General Thoughts About Graffiti

Graffiti has existed since ancient times.  The earliest forms of graffiti date back to 30,000 BCE in the form of prehistoric cave paintings and pictographs using tools such as animal bones and pigments.  The images drawn on the walls showed scenes of animal wildlife and hunting expeditions in most circumstances.  They also made pictures using their hands as the stencil.  The ancient Romans carved graffiti.  World War 2 soldiers spread the killroy meme with graffiti. Contemporary graffiti has been seen on railroad cars and subways for many years. 

Allow me to share some advice from a couple sources regarding contemporary graffiti in general.

From Shepard Fairey (http://obeygiant.com/warning):

Please use common sense and consideration when applying stickers or other propaganda materials. Giant is designed to provoke thought about the mechanics of the system we live in…not to destroy it. Everyone has to live here. Plus there are extreme individuals who wish to label all street artist as vandals and push for harsher and harsher penalties and prosecution. These people are very organized and lobby for public support. To counteract their attempts to vilify street artist, the street artist community needs to befriend local arts councils, graphic arts organizations, and anyone and everyone with political power who could be sympathetic to artists who have no sanctioned public venue to express themselves. The cities build tennis courts, basketball courts, football fields, even skate parks at millions of dollars cost to the tax payer. Where are the public mural walls? It’s all about control of the public space. If the opponents of street art are the only ones who speak out then they will be the only ones who are listened to. We need to fight fire with fire and express ourselves intelligently. If we don’t come across as a bunch of vandals we may find that the silent majority is actually supportive of public artistic expression.

Stencil art in Berlin

The following is via artcrimes and from stencilrevolution.com - Attributed to "Mark Surface":

SO YOU WANT TO WRITE ON WALLS?

There are a few things you must do to make your presence in this subculture a welcome one. First; Know the history. Second; Know the rules of the game. Third; work hard at being good, or at least competent. Fourth; snitches and **** talkers get stitches and need walkers. Fifth; you're good, but not that good. Keep your fat head to a reasonable swell and get back to work. These are the five fingers to your left hand, get to know them well. Soon you'll be able to get a grip on your self-esteem and we'll all be better for it.

FIRST : INDUSTRY

Cavemen drew pictures on walls, but Egyptians were the first language artists, then Romans bit the steez. The Greeks, Incans, and Native Americans all got with the program. There was graffiti on the New York subway a year after it was built. There is graffiti on the moon. If graffiti is vandalism, and vandalism is a form of pollution, then man has left his mark with garbage at the fullest reaches of the universe. So you with your pathetic desire to be remembered are in good company. It's important to know how graff developed in your area code, so consult local experts, and remember, everybody lies.

SECOND; THE RULES

1) You suck until further notice

2) It's gonna take a long time before we even acknowledge your existence, even longer before we can bear to look at that foul scribble you call your name. To speed the process of acceptance, you can:

A - Choose a clever name that defies the norm of simple-minded slang. An example of a good name is "ARGUE" (RIP). It looks good when written, sounds cool when spoken, and conveys a combative attitude. On the other hand "ENEMA" (actual name) looks, sounds, and conveys a **** attitude. BE CHOOSY.

B - Use paint, gain a thorough knowledge of supplies, remember that permission walls, stickers, and dust tags are small parts of a balanced diet, be bold, learn a style of writing for every occasion, and write your name bigger every time you go out.

3) Jealousy is a disease for the weak

4) Your heart is your greatest possession, don't let it get taken from you.

5) Don't write on houses of worship, people's houses in general, other writers names, and tombstones. Writing on memorial walls and cars is beef beyond belief. Furthermore, involving civilians in your beef is grounds for dismissal. These are the five fingers to your right hand. Get to know them well. Give them soul claps, firm handshakes, and throw smooth bolo punches

THIRD; DEVELOPING STYLE

Although being a toy seems undesirable, you should enjoy it while you can. At this stage you can bite all you want with no remorse. All your elders will say is, "Awww isn't that cute, kootchie kootchie koo." So steal that dope connection, rob that color scheme, and loot whole letterforms. Don't worry about giving any credit, we'll pat ourselves on the back and brag how we influenced the next generation. However, style isn't a crutch or schtick. It is understanding why that connection you bit flows, or why that color scheme bumps. Style is the process to an appealing end. Once you got it down to a science, you can reinvent letterforms to suit yourself. This creative growth will amaze the old and young alike. Pretty soon somebody will steal your secret sauce and the cycle will be renewed. If this happens to you, don't **** about not getting your due.

Graffiti is the language of the ignored. If your style is stolen, someone heard you speaking. You got what you wanted from the beginning, some attention, you big baby.

FOURTH: THE LAW

It must be noted that the vandal squad loves graffiti. Their job requires them to fiend for graff as much as you do. When you wreck enough walls, they'll want to meet you. Just like the ball huggers outside the graff shop, they'll recite every spot you hit, with the difference being you'll also hear the Miranda warning. To postpone this, go solo as much as possible. Don't write with anyone that won't fight for you. Don't be paranoid, but be careful. If you avoid writing on pristine properties, you'll stay in misdemeanor territory, and you won't divert the cops attention from pastry and caffeine consumption (consult local laws to be sure). Remember, if they didn't see you do it, it's almost impossible for them to win a conviction without your damming testimony. Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP! Giving a cop info on another writer will doom you to a life of ridicule, from cops and kids alike, with no parole.

FIFTH: EGO TRIPPIN

There's nothing wrong with knowing you're the **** as long as you are. But once you reach that conclusion, you're one foot over the edge of falling off. Watch your step fathead, there's no shortage of people chanting, "JUMP JUMP JUMP!" There are plenty of writers that have been painting for well over 20 years, and your posing and fronting looks retarded next to them. Get back to work you "never was" slouch.

In conclusion, graffiti is free, impresses the girls, is heroic in our coach potato culture, will provide you with a million stories to tell at parties, and a sure cure for the inner city blues. If it's not fun, you're doing it wrong or have been doing it too long. So get going, fame awaits the fly amongst you.

 - Mark Surface

Cutting

So you've got your outline printed and your ready to cut? Cool. Tape your printout to a sheet of acetate. You want to be able to see your outline through the acetate. 

Using the #2 Xacto, start slowly cutting out your stencil tracing the lines of your outline.  Be careful here not to let the paper slide around under the acetate.  For the more intricate parts, use the #4 and push it straight down instead of using a slicing motion.  You should start by cutting the smallest pieces first and save the largest areas for last, or do the larger areas in smaller segments.  Having big holes will make it easier to tear the stencil.  If you tear your acetate while cutting, you might be able to save it using some tape. Depending on how complex your stencil is, this could take some time.  It's up to you how exact you want to be with following your outline.  You may want to smooth some parts of it out while you're cutting.  This is the longest part of the process and if you mess up bad, you have to start all over, so take it slow.

Now hopefully your acetate is thicker than mine and isn't .003 or .005 thick. If it is, you're going to be cutting your stencil out twice.  Thin acetate like .003 tears easily.  It's easier to cut, easier to accidentally tear, and when paint dries on it the stencil curls up and it can't be used again.  I'll be using cardboard from file folders to make my stencil re-usable.  Lay your stencil on the cardboard and using a pencil, trace everywhere you've cut.  When you're done you should have an outline of your stencil again.  Put the acetate stencil away somewhere.  You'll want to save this as a template.  Make sure not to tear it.

Cardboard cuts a little differently than the acetate does.  Be careful not to rip it here either, especially if you have narrow bridges.  This is going to be the stencil you paint with.