The Graffiti Subculture

It had been a while, but recently I revisited a familiar route I used when commuting daily to my old place of work. Now retired, I had to drive on one of Melbourne's major arterial roads, the M1 Monash Freeway to attend a wedding. What amazed me when I was on the freeway was the increased volume of graffiti on the wooden and concrete sound barriers that straddle both sides the M1. The graffiti went on for miles, and even in places where I couldn't imagine how people would have got up to such heights to paint their "tag".

Graffiti along the City of Casey section of the Monash Freeway (source: Internet)

While some call it art, I consider such eyesores of spray-painted markings and scrawling letters as vandalism. It shows disrespect to society when I see them drawn on public infrastructure and private buildings. However, it can be argued that some graffiti inspired murals and "pieces" when legally allowed fall under the category of street-art, as seen in some major cities like Berlin, New York City and here in Melbourne City's Hosier Lane and AC/DC Lane.

Graffiti in Hosier Lane, Melbourne City (source: J. De Silva)

Street-art also became on-trend when during the 1990s distinctive stenciled style artworks by the enigmatic British street artist Banksy began to pop up mysteriously in locations around the globe. Some graffiti scrawls carry powerful messages borne out of frustration and powerlessness.

Contemporary graffiti, it is said originated in the late 1960s and early 1970s, primarily in New York City and Philadelphia. Associated with the hip-hop culture young artists began spray painting their marks on trains, walls, and public surfaces. This form of expression has since spread globally. Over time graffiti has developed a subculture all of its own.

In the graffiti lexicon the word "crew" ("krew" or "cru") for example is a group of associated graffitists who often work together. While they are not gangs per se, painting graffiti is their main objective. However, they can sometimes be involved in gang-like activities. The graffiti subculture has its own status structure too. While symbolic, individuals seek respect and status being in such groups. Graffitists experience of this subculture is a highly structured one, with most following an established route or career path. Some end up creating legalised street-art while some have their works in art galleries.

A graffiti crew working (source: Internet)

As an aside - in my research for this essay - graffiti is not a modern phenomenon. From archeological records of ancient civilizations, including the Romans and Greeks civilizations, evidence of graffiti has been found on walls and monuments, dating back thousands of years. These ancient graffiti included inscriptions of names, political statements, jokes and poems.

Everywhere I go these days I see graffiti. Even down at the local malls and streets. Some are just random marks while others, admittedly are well formed and colourful artwork. I reflected on these examples of graffiti and apparently there is a whole language of jargon, and descriptions used among graffiti "writers". Some words used are different across different regions, cities and countries. Here are some examples (source: Wikipedia).

• Tag: A writer's stylised pseudonym serving as a personal brand.

• Throw-up: A hastily filled bubble-letter outline.

• Piece: A detailed time-intensive mural.

• Can-Control: Precision with a spray can, shown through clean lines and consistent control.

• Wildstyle: A complex style with intricate lettering and overlapping elements.

• Writer: A practitioner of graffiti who creates a graffiti format for the purpose of graffiti vandalism.

• Capping: Destroying other writers' work by painting lines on it.

Two years ago, I was involved in arranging a local street artist to speak at an event about his life’s journey. Guy [not his real name] now paints for a living. He is also a youth worker at a regional community center. As Guy shared his life's story, he admitted that when he was younger, he would join others in a "crew" illegally graffitiing fences, buildings and walls. They would work in small groups usually at night, one keeping watch while others would outline the final work. They will scamper off when a car approaches or just before the dawn breaks. Apparently - the graffiti subculture modus operandi - is to work in small groups. The logic is there is a smaller risk of being held responsible for "crew" works if a single member gets arrested.

During the Question-and-Answer segment at the event, a question was asked as to why some graffiti is painted in places well out of normal reach, for example on a billboard suspended along a foot bridge across a freeway, or even on the bridge's concrete infrastructure. Guy explained that people, mainly males who do graffiti first practice writing upside down and plan how they tackle scaling a bridge, for example. They do not only do this for the thrill, but also to receive recognition from their graffiti community for what they have done. In the graffiti subculture, the greater the risk, the higher the recognition. In the graffiti lexicon there is a term called "heaven spots". It means that the location or spot is challenging to graffiti but is highly visible with heavy exposure. In the language of this subculture, the term "heaven spot" also encompasses a double meaning as the locations are often very dangerous to paint and it may lead to death, thus, going to heaven (also known in the lexicon as "hitting up the heavens"). Guy now works with young people, encouraging them to instead channel their creativity towards positive and rewarding opportunities. With his team, he is giving young people hope and purpose in a fulfilled life plus a sense of belonging.

Example of a graffiti 'heaven spot' (source: Internet)

So why do individuals graffiti?

The psychology behind the practice today is a complex one, because individuals create graffiti for various emotional, social and cultural reasons. I would even speculate that the reasons could be the same during ancient times. Here are six psychological reasons for doing graffiti.

1. Identity and Self-Expression. Most humans want to belong to a community. The graffiti culture described earlier provides a community for individuals to assimilate with. Young people especially who may be in the throes of searching for self-identity and purpose may be longing to express themselves emotionally and be accepted. While some use music, art, poetry, and writings to express themselves, others may resort to graffiti, starting with a "tag" (a signature) which makes them feel seen and recognised. Belonging to a graffiti culture provides an opportunity for acceptance.
   

   

   Graffiti tag on a suburban fence (source: S.Pereira)

   
   

2. Desire for Recognition and Status. Everyone who works in paid employment can relate to the desire for recognition and status. Similarly in graffiti culture reputation matters. Graffitists compete for attention and respect within their community. In the graffiti lexicon (source: Wikipedia) these reputational terms are worth noting [My comments in italics]. - Clown or Ass-Clown, Goof or GoofBall: Any writer who is extremely careless to get himself caught and arrested [Certainly a status to avoid]. - Toy: Derogatory term for new writers in the scene or writers who are old to the scene and still do not have any skill or reputation [I suppose you can't avoid the term if you are new, but you wouldn't want to have this term applied to you if you're older]. - Head: A writer who has much skill and a high reputation. - King: Graffitists of the highest accomplishments. Kings or queens (feminine) are writers especially respected among other writers.
   

3. Rebellion and Resistance. The street artist Banksy typifies that rebelliousness and resistance nature of graffitists. Their works often emerge as a challenge to authority. Banksy's work is often a reflection of his political activism against authority or perceived injustice. Graffiti will often appear randomly when there is societal unrest either locally or globally. Often out of anger, frustration or a means of demonstrating a view publicly. Painting without permission can feel empowering (though in general considered destructive by civil society).
   

4. Territorial Marking. Similar to how animals mark territory, some graffiti have the same impact of marking gang territory. It often serves as a warning to others to not enter, inhabit or start painting in the designated area.
   

5. Thrill and Risk. The human brain's reward system of releasing dopamine is a huge drive for people who do graffiti. The risk, the challenge, especially working at night and under constant vigilance gets the heart racing - adrenaline - which in turns releases that quite additive organic chemical dopamine, traditionally known as a "pleasure chemical". It is said by some graffitists that doing what they do is similar to extreme sport.
   

6. Artistic Drive. Those who graffiti are expressing themselves - at a point in their life - in the only way they know how. This creativity drives them, as most consider their expression as street-art. And like Guy who started off as a graffiti artist spray-painting illegally, he has since moved on to legitimate murals where he is paid.

   
   

The challenge facing cities where graffiti is prevalent.

While some global cities, like New York City and Melbourne have tolerated graffiti by providing legal space where graffitist can express their creativity via murals and street-art, city counsellors are loath in seeing public buildings, city infrastructure, billboards and office buildings vandalised with illegal graffiti. Recently the City of Melbourne's Lord Mayor took a hardline position on such graffiti. The Lord Mayor, Nick Reece had pledged to fine anyone caught defacing building and had called landowners to help remove graffiti from public places. This had sent a clear message to graffitists that their actions are not tolerated. He was quoted in the press as saying, "If you spray, you will pay in the City of Melbourne". The council’s aim is to pursue vandals in the court to make them pay and clean up the graffiti.

Many and varied approaches have been taken by global cities in their attempts to combat graffiti particularly in their central business districts. However, a 2010 research in Urban Sociology, commissioned by the Australian Institute of Criminology and other similar research suggested that a combination of several strategies can work better than a single approach. The main approaches used in major cities include:

i) providing legal spaces and designated graffiti walls or public art zones,

Community street-art helps in reducing illegal graffiti on an otherwise blank wall (source: S.Pereira)

ii) giving communities ownership of community spaces. Like community gardens, providing local mural projects is a way of allowing communities to own the space, especially where young people are involved,

iii) establishing youth engagement and art programs, which aims to channel young people on a pathway where their creativity can lead to fruitful outcomes for them,

iv) setting up at local council level rapid graffiti removal programs. These usually involve public reporting on incidences where illegal graffiti has occurred,

v) starting at the urban planning stage where better lighting and, open spaces are incorporated, including installing surfaces which are less attractive for graffiti, and

vi) law enforcement has a role to play in education and executing legal consequences for illegal behaviours. It also helps offenders to understand the impact of vandalism.

Love it or loath it, graffiti writing is a phenomenon that has existed from ancient times. Young people and those who have something to say feel frustrated in expressing themselves. Where can they go, and to whom to say it leads them to using graffiti. It becomes a challenge for civil authorities to balance the provision of avenues for artistic expression against the tolerance for illegal graffiti in society.