... really is. The many forms and styles of graffiti make it hard to distinguish the meaningless strokes from those that are clearly art if you choose to see them. Can some writers go over the top and do too much? Or not do enough for it to be classed as art? To understand this we have to look back at the history of graffiti. Graffiti originated with the Romans when they started to write on the buildings of the towns they conquered and even before words were used, the cave men painted on walls. The late 1960's saw graffiti's current identity starting to form. It was used primarily by political activists to make statements and also by street gangs to mark territory. The most commonly termed graffiti begins in Philadelphia Pennsylvania, during the mid to late 60's and is rooted in bombing. A 'bomb' is painting a name all over town to gain ...

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