As I was sitting in class looking at the cave paintings my mind couldn't help but wonder if these were what could be looked at as the first pieces of graffiti. Today we think of them as important pieces of artwork, however since we do not know the context, there are things that make me wonder if they were simply done just to make a mark and express oneself, similar to graffiti. To say that the only similarity between cave paintings and graffiti is the fact that they are done on walls seems unfair to me. Since we do not know too much about these cave painting artists, I like to assume that they knew each other, within a certain vicinity, and that they made their marks, almost as a way of saying, "yep. I was here" There are also a few graffiti artists who have drawn inspiration from these cave artists. One of the most notable examples is probably the most famous graffiti artists, Banksy.
Another artist who has drawn inspiration from these famous cave paintings is an artist named Riske, and in general a lot of graffiti artists implement this style, at least when they are simply tagging.
The rounded forms and fluid movement seen especially in quick tags rather than large thought out murals really is reminiscent of those early cave paintings.
