Groovy Graffiti

Some people think of graffiti as art, others vandalism, and others, a culture of its own... In 8th grade art, we discussed these points of view after reading about the history of graffiti, examing the work of street artists, as well as noted artists who began as graffiti artists (Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat) and reading a recent article in the Baltimore Sun about local graffiti. Students then chose their own "tag," used the website www.graffitiwriter.net to look at lettering styles, and used a blending technique with chalk pastel to create these colorful graffiti masterpieces!