graffiti art

English

Etymology

Originated as a concept in the 1970s in New York. Compound of graffiti +‎ art.

Noun

graffiti art (uncountable)

1. Graffiti that is intended to be, or is seen as, artistic rather than a work of vandalism.
   • 1974 May 6, Eliot Fremont-Smith, “Mailer on the IRT”, in New York‎^[1], volume 7, number 18, page 97:

     It's also appropriate, for the phenomenon he is investigating is the graffiti art of aerosol signatures that suddenly flowered all over the city's subway cars and walls a couple of years back …

   • 1992, John Gruen, Keith Haring: The Authorized Biography, Simon & Schuster, →ISBN:

     It really made a mark, because it was the first time that every kind of underground art could be seen in one place—and that included graffiti art.

   • 2023 June 30, Stefano Bloch, “Graffiti has undergone a massive shift in a few quick decades as street art gains social acceptance”, in The Conversation‎^[2]:

     These same neighborhoods are home to bookstores that carry graffiti coffee table books and universities that offer courses on graffiti art.

See also

• graffiti artist
• street art