![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.lindaceverson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/VM-1.jpg\" "\\"VM")
<\/a>Arborglyph: (1 symbol SAM) Samurai \u00a9 2006 Linda C. Everson<\/p><\/div>\n
From August 27 \u2013 Sept 19, 2010, one of my Arborglyph<\/em> monoprints is in an international exhibit called StrassenKunst<\/em> <\/a>at Artspace Gallery\u00a0in Richmond, VA. The theme of the exhibit is artwork\u00a0INSPIRED<\/strong> by graffiti with 59 artworks chosen. There are photos of graffiti, paintings with graffiti images, jewelry and sculpture scratched with graffiti-like symbols, and so on.<\/p>\n Graffiti art isn\u2019t just street art, nor is it always gang related. While graffiti today is often thought of as destructive and a form of vandalism, it has helped arhaeologists decipher interesting cultural practices and has brought history to a forefront.<\/p>\n The first graffiti art\u00a0was created\u00a0over 30,000 years ago at Lauscaux caves<\/a>, and a few summers ago I visited that wonderful site. I have a penchant for cave art, rock art, petroglyphs, and pictograms, and those sites are inspiration for my Arborglyph<\/em> monoprints<\/a>. My graffiti inspiration is the from the markings on aspen tree bark <\/a>in Colorado\u00a0by humans, animals, or nature\u2019s own scarring.\u00a0 In the American west, many trees were first engraved by the Basque and Hispanic shephards and\u00a0the term Arborglyph<\/em> <\/a>(tree with a glyph) <\/em>was born.<\/p>\n Apparently, the term \u201cgraffiti\u201d came from the Italian term \u201cgraffiato\u201d which means \u201cscratched\u201d<\/a>. Graffiti generally means any writing on a public place, and it has been done over the centuries by the Greeks, Romans, Mayans, Vikings, and Celtics, to name a few. I was in Pompeii this summer, and the archaeologists had unearthed some interesting graffiti on walls there.\u00a0In China, Mao Zedong was known for publicizing everything, including a 4000 character graffiti slogan on a wall.\u00a0 Throughout history man has yearned to \u201cmake a mark\u201d.<\/p>\n Although their are many controversaries over some\u00a0artists such as\u00a0Bansky<\/a>\u00a0from England, graffiti has become more accepted in some fine art circles.\u00a0\u00a0Artists such as Keith Haring <\/a>and Jean-Michael Basquiat\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0did graffiti in subway stations and in the streets.\u00a0Later they both\u00a0became famous by showing in\u00a0fine art galleries in the early 1980\u2019s, and numerous videos <\/a>were made of their lives and art. Interestingly, Basquiat in his early graffiti years left his \u201ctag\u201d SAMO in many places. The symbol I use in my art title in the StrassenKunst<\/em> exhibit is SAM. I wouldn\u2019t claim that I use \u201ctags\u201d in my artwork, but I do use symbols in the titles that are my own \u201calphabet\u201d.<\/p>\n