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Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

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Street culture and graffiti are well-known for being provocative, appealing, bold and uncompromising. Originally used by gangs to mark their territory in some urban area, graffitis have now become a rich medium for unrestricted expression of ideas and statements. In fact, creative designers and artists across the globe use this form of art to deliver their message and showcase their work.

Probably the most prominent graffiti artist is Banksy, a famous pseudo-anonymous British artist whose works focus on topics such as politics, culture, and ethics. His art has appeared in cities around the world; it’s worth mentioning that Banksy does not sell photos of street graffiti or mount exhibitions of screenprints in commercial galleries. You can explore Banksy’s works in the Time’s slideshow The World According To Banksy. However, many different artists explore graffiti in a variety of ways.

In this episode of Monday Inspiration series we are presenting a tribute to street art and graffiti — over 50 examples of beautiful and impressive graffiti artworks. Hopefully everybody will find some inspiration at least in some of the works showcased below. Feel free to explore the works of artists by following the links to their sites.

Graffiti Art

Michael.jh

Micha in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

Mrzer

Mrzer in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

Deuce 7

Street2 in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

zevs

Street3 in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

imminentdisaster

Street4 in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

Banksy

Banksy3 in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

Banksy2 in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

Marquis Lewis

Street6 in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

Retna Saber Revok SeventhLetter

Eagle in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

Mr Mucho

Swarm in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

unknown

Gaia in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

Wall Spankers Project
Our goal is to bring together international artists and designers in a collaborative, sharing environment. The website serves as an online gallery showcasing the artists involved in the sticker swap. Currently 4 issues are released.

Reone1 in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

Reone2 in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

Muck

Street1 in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

obey

Street5 in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

Lady Pink: Sandra Fabara
Lady Pink is a legend. In the 1980s she made a name for herself as one of the only females capable of competing with men in the graffiti subculture.

01 in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

Xenz: Graeme Brusby

Xenz1 in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

Liv2 in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

Xenz in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

SABER

Saber1 in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

Saber2 in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

6emeia

6em-2 in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

6em-3 in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

Vancouver Street Art

Vanc1 in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

Vanc2 in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

Vanc3 in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

Vanc4 in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

Collective Graffiti, Chiado, Lisbon

Lisbon in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

Paopao

Buddy2 in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

Jakedobkin

Jake in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

Lois In Wonderland

Loi in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

Wouldpkr

Mac in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

Hammotime

Hammo in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

Abigaelarachnid

Abi in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

Newfie Bullet

Dark in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

K.E.L.P

Kelp in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

Newfie Bullet

Green in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

Loupiote

Stuart Herbert

Stuart1 in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

Stuart2 in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

Seetwist

Seet in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

Wickedcliche

Wicked in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

Akbar Simonse

Akbar in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

Marco

Marc in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

Josepalencia

Jose in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

Sindios69

Tonogayora

Mura in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

Guy Fawkes

Fawk in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

Bitzi

Bit in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

Kekko73

Kek in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

Cloud-TA

Cloud in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

Loupiote

Loup in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

Laughing Squid

Laugh in Tribute To Graffiti: 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks

Further Resources

Related Articles

You can also take a look at the following related articles:

Vitaly Friedman, editor-in-chief of Smashing Magazine (www.smashingmagazine.com), an online magazine dedicated to designers and developers.

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  1. 1
    jOsh
    September 14th, 2008 4:56 pm

    primero!!! n___n

    sorprendente…

    i must not copy what i see on the simpsons jajaja XD

  2. 2
    Joe Barstow
    September 14th, 2008 5:05 pm

    Awesome and Inspirational, I’ve been waiting for a graff article for a while!

    Thanks SMasH

  3. 3
    Andrew G
    September 14th, 2008 5:09 pm

    Thanks for the link to the article at Designflavr.

    We also have a collection of unique Melbourne Street Art

  4. 4
    shishkebab
    September 14th, 2008 5:11 pm

    I love the fact that the title is 50 Beautiful Graffiti Artworks and not ‘50 most beautiful’ which you guys featured earlier on some other articles that i found were very subjectives. What a way to start my monday. SMASHING!

  5. 5
    zvonko
    September 14th, 2008 5:35 pm

    thanks for these sm…i really loved some of ‘em…

  6. 6
    freshness
    September 14th, 2008 5:51 pm

    nice post, but where are the REAL legends??? can2, daim…etc.

    they are the real oldschool m’fakaz in this business.

  7. 7
    David
    September 14th, 2008 5:52 pm

    Great Artwork… Keep it up SM!!!

  8. 8
    tempstyles
    September 14th, 2008 6:21 pm

    50 entries and nothing about mode2 or daim you must be kidding me!?!

  9. 9
    Ingram
    September 14th, 2008 8:29 pm

    I really love the drain bunny, cute.

  10. 10
    Mark
    September 14th, 2008 8:37 pm

    Awesome set! A lot of inspiration for web designs here too! Did I see a photoshopped one in there?

  11. 11
    rajaraman
    September 14th, 2008 10:01 pm

    wt a surprise show, I love it

  12. 12
    adam d
    September 14th, 2008 10:16 pm

    If you all like this post- make sure to check out http://WoosterCollective.com – It’s a celebration of street art and documents street art world wide.

  13. 13
    mephistopheles
    September 14th, 2008 11:37 pm

    umm, you can correct me if i’m wrong; but i’m pretty sure banksy and obey are the same person. but other than that, great collection.

  14. 14
    Duke
    September 14th, 2008 11:45 pm

    the “unknown” artist is flickr. com/ photos/ gaiastreetart/

  15. 15
    Ash
    September 14th, 2008 11:55 pm

    Absolutely wonderful article !

  16. 16
    neil
    September 15th, 2008 12:22 am

    Great list by my all time favourite was not on that list….

    Here he is, Mode2 – http://www.mode2.org/

  17. 17
    OverZero.it
    September 15th, 2008 12:33 am

    Great collection guys, very interesting!
    Thank you.

  18. 18
    Mekon
    September 15th, 2008 12:47 am

    What about Keith Haring?

  19. 19
    Freddie
    September 15th, 2008 12:49 am

    Really good and inspirational stuff here.. great!

  20. 20
    Edwin
    September 15th, 2008 1:05 am

    Great collection! Really awesome!

  21. 21
    Abdul Akbar
    September 15th, 2008 1:08 am

    very good

  22. 22
    keepitmassive
    September 15th, 2008 1:24 am

    good one

  23. 23
    Paul
    September 15th, 2008 2:02 am

    Hey,

    here’s some awesome graffiti / street art, from my home town (Southern Most City in the World), Dunedin New Zealand.

    http://heatherbilly.wordpress.com/

  24. 24
    sevenTsix
    September 15th, 2008 2:21 am

    Nice post, thanks for sharing. I had seen a few before but most were new and some were amazing. Thumbs up NOT because you asked at the top of the page but because it was a good post (ie: no need to ask upfront).

  25. 25
    subcess
    September 15th, 2008 2:49 am

    Awesome pictures! I like it! wow!

  26. 26
    juFo
    September 15th, 2008 3:27 am

    Cum* nice stuff from Belgium.
    If you walk in Ghent (BE) you can see some of the work “Cum In The Streets” on several buildings.

  27. 27
    informer
    September 15th, 2008 3:47 am

    Actually the one with two bottles attributed to Kekko73 (that in this case is just the photographer) is from Bros, a well-known italian writer. Source goes to brosart.com

  28. 28
    Tom
    September 15th, 2008 4:16 am

    banksy and obey are not the same person…

  29. 29
    Vašek
    September 15th, 2008 4:29 am

    Skvělé! Jde o opravdu pěkné kousky. Grafiti mi svým způsobem ani nevadí, pokud jsou legální a neničí majetky.

  30. 30
    Wes
    September 15th, 2008 7:22 am

    Inspiring as hell.

  31. 31
    Siah
    September 15th, 2008 7:44 am

    great post.
    Growing up in NYC, I have always been a fan of graffiti and found it to be an artform that taps in to the social heart of inner cities.
    Its kind of like the Mayans or Egyptians that left their stories on walls and stone.
    awesome.

  32. 32
    Lee Regan
    September 15th, 2008 8:14 am

    Hey awesome article to come in to work and read for the cloudy Monday morning here in San Diego. Very talented individuals you chose to showcase here. Cities should support graffiti art such as this because it helps with the arts and culture and is a true representation of the public’s feelings, not some authorized piece by a committee of out of touch politicians.

    On that note I wanted to let you all see something I just found out about last week. Its great inspiration for web developers and artists a like. Graffiti Archaeology. This guy put together a flash piece to show how certain graffiti hot spots change over time. Such an amazing idea.

    Thanks again for the great inspirational start to the week. You all rock.

  33. 33
    freshness
    September 15th, 2008 8:38 am

    You should know these guys ;)

    can2
    daim
    divine zeal from my hometown, budapest

  34. 34
    Sandrups
    September 15th, 2008 8:56 am

    excelent!
    fantastic art of Marco

  35. 35
    Eddy
    September 15th, 2008 9:09 am

    I did my art exam about Banksy, some of his work is fantastic!

  36. 36
    catarinap
    September 15th, 2008 10:12 am

    amazing!

  37. 37
    steve
    September 15th, 2008 10:19 am

    that is some pretty impressive artwork, i love the sewer drain ones.

  38. 38
    Starre Vartan
    September 15th, 2008 10:44 am

    Bookmarked to send around anytime idiots say graffiti is vandalism and not art.

  39. 39
    Mr Colour Drunk
    September 15th, 2008 10:45 am

    Ok where you listing the Artist or the person who took the photo. The top photograph is from a Birmingham Graffiti Artist Spider i think. oh the location is Walsall Skate Park.

    Thanks

  40. 40
    Tom
    September 15th, 2008 11:37 am

    the first picture is sadly no longer existing. it was on the skate park in walsall (about 3 miles away from where i am) but the skate ark was recently knocked down to make way for a big apartment building. always enjoyed looking at it though… shame it had to go :(

  41. 41
    Johnny Nothing
    September 15th, 2008 12:02 pm

    They are so beautiful my head is spinning. Really.

  42. 42
    Mylith
    September 15th, 2008 12:04 pm

    Sory, but there is Daim ?

  43. 43
    Vegard
    September 15th, 2008 12:34 pm

    Nice collection.
    While visiting Cuba last year I found this wonderful piece of art in Centro Habana:
    O Silêncio de Musica
    It is made by the well-known “Os Gemeos” (the twins) from Brazil.

  44. 44
    Cosmi
    September 15th, 2008 12:35 pm

    This is art! Great job.

  45. 45
    Jiff Wilson
    September 15th, 2008 12:56 pm

    LOL, the smoking and the bunny manhole covers are totally awesome. Cool stuff.

  46. 46
    Sketcher
    September 15th, 2008 1:13 pm

    Great scetched wall art!!

  47. 47
    crs
    September 15th, 2008 1:19 pm

    the -Unknown- artist you listed is Gaia — http://www.flickr.com/photos/gaiastreetart/

    Also, I liked the selection overall, but I echo the other commentors… no Diam! There is a great amount of beautiful graffiti that doesn’t get photographed and uploaded to flickr… all the more reason to get out there and find that great art!

  48. 48
    tori
    September 15th, 2008 1:24 pm

    Hey i just wanted to say that this is some of the coolest art work i’ve seen lately. really cool

  49. 49
    gogreen
    September 15th, 2008 1:27 pm

    what about Bumblebee?

  50. 50
    gogreen
    September 15th, 2008 1:27 pm

    what about Bumblebee? http://www.flickr.com/photos/theuglyyou

  51. 51
    Pedro Almeida
    September 15th, 2008 1:41 pm

    impossible…

    if there is nothing about “the twins”, feio, speto, nunca e nina… the brazilian most “mutherfuckers” in graffit art… isn’t the 50 most beautifull graffit in the word…

    sorry the others… but the brazilian street artists are the best

  52. 52
    Benedikt
    September 15th, 2008 1:51 pm

    Great graffitties!

  53. 53
    crosone
    September 15th, 2008 2:06 pm

    You’ve left out some greats: Twist, Cope2, Seen, Os Gemeos, I could go on. Do your homework!

  54. 54
    weston deboer
    September 15th, 2008 2:22 pm

    obey’s official site is http://obeygiant.com

  55. 55
    BALLZACK
    September 15th, 2008 4:24 pm

    banksy is bad ass

  56. 56
    arranrp
    September 15th, 2008 7:29 pm

    banksy and obey are not the same person, and banksy has had many commercial exibitions in london uk, and huge rage of books on the market.

  57. 57
    mark
    September 15th, 2008 10:07 pm

    I see no DAIM, why is that? He is the best graffiti artist I know of.

  58. 58
    lynne
    September 15th, 2008 11:18 pm

    At least this has given other artists the exposure they should get,also those out there with a real interest in this art form will no doubt be scurrying off and searching Daim(and other unmentioned artists)on the web.
    This is an awesome collection by the way,all of these particular pieces are stunning,some thought provoking,others wickedly comical and all beautifully executed works of true art.

  59. 59
    Romain
    September 15th, 2008 11:28 pm

    The abundance of “Graffiti Art” or “Street Art” was one of the reason I stopped writing. Most of this list is either ugly, poorly executed or unoriginal.

    Graffiti in itself can be awesome. You just need to dig a little deeper than this superficial crust.

    I suggest you google these names for really advanced stuff : RCB, Chintz, Egs, Pum, Cliff Barnes. Go on, they will blow your mind.

  60. 60
    STPo
    September 16th, 2008 1:13 am

    French guys Mode2 and 123Klan (Scien & Klor) should be in this list too…
    Anyway too many amazing graffiti artists on earth to make a list that pleases everyone!

  61. 61
    gingerchris
    September 16th, 2008 1:59 am

    Obey is not even a person, it’s a brand. All the Obey artwork is done by Shepherd Fairey

  62. 62
    zoe
    September 16th, 2008 2:22 am

    the “obey” picture is OBVIOUSLY stuck onto the wall.. you can see the creases!!

  63. 63
    Tyler Diaz
    September 16th, 2008 2:37 am

    Very nice set in general, thank you for posting. :)

  64. 64
    monek
    September 16th, 2008 2:54 am

    go watch “wild style” if you like this sort of thing:

    http://www.guba.com/watch/3000021340

  65. 65
    Sam Warnaars
    September 16th, 2008 2:57 am

    I am not sure if it’s already noted: different from what is mentioned the image of Guy Fawkes is made by an oldskool Legend named ZEDZ (INC – The Netherlands)

  66. 66
    i_want_my_full_feed_back!
    September 16th, 2008 4:36 am

    HEY!!!! why did you stop the full feed? give tit bacccckk

  67. 67
    JebRand
    September 16th, 2008 5:46 am

    I recently watched an awesome movie called ‘Bomb It!’ which covers the history as well as the international scene of graffiti art.

    I highly, highly recommend it:
    http://www.bombit-themovie.com/

    I also scored a wicked Gelaskin at the screening :)

  68. 68
    Tqnnq111000033BKK
    September 16th, 2008 7:44 am

    Interesting idea for an inspirational list.
    Whether all of these (the majority) of the walls could be classified as graffiti is up for debate, of course. But I think that’s pretty irrelevant in this context.
    Good that you’ve listed some old school heroes/bombers. Of course you can’t list every great writer ever to bomb this planet.

    Shame not all pieces are properly attributed though.

    @Starre Vartan
    Don’cha worry, most real writers don’t care too much what people say. And a lot are quite happy with the vandal tag ;)

  69. 69
    gonga
    September 16th, 2008 11:12 am

    there is so much more banksy stuff which you could have put in there. and better stuff than you have put in by him.

  70. 70
    Feo
    September 16th, 2008 12:18 pm

    Omg! It’s fuckin good!

  71. 71
    angeloq
    September 16th, 2008 1:00 pm

    what about blu and jr?
    ….c’mon….

  72. 72
    what?
    September 16th, 2008 1:45 pm

    you left out Dondi? Where is Tats cru from nyc? And i agree with some previous comments… people like Daim and 123Klan deserve to be here too…

  73. 73
    Pete
    September 16th, 2008 2:11 pm

    Good job and people seem to just love complaining.

    *The two flicks you have under Saber are not from him. I believe the first might be Ewso and the second one is Sever.

  74. 74
    bill
    September 16th, 2008 3:13 pm

    The unknown wheat pasting is Gaia in NY…

  75. 75
    web
    September 17th, 2008 1:56 am

    Beautiful.
    That is the sort of art more cityscapes need.

  76. 76
    JSHAW
    September 17th, 2008 5:40 am

    This is such an amazing collection of street art/ graff. It def. makes it noticeable the influence street art has on the design world…. there’s many instances street artists develop into designers as well and carry their influences into the corporate world.

  77. 77
    Raph
    September 17th, 2008 9:27 am

    Just amazing! The art quality are awesome, some one them I can’t believe it’s on street…

  78. 78
    Darlin
    September 17th, 2008 9:48 am

    Lady Pink also recently did a street art event in Upstate NY called: Electric Windows (which just won the 2008 Dutchess County Executive’s Arts Award for “Art in Public Places”.
    Upso, Lady Pink, Cycle, Elbow Toe, Ripo and others participated.

    http://www.electricwindowsbeacon.com/index2.html

  79. 79
    pasti
    September 17th, 2008 10:07 am

    The world’s biggest graffiti (90m x 5m!), Cracow, Poland:
    http://krkrap.com/silvarerum.jpg
    http://miasta.gazeta.pl/krakow/51,35823,4150804.html?i=2

    This graffiti shows story of a royal city, Cracow.

  80. 80
    kReEsTaL
    September 17th, 2008 12:14 pm

    Wonderful article! Thank you.

  81. 81
    brian
    September 17th, 2008 1:18 pm

    Nice stuff, but in no way is that classified as graffiti, that’s all “Street art, Stencil art, and Illustration art”.

  82. 82
    fonkya
    September 17th, 2008 2:55 pm

    this recopilation is shit! go and take a look fo’da streets and you will see a lot of more fresh stuff than on this blog. sucks!

  83. 83
    PAk
    September 17th, 2008 3:25 pm

    I miss pretty much “El niño de las pinturas”…a genius from Granada:

    Bar Candela
    Amstrong
    Pippi Långstrump
    Changing Questions
    Bem Bem Bem…

    and many more in flickr…remember… EL niño de las pinturas

  84. 84
    LEONCHO POTOSI
    September 17th, 2008 7:39 pm

    ESTAN BIEN VERGAS¡ SE LA RIFA ESTA PAGUINA CHIDO POR smashingmagazine.com

  85. 85
    Alessandro
    September 18th, 2008 3:28 am

    Great article! Bansky is the best :)
    Other links:
    - Street art
    - Milan, Italy – my city
    - Street art 2

  86. 86
    MSOnWired
    September 18th, 2008 10:07 am

    These are great. I love the color in Stuart Herbert’s design. It’s sharp but has a smooth flow to it. The simplicity of the Cloud -TA design is nice too.

  87. 87
    Casey
    September 18th, 2008 1:27 pm

    Unless he’s changed it recently… “duece 7″ is called “27″
    To the person who posted that Obey (Shepard Fairey, USA) and Banksy (UK) are the same person, people… you are sorely mistaken.

    bravo for sharing…

  88. 88
    Guy
    September 18th, 2008 5:17 pm

    Hey.
    The 6th from the top – the UNKNOWN one is by an NYC artist name “GAIA”.

    Probably should update that gangstar.

  89. 89
    Alex
    September 18th, 2008 9:58 pm

    Banksy is the best.!!

  90. 90
    NAREK
    September 18th, 2008 10:50 pm

    The “SABER” one is wrong. The pictures show the work of SEVER [also from msk/awr/tsl], not SABER…

  91. 91
    HowAboutNo
    September 19th, 2008 3:07 am

    The girl tugging the AT-AT is by Eelus.

    And Christ, do you really think in 50 pictures he could have made all of you happy. Nice selection of pics OP.

    For more check out my pics of around London mainly, but also other parts of the UK (Over 130 DIFFERENT Banksy pieces for all you people who think his sh*t dont stink :)

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/howaboutno/sets/72157594304678225/

    General ones here. . . .

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/howaboutno/sets/

  92. 92
    Drome
    September 19th, 2008 11:21 am

    Guy Fawkes is the photographer Zedz is the artist!!

  93. 93
    Joey
    September 19th, 2008 10:54 pm

    THIS BLEW MY MIND
    the “unknown” wheatpaste of the girl is a piece by my cousin in NY

  94. 94
    kamil
    September 20th, 2008 6:39 am

    Valla süper olmuş.

  95. 95
    asp
    September 20th, 2008 9:15 am

    it’s fantastic collection. Great!

  96. 96
    Easy Rider
    September 20th, 2008 3:39 pm

    Some of these are amazing, but more than half of these suck shit.

  97. 97
    kasey
    September 20th, 2008 7:36 pm

    the piece of the little girl with the halo- it’s made out of paper and it’s by a lady named swoon

    the 11th one from the top

  98. 98
    Metsecman
    September 21st, 2008 4:39 pm

    Although I think they are all (mostly) accomplished artists, they should all be stood up against their respective walls and shot. How dare they impose their art on us. All graffiti is pretentious, contrived and unwelcome by society as a whole.A building’s facade is what it is. If they don’t like it then tough. Maybe I should go and defecate on their front doorstep because I don’t like the smell of their house.

  99. 99
    seneka
    September 22nd, 2008 6:45 am

    hi great picssss

    but I would like to add some information.

    This graffiti is “drew” of granada (spain)

    http://farm1.static.flickr.com/191/508940517_189c034148_o.jpg

    having a good day

  100. 100
    Gene
    September 22nd, 2008 9:23 am

    By the way the “unknown” that goes with girls face is by artist “Swoon”. I’m almost sure of it. She’s based in NY.

  101. 101
    Liam Potter
    September 22nd, 2008 11:51 am

    The 2nd xens piece, I watched him paint it, it was amazing to watch.

  102. 102
    juansolo
    September 22nd, 2008 9:01 pm

    jojo!! la Cagaron ESTOS PUTOS CABRONES, las imagenes… alucinantes, gracias a quienes nos llevan a otro mundo con su arte!! estoy exitaDO…

  103. 103
    Joe
    September 22nd, 2008 9:02 pm

    Optimus Prime’s hands are blue, not red.

  104. 104
    The Ad Mad
    September 23rd, 2008 6:23 am

    Nice collection! Love the star wars one

  105. 105
    catfood
    September 23rd, 2008 1:10 pm

    That’s Sever not Saber.

    Even though Saber’s roller piece from SD should be in here too.

  106. 106
    visualinfluence
    September 24th, 2008 6:47 pm

    very cool

  107. 107
    Dr. Steve Jacobs
    September 25th, 2008 6:32 am

    It’s beautiful until someone paints it on the side of YOUR house or in your neighborhood.
    If it’s so beautiful, put it on canvas and sell it.

  108. 108
    Jackson
    September 25th, 2008 8:16 am

    the first piece by Stuart Herbert (bright colours on the dark background) is actually a piece by a Welsh artist know as sadsak,hes brilliant,take a look at his stuff at : http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=2700167

    secondly,obey(sheppards fairy) and banksy could easily be the same person seeing as banksy identity is hidden,and most information on him (such as being a Bristolian) could easily be fake,with not objective source whos to say! (personally i dont think they are,but their central themes and ideas are strikingly similar in some respects so its not that obscure an idea.

    and for those that have posted hate against graffiti (vandalism and graffiti are no the same thing,graffiti is a typographical art form,vandalism is damage of public property,2 very different things), i think youve missed the point one of our human rights is FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION, and the governments bad attitude towards graffiti in most countries raises a valid point,personally i dont like like tagging and bombing,but one thing i hate more is waking up to a dull grey city every day,and attempts at brightening it up are more than welcome to me,there are certainly more options and alternatives that could be taken towards graffiti (and vandalism of artistic form), why not have more legal places,in wales the legal places that are here are overrun with graffiti artists asking for more space because they dont want to do illegal work,why not listen people?

  109. 109
    abby
    September 25th, 2008 2:50 pm

    This is why I hate tagging so much…. if you want to leave a mark, make it memorable and interesting!

  110. 110
    Ramtha
    September 25th, 2008 11:05 pm

    Lol…. I see that starwars “grafitti” everyday… I thought it was just a commish mural…. we have alot of those around town… >> now there’s a Giant tree on a building down the road. Its cool looking!

  111. 111
    graffiti
    September 26th, 2008 12:47 am

    Hey…
    You should know this guy ;)
    Keusta.net

  112. 112
    Real Witer
    September 27th, 2008 10:10 am

    As with most of these “best of graffiti” blog posts, the majority of pictures and artists promoted here are NOT graffiti. What you really want to say is “street art”. As someone mentioned in a previous comment, graffiti is a TYPOGRAPHICAL art form that emphasizes stylized roman lettering above all else. Another bit of misinformation here is that graffiti started with territorial gang markings. No it didn’t. A sort of anonymous fame has always been the driving force behind the “graffiti” you’re referring to, which started in Philly and New York in the 60’s and 70’s. Many true graffiti artists wouldn’t take a second look at most of the stuff you’ve posted here if they saw it in real life, because it’s not graffiti. For instance, most writers don’t like banksy, who the public embraces for his artsy social commentary or whatever. These “best of ‘graffiti” blog posts do the opposite of their intention, which i presume to be an effort to raise ‘awareness’ of graffiti as a legitimate art form. These posts only reinforce the idea that this street art stuff is the ‘good’ graffiti (the stuff thats pretty to look at for people who don’t understand it), but those tags on the side of your office are bad and should be condemned. I’d rater see your, and my, office, house and city streets completely covered with handstyles and two-color throw-ups than this art-school-trying-to-acquire-street-cred nonsense ignorant people take for graffiti. Just because it’s on the street and not in a gallery doen’t make it graffiti.

  113. 113
    Sebastian Santander Lazo
    September 28th, 2008 6:09 pm

    SO fuckin Beautiful, mi art ist not compare, i do kindergarden draw,
    Saludos de Chile

  114. 114
    randompost
    September 29th, 2008 4:51 am

    just a reply to jackson (comment 110) banksy is no longer an unknown, he is a millionaire, in fact even one of his close friends from back in the day sold his van (adorned with banksy art on all panels) and set up his whole family.
    to “real writer” i do have respect for some that tag, either those impossible to get to spots (extreme tagging) or those that make a nice looking tag, but lets face it when your on the train and you see the same tag over and over and put over some nice looking street art or whatever it gets real old real quick. and while you may technically be right about graf being only typographical language is an evolving thing and the term graffiti is commonly used to describe street art and as such its official meaning will change to reflect this unless we stop using it in this way – we meaning everyone except you since we are the majority and we own the english language (i so hope your going to point out graffiti is a latin word and as such part of a dead language, cause while technically true this would mean that english has no words since it is a mish mash of other languages)

  115. 115
    Jorge
    September 30th, 2008 4:48 am

    I’m agree with you PAK, “El niño de las pinturas” (he sign as “Sex”) is really a genius.
    Visit his work on Flickr Flickr or in his Official Web Site Official Web Site.

    Greetings from Granada.

  116. 116
    Jimena
    September 30th, 2008 4:38 pm

    Alex Pardee is missing here.

  117. 117
    tristan savatier
    October 1st, 2008 2:04 am

    please remove my photos (Loupiote) from your blog.

    those photos are copyrighted and i do not authorize their use on any blog with advertising.

    -t

  118. 118
    Terra
    October 1st, 2008 5:47 pm

    terbear06.deviantart.com I have a few graffiti posted of what i have found in Hemet, ca. i love graffiti yes i call it that.. does it really matter if i call it STREET ART? I know its art. and so do you. so I will call it graffiti and not be PC.. BY THE WAY this article is awesome!

  119. 119
    gogudumitru
    October 2nd, 2008 5:55 am

    it sucks, a waste of time

  120. 120
    Kev's
    October 13th, 2008 12:51 pm

    El de “Marco” esta demasiado brutalll…

    (EN) “Marco” it’s the most AWESOME…

    En Caracas (Venezuela) tambien hay varios demasiado buenos…

    (EN) In Caracas (Venezuela), there is also very good..

    SALUDOS de Venezuela

  121. 121
    Soh
    October 17th, 2008 6:38 pm

    Dont forget about Craola…

    Craola Artist Spotlight

  122. 122
    Do5e
    October 19th, 2008 9:52 am

    With the exception of a few most of those were Legals, Which other than being on the street does not make them street art. Alot of those pictures make me sick because they are painted by yuppie beatniks who have some half baked reason for wanting to express themselves and choose to mooch off the graffiti culture to get there. for those of you who want real street art go to youtube and search Above1, Doug, or any Stompdown video. Peace. Dose, KSB BPB repin the midwest

  123. 123
    Julian Mentat
    October 25th, 2008 4:07 am

    >> “vandalism and graffiti are no the same thing,graffiti is a typographical art form,
    >> vandalism is damage of public property,2 very different things”

    Correction; vandalism is damage of PROPERTY, whether public or private.
    To deface a surface against the owner’s wishes IS vandalism. Calling it an “art form” does not get you off the hook.

    >> “one of our human rights is FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION”

    And another of our human rights is to possess a thing without anonymous strangers secretly spraying paint on it.

  124. 124
    venkatesh
    October 25th, 2008 5:27 am

    Excellent Arts..

  125. 125
    Ignatz Horowitz
    October 26th, 2008 7:47 am

    Not one mention of Vancouver Street Art’s blatant rip-off (not to mention copyright infringement) of Roy Lichtenstein’s comic book artwork ( http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/07/21/pop-art-is-alive-classics-and-modern-artworks/ )? Being a copycat is lame enough…being a crappy copycat is blasphemy.

  126. 126
    rogerio oliveira
    November 9th, 2008 7:46 am

    very good this gallery!
    has a selection of typography and graffiti here: http://a-ham.com/typograff/

  127. 127
    Manup
    November 11th, 2008 11:01 am

    Any who know what does “PAK” stand for? Have seen it everywhere but no explanation as to what it means.

  128. 128
    Julie
    November 13th, 2008 8:56 pm

    @Manup: if you see it often, it can either be the name of an artist or the name of the crew (group/team) this artist is a part of.

  129. 129
    jiiim
    November 19th, 2008 3:51 am

    Theres just one problem with the list. Most of these are not graffiti. They are mostly legal street art. These have little to nothing to do with graffiti.

  130. 130
    Jami
    November 19th, 2008 8:19 pm

    These are gorgeous. I wish there was graffiti like this closer to me, I miss seeing amazing pieces like this in person.

  131. 131
    Lt. Dan Bassett
    November 26th, 2008 4:34 am

    the “unknown” above has been variously attributed. As it is a paste-up drawn with a very distinctive hand, my guess would be to attribute this one to Swoon or someone very much emulating her style.
    Like street art? Take a glance at juxtapoz mag. Even the mainstream print media is catching on to the low brow aesthetic. Witness recent major section or cover art by Gary Taxali in the Sunday NYT and on the cover of Newsweek.
    Bring on the Baseman, I say.

  132. 132
    elizabeth.ortiz
    December 15th, 2008 3:41 pm

    i really liked it

  133. 133
    KELP
    December 16th, 2008 11:38 am

    Yes. The K.E.L.P picture is a painting in Santiago from graffiti writers: Cekis and Ayslap (both from Chile). KELP.cl is a latinamerica-based webportal which showcases only the crème de la crème on urban art. It´s slogan is “graffiti meets design”.

    We invite you to visit it to get to enjoy, explore this amazing world of graffiti style.

    Saludos
    KELP

  134. 134
    Nadia
    January 6th, 2009 2:12 am

    What can i say? The art work is freaking dope!It’s 2009 and looking at all this masterpieces is really inspiring. How i wish i was somewhere nearby to witness the artist at work. It’s a new year and i want to do something out of my normal league. I saw this job posting

  135. 135
    Wes Wong
    January 21st, 2009 1:00 am

    ***Alot of the flickr links are not credited correctly. They are for the photographer’s username and not the actual artist.***

  136. 136
    A
    February 8th, 2009 11:49 pm

    There are some Bad-A drawings up there, man! Makes me want to Tag again.

    Newfie Bullet and Lady Pink’s Lettering is just sick.

  137. 137
    Rob Che
    February 12th, 2009 5:13 am

    Great collection of pieces… I used it as inspiration for my site destroybeforereading.com !… Thanks you !

  138. 138
    lok
    February 18th, 2009 4:14 am

    where is DAIM? He’s the best for me. Banksy is too commercial, everybody talks about him, but so many other artists got actualy better skills…. good list anyway.

    • 139
      ellie
      November 1st, 2009 5:54 pm

      ya fulla crap

  139. 140
    solo
    February 19th, 2009 11:28 pm

    amazing!!!
    i wish your tatoo on my back!

  140. 141
    Bee
    February 20th, 2009 9:16 pm

    There’s a great Danish graffiti artist called ‘Husk Mit Navn’ (Remember My Name), he has been beautifying the streets of Copenhagen for many years now.

  141. 142
    Bilal
    February 22nd, 2009 3:24 pm

    extremely amazing

  142. 143
    parisa
    February 24th, 2009 4:17 pm

    tank you,they are cool

  143. 144
    KenK
    March 3rd, 2009 8:29 am

    Not so quick! There are people who have been missed and should have well replaced some people on the list.

  144. 145
    Alinga
    March 5th, 2009 2:28 am

    I have photographed a very nice collection of graffiti and street art.
    You can view them here http://www.alinga.com.au/?p=361

    Regards

    Adrian

  145. 146
    Joanna
    March 26th, 2009 2:21 pm

    Does anyone know AMAZING graffiti artists in San Diego?

  146. 147
    zac
    March 29th, 2009 12:58 am

    THATS AMAZING

    THANKS TO WHOEVER TOOK ALL THESE F0T0Z AND PILED THEM TOGETHER FOR US TO SEE!!!!!!!!!
    THEIR AMAZING
    I REALLY LIKE THE GORILLA ONE WITH THE RED EYES ITS AWESOME

    THANX AGAIN FOR TAKING THE TIME TO DO THAT

  147. 148
    Silent
    April 4th, 2009 4:35 pm

    Amazing!

  148. 149
    Justin
    April 8th, 2009 4:44 am

    That is a great collection. Did you know that some of the street artists you featured are from Bristol, Banksy being one and the other Xenz (Graeme Brusby) lived in Bristol for nine years. The Bristol graffiti and street art scene is really strong, I’ve recently put together a collection of photos from Bristol which you might find interesting.
    http://www.bristol-street-art.co.uk

  149. 150
    Kargamel
    April 16th, 2009 12:44 am

    wowwww, very nice

  150. 151
    kerouac
    April 28th, 2009 10:47 pm

    excellent gallery

  151. 152
    Mona
    May 6th, 2009 9:55 am

    Reaal Neat, My Fav is Banksy, Love the rat painting on fox…Haha!

  152. 153
    qbix
    May 6th, 2009 8:28 pm

    Uh, you forgot one of the masters, Daim! Still, good gallery. Hopefully my work will be here one day.

  153. 154
    Joax
    May 11th, 2009 3:03 am

    Fresh collection.. but you forgot my work joax graffiti :-P ^_^

  154. 155
    chef
    May 13th, 2009 1:58 pm

    Yeah….this is da shit!

  155. 156
    dad nar vid
    May 26th, 2009 12:49 am

    el graffity es arte callejero lo k asemos es pillar botes y darle caña a toooo el muro k este a nuetro alcanse

  156. 157
    jlkce
    May 30th, 2009 7:36 am

    You should check out these as well:
    Herakut: http://www.herakut.de/home.html
    45rpm: http://www.flickr.com/photos/whatcollective/sets/72057594093728353/
    And this amazing wall animation by the very talented BLU http://www.vimeo.com/993998

  157. 158
    Remba
    June 17th, 2009 7:41 am

    Everythings about this blog is cool!!!

  158. 159
    Terrance
    July 9th, 2009 10:49 pm

    Well, such arts isn’t permitted in conservative Asian countries.

  159. 160
    Nitcho
    July 20th, 2009 7:01 am

    This article have many information problems.
    First, many of them are “street art” works, and not GRAFFITI work.
    Some pictures are credited to the photographer, and not the graffiti artist! With the link right by its side!
    Please search more about Graffiti, and the creators of what you are posting here.

  160. 161
    James Svendsen
    July 21st, 2009 6:57 pm

    Great artwork and photography to both . I am doing a piece on graphite clean up with good and unusual art . I am james_svendsen @hotmail.com . If you send me some with a website I can send you what i have found .

  161. 162
    Helge-Kristoffer
    September 3rd, 2009 1:11 pm

    Nice! I liked 6emeia’s ones!

  162. 163
    Aaron VIII
    September 7th, 2009 12:40 am

    Graffiti = letters. This is (mostly) not graffiti
    http://www.flickr.com/cardiganlane

  163. 164
    Tom
    October 1st, 2009 6:23 pm

    Very cool character pieces and tags! I admit, I really do miss seeing Daim here too… I have been learning how to graffiti, and found a cool resource that recommended me here:
    http://www.thehowtograffiti.com
    They have some sweet tutorials for getting started with graffiti!

  164. 165
    Sam
    October 6th, 2009 2:51 pm

    Loved the pieces but I don’t think I saw any Philly writers…too bad! PASTOR, MEND and DAN1 are some of philly’s super writers.

  165. 166
    Kassondra
    October 13th, 2009 1:56 pm

    I have a book called ‘graffiti world’ and another called ‘graffiti women’
    it really, honestly, makes me want to get the hell out of America and start doing this kind of art.

  166. 167
    cloyd
    October 14th, 2009 9:04 pm

    the unknown artist that you displayed is “gaia” also you had a piece labeled with “saber” when it was in fact “ruets and rime” and “sever”…caught you sleeping : )

  167. 168
    Lord Jim
    October 14th, 2009 10:31 pm

    Hardly any of the photos identify the artists proper. A lot of the tags are wrong, attribute the work to the photographer, use generic terms or simply are not there at all. Doesn’t that bother anyone?
    …would be cool and well worth the effort to get it all straight, no?

  168. 169
    ehsaan mesghali
    October 16th, 2009 10:40 am

    u forgot the best in the game: daim

    http://www.daimgallery.com/

  169. 170
    Rmesh
    October 19th, 2009 4:26 pm

    “Originally used by gangs to mark their territory in some urban area,”

    This my friend, is a bunch of horse shit. Do your research.

  170. 171
    Virtual Monk
    October 19th, 2009 9:40 pm

    Word up to Deuce 7 holdin’ it down for Minneapolis.

  171. 172
    Jammee
    October 20th, 2009 9:55 pm

    “Marquis Lewis” is NOT who painted that. That’s The Mac (El Mac http://www.elmac.net) from Phoenix and El Rey. Wrong wrong wrong. Give due credit!

  172. 173
    maha
    October 23rd, 2009 7:14 am

    WONDERFUL ART!!!!!!

  173. 174
    John
    October 29th, 2009 1:16 pm

    If you enjoyed this graffiti you should check out this piece.

    http://www.moonhead.co.uk/STOCK/banksy.html

    …probably one of my favorites

  174. 175
    jorge
    November 1st, 2009 2:49 pm

    absolutely awesome!!!

  175. 176
    ellie
    November 1st, 2009 5:52 pm

    love it bruvz

    xx

  176. 177
    graffiti
    November 2nd, 2009 4:59 am

    another great artist
    stack > http://keusta.net/blog

  177. 178
    canvas paintings
    November 13th, 2009 4:35 am

    great work well done!

    Pete
    Rumney Exclusive original canvas paintings

  178. 179
    Ash
    November 13th, 2009 1:56 pm

    the first piece is located in walsall, birmigham west midlands uk on the side of a skate park. sadly the skate park has now been destroy to build a carpark. massive shame is a great piece of work

  179. 180
    manuel
    November 19th, 2009 1:54 pm

    ok very good……. soy español y no tengo ni idea de ingles
    solo digo soy guapisimos!!!!!!!!!!!

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