Question

les quiñones a bref history of graffiti art les quiñones icon of the new york subway art movement 1. les quiñones is a puerto rican artist who first gained recognition for his graffiti pieces painted on new york subway cars. born in 1960 in ponce, puerto rico, quiñones later moved to the lower east side of new york, new york, where he was raised. as a teenager in the late 1970s and 1980s, he started tagging subway cars. at the time, graffiti was often denounced as mere vandalism. during that period, new york city was struggling through a time of economic and political instability and was on the verge of bankruptcy. 2. new yorks turmoil led to an era of white flight—a term expressing a mass exodus of caucasians. many who remained were of black, latino, and asian communities. the work of quiñones, like that of many street artists of his generation—most of whom came from black and latino, especially puerto rican, dominican, and cuban communities—was rooted in revolutionary sentiments. it tended to touch on matters of race, class, and gender. the street art community was linked to subcultures in hip - hop, punk, and other new wave movements, which used the streets as a forum for their own expression and discontent with the status quo. quiñones work, like the work of many great street artists, emphasized a social and political message of protest—through imagery, symbols, composition, phrases, and also through embracing materials and venues that were not considered appropriate in the mainstream political or art scene. most of quiñones early works survive only through sketches and instamatic photographs from that time. 3. in his early years, quiñones often painted by moonlight. he used paint markers, spray paint, and stencil to create wild, fantastical, often jarring compositions which directly questioned based on both texts, which statement best reflects how the use of graffiti art has developed over time? a. graffiti art has changed from a very personal art form to a means of social expression. b. graffiti art has evolved from a way to represent ancient cultures into a means to express identity and make political statements. c. graffiti art has had many uses but has proven most useful for expressing ones personal sense of identity. d. graffiti art has achieved a degree of mainstream recognition, but artists still struggle to be taken seriously.

Explanation:

The text mentions that graffiti was initially seen as vandalism (a personal act of marking) but then artists like Les Quinones used it to touch on matters of race, class, gender, and express social and political messages of protest. This shows a shift from a more personal (tagging) to a social expression (conveying broader social - political ideas) use of graffiti.

Answer:

A. Graffiti art has changed from a very personal art form to a means of social expression.