The Long History of Graffiti

Graffiti is writing or drawings made on a wall without permission. The word comes from the Italian graffiato, meaning scratched.

In Claremont, Cape Town, fibre-tipped pens account for 51 percent of found graffiti. Spraypaint follows at 46 percent.

Modern graffiti began in the New York City subway system and Philadelphia in the early 1970s. Tags were the first stylised form.

The oldest known written graffito dates to this time.

In 2001, IBM paid Chicago and San Francisco collectively US$120,000 for sidewalk spray painting. Vandalism is more efficient with an accounts payable department.

In 1983 in Munich tags began to appear on streets. They were experimental works or references to famous New York sprayers.

A wooden wall was constructed at Bahnwärter Thiel in Munich. It is 100 metres long for people to use.