried to focus on forms of resistance through stencil art specifically, we have included some other street art we well.... just couldn't resist. We created this blog so we could look at stencil graffiti in a public cyber space so others can appreciate this art form as well.
As you look through the images in our posts, maybe you will be motivated to create your own stencil, or begin to look at your environment beyond the buildings and concrete to see the art that discretely surrounds us. Or maybe since it may be buffed or painted over tomorrow or on the other side of the world, you're glad you caught a glimpse. Either way the Internet offers a platform like never before to explore and share graffiti as an art form.Dizzy Ms. Lizzy & Bethany Davison
