Modern graffiti began in big cities in the United States in the 1970s. One of the first 'taggers' was a
teenager called Demetrius. He wrote his tag TAKI 183 on walls and in subway stations in New York. Other
teenagers saw Demetrius's tag and started writing their own tags on walls, buses and subway trains all over
New York.
Then, some teenagers started writing their tags with aerosol paint. Their tags were bigger and more
colourful. Aerosol paint graffiti became very popular in the 1970s and 1980s and appearedon trains, buses
and walls around the world. In the 1990s and 2000s, a lot of graffiti artists started painting pictures.
In some countries, writing or painting on walls is a crime and street artists can have problems with the
police. In other countries, artists can draw and paint in certain places. For example, in Taiwan, there are
'graffiti zones' where artists can paint on walls. In São Paulo in Brazil, street artists can paint pictures on
walls and houses. Their pictures are colourful and beautiful. Some tourists visit São Paulo just to see the
street art!
1. Where did modern graffiti begin?
2. What was Demetrius's tag?
3. What did young people write on New York walls?
4. When did aerosol paint graffiti become popular?
5. Is graffiti legal in every country in the world?
colle
6. Where can artists paint in graffiti zones?
The
d