Designing Buildings (DB) – host and partner to the IHBC’s Conservation Wiki –has posted on its open access Wiki service a history of graffiti’s curious status as interventions seen both as ‘vandalism and improvements’.
… usually made without permission as an act of rebellion or public statement…
DB writes:
The origins of the term graffiti stem from the scratches or markings made into stone in ancient Greece and Rome. The term might today still refer to these types of wall scratchings found on monuments, walls, and so on, but most commonly relates to marker pen or spay paint markings, signatures or tags, as well as images. They are usually made without permission as an act of rebellion or public statement on alleyway walls, facades, tunnels, subway trains, bridges, window shutters, or any space in the urban environment that is available.
The term is relevant to buildings because it covers both interventions that are considered vandalism and, increasingly, in some cases, potential improvements to bland architectural facades. As such, certain types of graffiti today might be referred to as graffiti art, street art, guerrilla art, or even commissioned as a piece of public art or as advertising. There are few art forms that have such a direct approach to an unknown public audience or create such differing reactions. As an art form, it continues to contradict, being both illegal on the one hand but sometimes praised and, in some cases, preserved or even restored by local councils, when others see its temporary nature as part of the work. Today, there can be no doubt that these forms of urban intervention have become ingrained in the built environment and form part of the physical as well as social fabric of urban areas. There is a long and chequered history from writing to art with many, many significant characters involved….
… This article is an attempt to describe these types of interventions and the people driving them. If gaps exist, feel free to add more.
See more on the IHBC’s Conservation Wiki
