Graffiti as Art

The art of graffiti has existed for thousands of years. Prehistoric cave drawings have been found all over the world, while examples of graffiti still remain in cities like Greece and Rome, as testaments to both the Ancient Greeks and the Roman Empire. The graffiti displayed everything from love declarations to political and satirical rhetoric to free advertisements. As graffiti became more common, especially into the 1900’s, it began to serve a more sophisticated and rebellious purpose. Political activists utilized graffiti as one method of making a statement while street gangs did it to mark their territory. Today, graffiti has become wildly popular and has spawned a new generation of design: graffiti art. Thousands of graffiti artists are in work, using this particular form of design to promote their ideas and their art.
The following websites are some examples of featured artists who are well known graffiti artists in the states and around the world:

http://www.graffiti.org/sa/southafrica_5.html
http://www.graffiti.org/nomad/index.html
http://www.graffiti.org/veto/index.html