by Lisa Harlan HarrisUrban, Street, Graffiti Art-the terms are often used interchangeably. Although it's become common to take art out of traditional galleries and museums and visual art can be seen (and is accepted) in the streets internationally, it was once intertwined with vandalism and deemed lowbrow counter culture. Urban art evolved from street art which is primarily concerned with graffiti culture. Urban artist are inspired by city living and represents a broader cross section of artists that as well as covering traditional street artists working in formal gallery spaces. Urban art also covers artists using more traditional media but with a subject matter that deals with contemporary urban culture and political issues. Artists like Banksy have taken urban art into the mainstream and pop culture. Le Mur, in Paris, is a museum soley dedicated to street art. Street art created and displayed outside of the traditional venues, often has a social relevancy or message but is more about the artist connecting with the public and breaking through the traditional confines of the formal art world. Similar to Bob Marley's use of reggae music to be a voice of the poor and to inform the illiterate, street artists communicate with everyday people about socially relevant themes which allows the information of aesthetics values without being imprisoned by them. It was common for street art to be unsanctioned, but because of it's rise in popularity, sanctioned murals and installations have allowed street artists to travel , plan, and use various mediums of creation. Graffiti dates back to the inscriptions, drawings, and carvings found on the walls of ancient tombs or ruins, like the Catacombs of Rome or at Pompeii. Graffiti was originally translated as any illegal scribbling, painting, or scratching on public property. The art ranged from simple words to elaborate paintings. The only known source of the Safaitic language, a form of proto-Arabic, dating back to first century B.C. carved into boulders in Syria, is from graffiti, as well as the oldest known depiction of Jesus. Renaissance artists like Michaelangelo and Raphael carved their names into stone which was a style of graffiti known as Tacherons. The illicit defacing of public property ties into the counter culture and vandalism connected with graffiti art as well as the use of spray paint or some other medium that can be used quickly.Present day graffiti has formed into a style of art and typography although still connected to the avant garde, anarchy, counter culture, creative freedom and emancipation.
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