Graffiti or graffiti is a word of Italian origin “graffito” which means “writing made with charcoal”. They are inscriptions engraved or drawn by the ancients on the walls of cities and monuments.
Graphite or graphite (name used by scientists) from the Greek “graphe” is a dark gray, metallic and soft mineral, consisting essentially of carbon, material that also forms diamond, is a conductor of electrical current and heat, is resistant to high temperatures and oxidation. Due to its high melting point it is also used as a refractory material. Graphite if subjected to high temperatures can produce artificial diamonds.
Graphite is used in industry in the manufacture of bricks and refractory parts, crucibles for the steel, brass and bronze industries, solid or base lubricants of oil and water, paints to protect iron and steel structures, alkaline battery cathodes, brushes for electric motors, electrodes for electric lamps etc. It is also used in the manufacture of pencils and mechanical pencils. Mixed with very fine clay, it forms the pencil mine, with varying degrees of hardness.
Graffiti (urban art)
The graffiti inscriptions have been known since the Roman Empire when charcoal was used to write words of protest on the walls of monuments.
In the 1960s, in New York City, young people from the Bronx neighborhood began to spread their marks on city walls using spray paint. They drew images of protest against social order, starting a great urban art movement.
In Brazil, the history of graffiti arose in the 70s, precisely in the city of São Paulo, at the time of the military in power. Graffiti emerged as a transgressive art that expresses the discomforts of a generation on the city walls.
The art of graffiti artists spread quickly throughout the country and nowadays, according to scholars on the subject, Brazilian graffiti is considered one of the best in the world.
See also the meaning of graffiti.