Art Outside the Law
　　另类的街头涂鸦艺术

　　看似现代的街头艺术其实早存在于尚无街道的远古时代。

　　A teenager wearing a dark 1)hoodie scrambles up a ladder to the top of a building.
　　A 2)handkerchief covers his mouth, partly to conceal his identity from security
　　cameras and partly to block out the 3)fumes from his 4)spray paint. In the dark, he
　　rapidly begins to recreate his trademark design on the brick wall.

　　身穿深色连帽上衣的小伙子顺着楼梯爬上建筑物顶端。一条领巾围住了他的嘴巴，一方面是为了躲过监视器，隐藏自己的身分，另一方面则是为了阻隔喷漆的难闻气味。在一片漆黑中，他开始迅速地在砖墙上重新描绘自己独特的设计。

　　Street art or 5)vandalism? Maybe 6)graffiti is both. Graffiti comes in many forms, from
　　someone scratching a name on a wall to an enormous spray-painted 7)mural. Basically,
　　any marking, drawing, or writing on property not belonging to the artist can be called
　　graffiti. This definition might make us pause before we judge modern law-breaking
　　spray-painters too 8)harshly. In fact, graffiti can be seen as one of the most ancient
　　forms of art. Cave drawings can be considered graffiti, and graffiti was common even
　　in ancient Greek and Roman times.

　　涂鸦是街头艺术还是破坏公物?或许它两者兼具。涂鸦艺术有许多种形式，小至某人在墙壁上涂写自己的名字，大至使用喷漆完成的一大片壁画皆是。基本上，任何在不属于艺术家之财产上的记号、图画或文字都可称为涂鸦。这个定义或许可以让我们在过度严厉批判现今那些违法的喷漆画家前，先停下来思考一下。事实上，涂鸦可被祝为最古老的艺术形式之一。石洞壁画就可算是一种涂鸦，而涂鸦甚至在古希腊罗马时代就相当普遍。

　　Today’s graffiti has developed a culture and style all its own. The average modern-day
　　graffiti artist is more likely to use spray paint or 9)markers than animal blood and
　　vegetable 10)pigments. Graffiti has been adopted by different cultures that appreciate
　　its unique aspects: the danger involved, and its status as a kind of “outsider art.” It is a
　　way for people to display their talents—whether or not they are particularly talented—in
　　a public place, instead of trying to get a painting in a serious art museum. Graffiti is
　　often used for political messages as well.

　　现今的涂鸦已发展为自成一格的文化及风格。现今一般的涂鸦艺术者大多可能使用喷漆或麦克笔，而非动物的血或植物染料来作画。涂鸦艺术的独特在于其可能隐含的危险，以及其“非主流艺术”的地位，这种艺术被许多懂得欣赏其独特面的文化所认同。姑且不论人们是否特别具有天分，与其尝试在严肃的美术馆中展出，涂鸦反而是一种让他们在公开场合展现才华的方法。另外，涂鸦也常被用来传达政治信息。

　　Most commonly, though, it is associated with hip hop. It is often done with oversized,
　　11)distorted lettering, and many pieces have characters and drawings that are inspired
　　by comic-book art. While many graffiti designs are nothing more than the artist’s graffiti
　　12)pseudonym and do not seem especially creative, there are undeniably some artists
　　who show imagination and talent.

　　但是普遍说来，涂鸦艺术与嘻哈文化最有关联。涂鸦通常都是以超大且扭曲的字体呈现，而且许多作品都包含受漫画艺术启发而创进出的文字及图画。虽然很多涂鸦作品只不过是艺术家的笔名，并不特别有创意，但不可否认地，这个领域中还是存在着一些展现出想象力及才华的艺术家。