Graffiti is a term that has been extensively used across the world to refer to the various words, letters, and images that have been inscribed, painted, marked, scratched, or scrawled in any possible manner. The term is often used in reference to various acts of vandalism that lead to a certain amount of damage to the personal property of various land owners. Graffiti also refers to the general defacement of walls and buildings. Amidst all the talk of graffiti and its meaning, a question may arise in the mind of the reader as to the history of graffiti or the development of the writing art and culture. 

In the formative years of graffiti (1966 to 1971), it was used to a large extent by various political activists across the world in order to make a statement of political nature. Various gangs that existed on the streets to demarcate their respective territories also made the various inscriptions on walls. The word graffiti became famous as a name of the under ground art revolution which was initiated in Philadelphia in the mid 1960’s. The earliest known incidence where words were inscribed on walls to convey a political message was when two under ground revolutionist claimed responsibility of an attack. This era is famously known as the ground work era.

The next three years after the ground work era (1971 - 1974) was popularly known as the pioneering era and saw the emergence of a large number of writers who became famous with the common population. Some of the most famous writers of that era are JOE 136, JULIO 204 and FRANK 207. Owing to such writers, the entire writing style of graffiti became popular and people around the world began realizing its true power and reach. People realized that the art of writing known as graffiti has enormous potential and that it alone can help in sending out messages from the under ground to comrades across the world. Various types of tags were extensively used in this era.

The graffiti style of writing gained its peak during the years 1975 to 1977. Owing to this factor in itself, those years came to be known as the peak era. In these 4 years, various parts of the United States of America were under different sorts of financial crunch and as a result of which heavy and continuous bombing rocked various places including New York City. The graffiti trend soon took a back seat as compared to various other political motives of various people and parties across the States. The style got a fresh breath of life in the following 4 years and was revived to a great extent. Various influential writers surfaced in those times, some of them being CHAIN 3, PADRE, TMB, TFP, and TC5.

Graffiti since then has been used, not only for political reasons, but also as a means of letting out pent out thought and anger by the youth of the world. The style has been made eternal owing to its vast and dignified history and is guaranteed to be around for the next 100 years or so at least.