Xu 1
Xinyan Xu
Elizabeth Kim
English 802, Section 27
March 16, 2015
Hip­Hop Graffiti in Public Arts Education
Modern graffiti generally arises from poorer and less fortunate urban areas. For decades the thought and sight of graffiti were considered as acts of vandalism and a gateway to further crime. In recent years, many perceive graffiti as a powerful form of art expression that allows misrepresented and impoverished individuals to voice their minds.
Graffiti is also illustrated as a visual expression of rap music. The relationship between graffiti and Hip­Hop culture began when early graffiti artists engage in other aspects of hip hop culture, which introduced a style of graffiti known as Hip­Hop Graffiti (HHG).
Ov
er the last three decades, HHG has become an international phenomenon, attracting audiences from different racial, ethnical, and social class. While Hip­hop music is extremely influential to many across the world, it mainly attracts the audience of less fortunate individuals in minority groups from rough neighborhoods because of its socio­political statements and black pride. On a broader spectrum, the incorporation of
Hip­Hop Graffiti in public art education within a low­class neighborhood is valuable because it has the ability to easily influence and educate its' underprivileged youths while benefiting the community. Also, partnered with the Mural Arts Programs graffiti artist develop murals that audience perceives as a form of art that epitomizes their community and targets many local social issues.

Xu 2 Graffiti writers are not criminals they are artists and educators to their apprentices, their audiences, and anyone and everyone. Although graffiti can be affiliated with gangs and gang territorial markings, it is rather looked as an approach for teens to seek refuge from violence and other criminal activities. Today, Hip­Hop Graffiti (HHG) is extremely influential among young teens and adolescents, inspiring youths to aspire creativity in art and become a part of their community. HHG draws the attention of youths away from gangs because it is a “cool” thing to do and adolescents’ developing brain has a tendency to follow trends their peers perceive as cool. Graffiti writing is empowering to youths and enthralls their attention because crews satisfies the same complex of needs a gang has to offer, and foremost it is an “antidote to adolescent isolation, boredom, powerless, and anonymity­the same experiences that draw many urban kids to gangs” (Christen 61). Richard Christen states, “As the graffiti gangs dissolved, writers began to organize more informal groups or crews, not for protection, but for companionship, collaboration, and support” (62). The mentor­protege relationship in the graffiti realm is when a novice turn to a veteran graffiti writer for ideas and assistance on techniques and skills, and in the process they form life­long friendships
(Brewer, 356). Graffiti writers who participate in educating youths often develop a strong bond of friendship with his students because they are from the same neighborhood and can easily relate to one another. They often connect levels that are far beyond _____, and young students would often look up to the graffiti writers a their big brother or big sister.
Also, rather using violence to settle disputes youths create their own “crews” and battle

Xu 3 other crews with expressive art through style and production (Christen 57). In this perspective, when teens are swayed from the gangster life, gangs will start to demise due to lack of members. When gangs and violence began to decline and the impact will the community as a whole. Due to the empowering persuasion of Hip­Hop Graffiti more youths are likely to join in on the Graffiti culture rather than criminal life, thus the crime rate, the death rate, and violence will overall decrease. Therefore, ensuring the community’s safety and their citizen’s security