Most people see graffiti as destructive, a pointless act of vandalism that corrupts alleys and subway stations. The artform had a spike during the early 2000’s, and people even seemed to have adopted it into the massive contemporary art scene. 

The most notable name related to graffiti would be the infamous Banksy, who led the push for the art form to lose its negative connotation.

Banksy’s most famous artwork would be the girl with a balloon, a highly recognizable image with a girl letting go of a heart shaped balloon. This stencil was used all around Llondon. 

Not only is Banksy shifting the views of graffiti, but he’s protesting the concept of art itself. An incident that embodies this would be at a Sotheby’s auction, where an original print of this artwork was sold for $1.4 million dollars. Almost directly after being sold the painting shredded itself into pieces. 

As part of his notoriety, he never released a direct statement regarding why this happened, but most believe that it was part of the art piece. We do know that this was done intentionally and had been done before he knew it was going to be sold at the auction.

His identity remains unknown over an almost 30 year career of being graffiti’s leading name. The usage of his murals to convey political or social activism is truly iconic. You can view some of his work here. 

After Banksy’s rise to fame, graffiti has taken more of a positive light, even traditional artists giving credit to it as an important piece in the everchanging art world. 

Other popular artists that have branched from subway tunnels to the head of contemporary art include Futura 2000, COPE, and rival of Banksy, King Robbo.

This is not to say that some graffiti is not vandalism, but I’d say that more artists are turning to it as a form of expression. 

Graffiti as a whole is a defining character in not only art, but with music scenes such as punk and early hip-hop being shaped and developed with it. Both punk and hip-hop share the idea of resistance, of anti-culture and changing what is accepted as normal.

It brings character and depth to what would be an ordinary cityscape.

Graffiti’s influence on pop culture today can be found in many clothing brands and forms of  modern media.