Graffiti and tagging are two forms of street art that appear to be similar, but there is some difference between them and they shouldn’t be confused for one and the same. Street art is gaining recognition in the world today as a unique genre. Graffiti and tagging are two forms that are very popular in urban cities in most countries. Even though these are spoken of in similar contexts, these two are different forms. Graffiti refers to writings or drawings on a surface in a public place whereas tagging refers to the writing of the artist’s name, signature or logo on a wall. Hence, tagging is considered as a very simple form of graffiti. This article attempts to highlight the difference between the two forms through elucidating what is meant by each form.
What is Graffiti?
Graffiti can be defined as any painting, drawing or writing of something on the surface of in a public place. This is considered as illegal in most countries. Usually, graffiti can be seen on walls, bridges, subways, etc. These are usually very bold and unconventional presentations, which go in hand with the hip hop culture. Graffiti come in different blends of colours emphasizing varied styles and also differ in size. While some graffiti arts are relatively small, some can be gigantic in size covering a large area. In order to create these, different paints such as spray cans are used. Graffiti is used not only for its aesthetic appeal but also to emphasize certain social and political issues. Gangs use different varieties of graffiti as a way of marking their territory. However, it has to be noted that graffiti has to be considered as an expressive form of art which has a long history. Unlike in the past, now it is gaining approval and recognition as a form of art. There are different variations of graffiti. Of which, tagging is considered as one of the very common as well as simple forms.
What is Tagging?
Tagging can be defined as a basic form of graffiti where the writer would sign his name or signature with the usage of spray paint. Unlike graffiti, which takes a lot of skill to create an artistic representation, tagging does not require such mastery. Also, for tagging, only a limited time is needed. Just as graffiti, tagging can be seen on walls, streets, bus halts,etc. and can be used to mark territory. It is a representation of the self in a public place rather than an abstract representation. Tagging is also considered as vandalism of property as it defaces the surface. This highlights that tagging and graffiti are two different forms.
What is the difference between Graffiti and Tagging?
• Graffiti can be defined as any painting, drawing or writing of something on the surface of in a public place.
• Tagging can be defined as a basic form of graffiti where the writer would sign his name or signature with the usage of spray paint.
• Both graffiti and tagging are considered as illegal.
• Tagging is a basic form of graffiti.
• Unlike graffiti, tagging only takes a limited time and skill.
• While tagging is more of a representation of self, graffiti is a painting that has so many levels, ranging from being an art itself to the voicing out of socio- political issues.
Images Courtesy:
- Graffiti by Brocco (CC BY-SA 2.0)
- Tagging by jaqian from Dublin, Ireland (CC BY 2.0)