Is it art or is it just vandalism (野蛮行为)? Well, it"s still a crime, but graffiti (涂鸦) has changed since the days of spraying your name on a wall to mark your territory. Street art has become much more sophisticated since a 17-year-old called Demetrius started spraying his "tag", all over the New York underground in 1971, and hip-hop culture was born. Hip-hop is a mixture of art, music and dancing, poetry, language and fashion. It came from young inner-city people who fell left out by their richer classmates and who were desperate to express themselves in any way they could.
An experiment to control the spread of graffiti in Rochdale, greater Manchester, has been so successful that plans have been made by local street artists for an international convention in June. "We"re planning to get people together from different countries like France and Cermany for a week," says Liam, one of the organizers. The scheme started in 2000, and has attracted people of all age groups and both sexes. "We all share a commen interest and get on really well with each other." The first site to be chosen was a subway. "Before we began, people were afraid to use the subway. We had it cleaned up and now, with all the artists hanging out down there, people are using it again. People can relate to graffiti much more now." By providing places to display their talents legally, there has been a fall in the amount of "tagging" on people"s private property.
Street artists Temper developed his drawing skills at a young age. In art classes at school he was really frustrated because the art teacher didn"t spend time with him. They thought he was already very good at art and so spend more time with other students. So, at 12 years old, Temper started painting with all these guys he"d hooked up with who were about 22 years old. He looked up to them and loved what they were doing on the streets of Wolvehampicn, England. "The whole hip-hop scene was built up of different things and I did a bit of everything. But it was always the graffiti I was best at." he says.