Graffiti
GROUND WORK 1966-71
Graffiti was used primarily by political activists to make statements and
street gangs to mark territory. It wasn't till the late 1960s that writing's
current identity started to form.
The history of the underground art movement known by many names, most commonly
termed graffiti begins in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the mid to late
'60s and is rooted in bombing. The writers who are credited with the first
conscious bombing effort are CORNBREAD and COOL EARL. They wrote their names
all over the city gaining attention from the community and local press. It is
unclear whether this concept made its way to New York City via deliberate
efforts or if was a spontaneous occurrence.
PIONEERING 1971-74
Shortly after CORNBREAD, the Washington Heights section of Manhattan was giving
birth to writers. In 1971 The New York Times published an article on one
of these writers. TAKI 183 was the alias of a kid from Washington Heights. TAKI
was the nick name for his given name Demetrius and 183 was the number of the
street where he lived. He was employed as a foot messenger, so he was on the
subway frequently and took advantage of it, doing motion tags. The appearance
of this unusual name and numeral sparked public curiosity prompting the Times
article. He was by no means the first writer or even the first king. He was
however the first to be recognized outside the newly formed subculture. Most widely
credited as being one of the first writers of significance is JULIO 204. FRANK
207 and JOE 136 were also early writers.
On the streets of Brooklyn a movement was growing as well. Scores of writers
were active. FRIENDLY FREDDIE was an early Brooklyn writer to gain fame. The
subway system proved to be a line of communication and a unifying element for
all these separate movements. People in all the five broughs became aware of
each others efforts. This established the foundation of interbrough competition.
Writing started moving from the streets to the subways and quickly became
competitive. At this point writing consisted of mostly tags and the goal was to
have as many as possible. Writers would ride the trains hitting as many subway
cars as possible. It wasn't long before writers discovered that in a train yard
or lay up they could hit many more subway cars in much less time and with less
chance of getting caught. The concept and method of bombing had been
established.
Tag Style
After a while there were so many people writing so much that writers needed a
new way to gain fame. The first way was to make your tag unique. Many script
and calligraphic styles were developed. Writers enhanced their tags with
flourishes, stars and other designs. Some designs were strictly for visual
appeal while others had meaning. For instance, crowns were used by writers who
proclaimed themselves king. Probably the most famous tag in the culture's
history was STAY HIGH 149. He used a smoking joint as the cross bar for his
'H' and a stick figure from the television series The Saint.
Tag Scale
The next development was scale. Writers started to render their tags in larger
scale. The standard nozzle width of a spray paint can is narrow so these larger
tags while drawing more attention than a standard tag, did not have much visual
weight. Writers began to increase the thickness of the letters and would also
outline them with an additional color. Writers discovered that caps from other
aerosol products could provide a larger width of spray. This led to the
development of the masterpiece. It is difficult to say who did the first
masterpiece, but it is commonly credited to SUPER KOOL 223 of the Bronx and WAP
of Brooklyn. The thicker letters provided the opportunity to further enhance
the name. Writers decorated the interior of the letters with what are termed
'designs.' First with simple polka dots, later with crosshatches,
stars, checkerboards. Designs were limited only by an artist's imagination.
Writers eventually started to render these masterpieces the entire height of
the subway car (A first also credited to SUPER KOOL 223.). These masterpieces
were termed top-to bottoms. The additions of color design and scale were
dramatic advancements, but these works still strongly resembled the tags on
which they were based. Some of the more accomplished writers of this time were
HONDO 1, JAPAN 1, MOSES 147, SNAKE 131, LEE 163d, STAR 3, PHASE 2, PRO-SOUL,
TRACY 168, LIL HAWK, BARBARA 62, EVA 62, CAY 161, JUNIOR 161 and STAY HIGH 149.
The competitive atmosphere led to the development of actual styles which would
depart from the tag styled pieces. Broadway style was introduced by
Philadelphia's TOPCAT 126. These letters would evolve in to block letters,
leaning letters, and block busters. PHASE 2 later developed Softie letters ,
more commonly refered to as Bubble letters. Bubble letters and Broadway style
were the earliest forms of actual pieces and therefore the foundation of many
styles. Soon arrows, curls, connections and twists adorned letters. These
additions became increasing complex and would become the basis for Mechanical
or Wild style lettering.
The combination of PHASE's work and competition from other style masters like
RIFF 140 and PEL furthered the development. RIFF is noted as being an early
catalyst in what is termed style wars. RIFF would take ideas from other writers
and improve upon them and take them to another level. Writers like FLINT 707
and PISTOL made major contributions in development of three dimentional
lettering adding depth to the masterpiece, which became standards for
generations to come.
This early period of creativity did not go unrecognized. Hugo Martinez a
sociology major at City College took notice of the legitimate artistic
potential of this generation. Martinez went on to found United Graffiti
Artists. UGA selected top subway artists from all around the city and presented
their work in the formal context of an art gallery. UGA provided opportunities
once inaccessible to these artists. The Razor Gallery was a successful effort
of Mr. Martinez and the artists he represented. PHASE 2, MICO, COCO 144,
PISTOL, FLINT 707, BAMA, SNAKE, and STICH have been represented by Martinez.
A 1973 article in New York magazine by Richard Goldstein entitled
'The Graffiti Hit Parade' was also early public recognition of the
artistic potential of subway artists.
Around 1974 writers like TRACY 168, CLIFF 159, BLADE ONE created works with
scenery, illustrations and cartoon characters surrounding the masterpieces.
This formed the basis for the mural whole car. Earlier ground breaking whole
cars were produced by writers like AJ 161 and SILVER TIPS.
THE PEAK 75-77
For the most part innovation in writing hit a plateau after 1974. All the
standards had been set and a new school was about to reap the benefits of
artistic foundations established by prior generations and a city in the midst
of a fiscal crisis. New York City was broke and therefore the transit system
was poorly maintained. This led to the heaviest bombing in history.
At this time bombing and style began to further distinguish themselves. Whole
cars became a standard practice rather than an event, and the definitive form
of bombing became the throw up. The throw up is a piecing style derived from
the bubble letter. Th e throw up is hastily rendered piece consisting of a
simple outline and is barely filled in. Mostly two letter throw up names began
appearing all over the system particularly on the INDs and BMTs. Crews like
POG, 3yb, BYB TC, TOP, made major contributions. Throw up kings included TEE,
IZ, DY 167, PI, IN, LE, TO, OI, FI aka VINNY, TI 149, CY, PEO. Writers became
very competetive. Races broke out to see who could do the most throw ups. Throw
ups peaked from '75 thru '77 as did whole cars. Writers like BUTCH, CASE,
KINDO, BLADE, COMET, ALE 1, DOO2, JOHN 150, LEE, MONO, SLAVE, SLUG, DOC 109
CAINE ONE plastered the IRTs with magnificent whole cars, following in the foot
steps of giants like TRACY and CLIFF.
STYLE REVIVAL 1978-1981
A new wave of creativity bloomed in late 1977 with crews like TDS, TMT, UA,
MAFIA, TS5, CIA, RTW, TMB, TFP, TC5 and TF5. Style wars were once again
peaking. It was also the last wave of bombing before the Transit Authority made
the elimination of writing a priority. On Broadway, CHAIN 3, KOOL 131, PADRE,
NOC 167 and PART 1 were expanding upon styles established by writers like PHASE
2, RIFF 140 and PEL. CHAIN later went to the 2 and 5 lines with the TMT crew.
In style war tradition TMT's works were countered by CIA. DONDI came out with POSE
against CHAIN's DOSE.
CASE 2, KEL 139, MARE, COMET, REPEL, COS 207, DURO, MIN, SHY 147, KADE 198, FED
2, REVOLT, RASTA, ZEPHYR, BOOTS 119, KIT 17, CRASH and DAZE were also active
writers of the time. LEE, CAZ 2, IZ, SLAVE, REE, DONDI, BLADE and COMET became
very competitive in the whole car arena. SEEN, MAD, PJ and DUST dominated the 6
line with elaborate whole cars. MITCH 77, BAN 2, BOO 2, PBODY, MAX 183, and KID
56 ruled the 4 line. FUZZ ONE was a major presence on all 7 IRTs. CIA, TB and
TKA ensured that the BMTs were not deprived of style.
In 1980 The real buff started up again pieces ran for shorter periods. Train
yard fence repair was becoming more consistent. Writers slowly started to quit
and consider other creative options. Many writers became distracted with
thoughts about careers beyond painting subway cars. The established art world
was once again becoming receptive to writing. There hadn't been much positive
attention since the Razor Gallery in the early '70s. In 1979 LEE QUINONES and
FAB 5 FREDDIE had an opening in Rome with the art dealer Claudio Bruni. Then in
1980 numerous writers flocked to places like ESSES studio, Stephan Eins'
Fashion Moda and Patti Astor's Fun Gallery to expand their horizons. These and
subsequent galleries would prove to be an important factors in expanding
writing overseas. European art dealers became aware of the movement and were
very receptive to the new art form. Shows featuring paintings by DONDI, LEE,
ZEPHYR, LADY PINK, DAZE, FUTURA 2000 and others exposed the world to the once
secret world of New York's youth.
SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST 1982-1985
During the early to mid 1980s the writing culture deteriorated dramatically due
to several factors. Some related directly to the graffiti culture itself and
others to the greater society in general. The crack cocaine epidemic was taking
its toll on the inner city. Due to the drug trade powerful firearms were
readily available. The climate on the street became increasingly tense. Laws
restricting the sale of paint to minors and requiring merchants to place spray
paint in locked cages made shoplifting more difficult. Legislation was in the
works to make penalties for graffiti more severe.
The major change was the increase in the Metropolitan Transit Authority's
anti-graffiti budget. Yards and layups were more closely guarded. Many favored
painting areas became almost inaccessible. New more sophisticated fences were
erected and were quickly repaired when damaged. Graffiti removal was stronger
and more consistent than ever, making the life span of many paintings months if
not days. This frustrated many writers causing them to quit.
Many others were not so easily discouraged, yet they were still affected. They
perceived the new circumstances as a challenge, determined not to be defeated
by the MTA. Due to the lack or resources they became extremely territorial and
aggressive, claiming ownership to yards and layups. Claiming territory was
nothing new in writing, but the difference at this time was that threats were
enforced. If a writer went to layup unarmed he could almost be guaranteed to be
beaten and robbed of his painting supplies.
At this point physical strength and unity as in street gangs became a major
part of the writing experience. The One Tunnel and the Ghost yard were the back
drops many for legendary conflicts. In addition to the pressure from the MTA,
cross out wars among writers broke out. The most famous war being CAP MPC vs
the world. High profile writers during these years were: SKEME, DEZ, TRAP,
DELTA, SHARP, SEEN TC5, SHY 147, BOE, WEST, KAZE, SPADE 127, SAK, VULCAN,
SHAME, BIO, MIN, DURO, KEL, T KID, MACK, NICER, BRIM, BG 183, KENN, CEM,
FLIGHT, AIRBORN, RIZE, JON 156, KYLE 156.
THE DIE HARDS 1985-1989
On certain subway lines graffiti removal significantly decreased because the
cars servicing those lines were headed for the scrap yards. This provided a
last shot for writers.
The last big surge on the 2 and 5 lines came from writers like WANE, WEN, DERO,
WIPS, TKID, SENTO, CAVS, CLARK and M KAY who hit the white 5s with burners.
These burners many times were blemished by marker tags that soaked through the
paint. A trend had developed that was a definite step back for writing. Due to
a lack of paint and courage to stay in a lay up for prolonged periods of time,
many writers were tagging with markers on the outside of subway cars. These
tags were generally poor artistic efforts. The days when writers took pride in
their hand style (signature) were long gone. If it wasn't for the afore
mentioned writers and a few others, the artform in New York City could have
officially been deemed dead.
By mid '86 the MTA was gaining the upper hand. Many writers quit and the
violence subsided. Most lines were completely free of writing. The Ds, Bs, LLs,
Js, Ms were among the last of the lines with running pieces. MAGOO, DOC TC5,
DONDI, TRAK, DOME and DC were all highly visible writers.
Security was high and the Transit Police's new vandal squad was in full force.
What was left was a handful of diehards. GHOST, SENTO, CAVS, KET, JA, VEN,
REAS, SANE, SMITH were prominent figures and would keep transit writing alive.
Alex M. IX-a b
