People have always drawn and painted on walls. Prehistoric man painted on the walls of caves, for example, and those paintings are now considered valuable works of art. If people draw walls these days, though, it isn’t considered art. It is called “graffiti” and cleaned off as soon possible. But for many young people aerosol art is just as serious as wall painting was for their prehistoric ancestors.

Graffiti art takes a number of forms. It can be an individual mark, often just the initials of the artist, or something larger, like a mural. Each artist has his or their own “tag”, or signature, and each piece of graffiti art is “tagged”.

For some artists graffiti is a reaction to the circumstances of their lives, while others it is a more thought-out artistic expression. Either way, graffiti is very personal to the young person that produces it and it is an expression of his or feelings. The motivation behind a piece of graffiti can be happiness or sadness, frustration or relief. For this reason, it is an art form that is very close the hearts of  the young.

Graffiti as a youth culture began in America but become popular in many other countries. Its influences come pop culture, especially music and cartoons. Some of it is so creative art galleries begun to buy it and the artists have become famous.