Graffiti

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

For the handwriting system, see Graffiti (Palm OS).

Graffiti on the banks of the Tiber river in Rome, Italy.

Graffiti is a type of deliberately inscribed marking made by humans on surfaces, both private and public. It can take the form of art, drawings or words. When done without a property owner's consent it constitutes illegal vandalism. Graffiti has existed at least since the days of ancient civilizations such as classical Greece and the Roman Empire.

graffiti by Antck - UFG, THC - Chicago, IL]

The word "graffiti" expresses the plural of "graffito", although the singular form has become relatively obscure and is largely used in art history to refer to works of art made by scratching the design on a surface. Both of these English words come from the Italian language, most likely descending from "graffiato", the past participle of "graffiare" (to scratch); ancient graffitists scratched their work into walls before the advent of spray-paint. These words derive in their turn from the Greek γραφειν (graphein), meaning "to write". Historians continue to speculate over the vexed question as to where the term "graffiti" first referred to this form of marking.

History of graffiti

Ancient graffiti

The ordinary people of the Roman Empire used the language known as Vulgar Latin rather than the Classical Latin of literature, as in this political graffiti at Pompeii

Historically, the term graffiti originally referred to the inscriptions, figure drawings, etc., found on the walls of ancient sepulchers or ruins, as in the Catacombs of Rome or at Pompeii. Usage of the word has evolved to include any decorations (inscribed on any surface) that one can regard as vandalism; or to cover pictures or writing placed on surfaces, usually external walls and sidewalks, without the permission of an owner. Thus, inscriptions made by the authors of a monument are not classed as graffiti.

The first known example of "modern style" graffiti survives in the ancient Greek city of Ephesus (in modern-day Turkey) and appears to advertise prostitution, according to the tour guides of the city. It stands near the long mosaic and stone walkway and consists of a handprint, a vaguely heart-like shape, a footprint and a number. This purportedly indicates how many steps one would have to take to find a lover, with the handprint indicating payment.

Ancient Pompeiian graffiti caricature of a politician.

The Romans carved graffiti into their own walls and monuments, and examples of their work also exist in Egypt. The eruption of Vesuvius preserved graffiti carved on the walls of Pompeii, and they offer us a direct insight into street life: everyday Latin, insults, magic, love declarations, political consigns. In contrast to typical modern grafitti, alphabets and quotations from famous literature (especially the first line of Virgil's Aeneid) have been found scribbled on the walls of Pompeii, either for the pleasure of the writer or to impress, albeit anonymously, the passerby with one's familiarity with letters and literature. In an ancient variant on the "for a good time..." theme, an inscription gives the address of one Novellia Primigenia of Nuceria, apparently a great beauty and subject of constant enquiry; an illustration of a phallus was accompanied by the text, mansveta tene: "Handle with care." Love was also the object of scorn:

Quisquis amat. veniat. Veneri volo frangere costas

fustibus et lumbos debilitare deae.

Si potest illa mihi tenerum pertundere pectus

quit ego non possim caput illae frangere fuste?

Whoever loves, go to hell. I want to break Venus's ribs

with a club and deform her hips.

If she can break my tender heart

why can't I hit her over the head?

-CIL IV, 1284.

Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli also has several examples. One example has even survived that warns: "Cave Canem", which translates as "Beware of the dog," next to a picture of the dog in question.

Errors in spelling and grammar in graffiti not only inform us of the degree of literacy of many of the graffiti scrawlers, but they also give clues as to the pronunciation of spoken Latin. Such is the case with CIL IV, 7838: Vettium Firmum / aed[ilem] quactiliar[ii] [sic] rog[ant]. Here "qu" reflects the common pronunciation of "co". Conversely, ancient graffiti also provide us with evidence of the ability to read and write among classes of people for whom literacy was not requisite and might not otherwise be assumed. For example, the 83 graffiti found at CIL IV, 4706-85 (a peristyle which had been undergoing remodeling at the time of the eruption of Vesuvius) were executed not only by the architect Crescens, but also by most of the members of the work crew for whom he served as foreman. The brothel at CIL VII, 12, 18-20 contains over 120 graffiti, the authors of which included the prostitutes as well as their clients. And finally, the gladiatorial academy at CIL IV, 4397 contained graffiti left by the gladiator Celadus Crescens (Suspirium puellarum Celadus thraex: "Celadus the Thracier makes the girls sigh.")

However, not only Greeks and Romans produced graffiti: the Mayan site of Tikal in Guatemala, also contains ancient examples. Viking graffiti survive in Rome and at Newgrange Mound in Ireland, and Varangians carved their runes in Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. The ancient Irish inscribed stones with an alphabet called Ogham -- this standard mode of writing may not fall into the category of graffiti. Ironically, there are even examples in American history, like Signature Rock (a national landmark), along the Oregon Trail.

Genteel Graffiti on a fruit garden wall Delapre Abbey

Later, French soldiers carved their names on monuments during the Napoleonic campaign of Egypt in the 1790s.

Art forms like frescoes and murals involve leaving images and writing on wall surfaces. Like the prehistoric wall paintings created by cave dwellers, they do not comprise graffiti, as the artists generally produce them with the explicit permission (and usually support) of the owner or occupier of the walls.

Modern graffiti

A graffiti artist at work with spray paint at a graffiti competition in Spitalfields market London.

In the 20th century, especially during World War II, 'Kilroy was here' became a famous graffito, along with Mr. Chad, a face with only the eyes and a nose hanging over the wall, saying "What No [scarce commodity]…?" during the time of rationing. Twentieth century warfare saw the advent of many new aviation technologies, closely followed by the advent of airplane graffiti, including the nose art made famous during World War II.

Starting with the large-scale urbanization of many areas in the post-war half of the 20th century, urban gangs would mark walls and other pieces of public property with the name of their gang (a "tag") in order to mark the gang's territory. Near the end of the 20th century, non-gang-related tagging became more common, practised for its own sake. Graffiti artists would sign their "tags" for the sake of doing so, or to increase their reputation and prestige as a "writer" or graffiti artist. The first documented cases of illegal markings created with a spray can were created by an artist named "Cornbread" from Philadelphia. The spray can became an important characteristic for the lettering styles which followed.

Taggers sometimes select tags, like screennames, to reflect some personal qualities. Some tags also contain subtle and often cryptic messages. The year in which the piece was created, and in some cases the writer's initials or other letters, sometimes become a part of the tag. In some cases, "writers" dedicate or create tags or graffiti in memory of a deceased friend, for example, "DIVA Peekrevs R.I.P. JTL '99".

In some cases, taggers have achieved such elaborate graffiti (especially those done in memory of a deceased person) on storefront gates that shopkeepers have hesitated to cover them up. In the Bronx after the death of rapper Big Pun, several murals dedicated to his life appeared virtually overnight; similar outpourings occurred after the deaths of The Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur.

Other works covering otherwise unadorned fences or walls may likewise become so highly elaborate that property-owners or the government may choose to keep them rather than cleaning them off. "Legals" or commisioned walls are now a common part of the culture.

Some graffiti has local or regional resonance, such as wall and street sign tagging in Southern California by gangs such as the Bloods and the Crips. The name Cool "Disco" Dan (including the quotation marks) occurs commonly in the Washington, D.C. area. One famous graffito in the DC Metro area appeared on the outer loop of the beltway on a railroad bridge near the Mormon temple as seen here. Its simple scrawl "Surrender Dorothy" summoned visions of the Emerald City of Oz and has remained on the bridge for nearly 30 years off and on beginning in late 1973. Pressure from the Temple saw it removed, only to reappear. This "giraffiti" became so well known among the Mormon community that their newsletters often mentioned it as a specific example demonstrating misunderstanding. (See "In View of Temple, Graffiti Again Seeks Dorothy's Surrender" and "Landmark to most, temple is sanctuary for area's Mormons" in Mormons Today.)

Theories on and the use of graffiti by avant-garde artists have a history dating back at least to the Scandinavian Institute of Comparative Vandalism of 1961.

Most of those who practice graffiti art wish to distance themselves from gang graffiti. Differences in both form and intent exist: graffiti art aims at self-expression and creativity, and may involve highly stylized letterforms drawn with markers, or cryptic and colorful spray paint murals on walls, buildings, and even freight trains. Graffiti artists strive to improve their art, which constantly changes and progresses. Gang graffiti, on the other hand, functions to mark territorial boundaries, and therefore does not transcend a gang's neighborhood; in the eyes of lovers of graffiti-art, it does not presuppose artistic intent.

The designs, while chosen to appear distinctive and recognizable, are more likely to be influenced by the speed with which a tagger can execute them (thus minimizing the chance of that tagger being caught). Those who distinguish between tagging and graffiti generally accept tagging as gang-motivated or meant as vandalism (illegal) or viewed as too vulgar or controversial to have public value, while they can view graffiti as creative expression, whether charged with political meaning or not.

Many contemporary analysts and even art critics have begun to see artistic value in some graffiti and to recognize it as a form of public art. According to many art researchers, particularly in the Netherlands and in Los Angeles, that type of public art is, in fact an effective tool of social emancipation or in the achievement of a political goal.

The murals of Belfast and of Los Angeles [1] offer another example of official recognition. In times of conflict, such murals have offered a means of communication and self-expression for members of these socially, ethnically and/or racially divided communities, and have proven themselves as effective tools in establishing dialog and thus of addressing cleavages in the long run.

A "tagged" construction scaffolding.

Computer generated "tags" of usernames are now increasingly popular on forums, one notable site being gaia online.

Terminology

A number of words and phrases have come to describe different styles and aspects of graffiti. Like all slang and colloquialisms the pharses vary in different cities and countries. Below is a selection of terminology from the USA:

• tag - a stylized signature; the terms tagger and writer refer to a person who "tags". Another type of tag is a "dust tag", done in dust by writers wishing to practice. Not commonly popular.
• piece (from "masterpiece") - a large image, often with 3-D effects, arrows giving flow and direction, many colors and color-transitions and various other effects. A piece needs more time than a throw-up. If placed in a difficult location and well executed it will earn the writer more respect
• throw-up - not a piece, but more of a large tag. It often has an outline (like black) and a fill-color (like silver). Easy-to-paint bubble-shapes often form the letters
• bombing (as in the phrases to bomb or to hit) has no connection with terrorism, but describes painting many surfaces. Throw-ups often serve for this, since they don't require much time to execute
• crew or cru has become the standard collective noun for a group of writers or graffiti-artists, which can but are not limited to be part of gangs or can be associated with them for funding for materials, and sometimes protection from police and people who might not want graffiti on a certain wall while doing the piece. It is a common misconception that crews are gangs, since they break the law. However, crews can be founded unassociated with gangs.
• writers become up when their work becomes widespread and well-known. To "get up" in a city involves both tagging, bombing and making good pieces
• to slash somebody's tag (to put a line through, or tag over it) counts as a deep insult. This is also known as dissing; which originates from disrespecting.
  

  

  Graffiti on the Berlin Wall
• the phrase back to back refers to a graffiti that covers a wall from end to end, as seen on some parts of the West-Berlin side of the Berlin Wall. Similarly, trains sometimes receive end to end painting; which means a carriage has been painted along its entire length (but not to the top of the carriage). This is often abbreviated to "e2e". End to ends used to be called window-downs but this is an older expression that is falling from popularity.
• top-to-bottom pieces on trains cover the the whole height of the car. A top-to-bottom, end-to-end production is called a whole-car. A production with several writers might cover a whole-train, which means the entrie side of the train has been covered.
• burner - typically a large, elaborate piece, more elaborate than a normal piece. It refers to the piece "burning" out of the wall or train-side. Burners often originate legally, because of the time and effort put into them, but the great early writers of New York also did burners illegally on trains.
• insides are tags or bombs done inside trains, trams, or buses. In 1970s New York, there was as much graffiti inside the subway trains as outside, and the same is true of some cities today (like Rome, Italy and Melbourne, Australia). While prolific, insides are often less artistic and seldom documented.
• going over - (go over) if a writer goes over or tags upon another writer's piece, it is the same as declaring war against the opponent writer. Most writers respect others' work, and the basic rules for replacing other creations are in this order: tag - throwup - piece. You should only paint over another's work if it has been slashed, or dissed, already or if you will be creating something better than the original piece. As what constitutes better is highly subjective this often leads to disagreements. If someone breaks these guidelines the person is considered being a toy or generally an annoyance.
• toy - an inexperienced or unskilled writer. Graffiti pros use this as a derogatory term for new writers in the scene.
• king - inside or outside kings are writers with a certain amount of respect among other writers. To own the inside means you have most tags inside trains, and to own the outside means having most pieces on the train surface.
• buffing - (to buff) to remove a graffiti painting with chemicals and other instruments.

Informal competition exists between taggers as to who can put up the most, or the most visible or artistic tags (see the section below titled Graffiti art battle). Writers with the most tags up tend to gain respect among other graffiti artists, although they will also incur a greater risk if caught by authorities.

TAF rooftop, Phoenix Arizona

To gain notoriety, and make pieces difficult to remove, graffiti artists will sometimes paint hard-to-reach spots such as rooftops. Such heavens pieces (also commonly known as giraffiti), by the nature of the spot often pose dangerous challenges to execute.

Another technique sometimes referred to as "scratchitti" involves making purposely hard-to-remove graffiti by scratching or etching a tag into an object, generally using a key or another sharp object such as a knife, stone, ceramic drill bit, or diamond tipped Dremel bit. The Mohs scale of mineral hardness determines which stones or other objects will scratch what surfaces.

"Etch" can also refer to the use of acid solutions intended for creating frosted glass to write on windows.

Legal situation

Graffiti is subject to different societal pressures from popularly-recognized art forms, since graffiti appears on walls, freeways, buildings, trains or any accessible surfaces that are not owned by the person who applies the graffiti. This means that graffiti forms incorporate elements rarely seen elsewhere. Spray paint and broad permanent markers are commonly used, and the organizational structure of the art is sometimes influenced by the need to apply the art quickly before it is noticed by authorities.

Character created by graffiti artist

In an effort to reduce vandalism, many cities have designated walls or areas exclusively for use by graffiti artists. Some have suggested that this discourages petty vandalism yet encourages artists to take their time and produce great art, without worry of being caught or arrested for vandalism or trespassing. Others disagree with this approach, arguing that the presence of legal graffiti walls does not demonstrably reduce illegal graffiti elsewhere.

Many people regard graffiti as an unwanted nuisance, or as expensive vandalism requiring repair of the vandalized property. One can view graffiti as a 'quality of life' issue, and many people suggest that the presence of graffiti contributes to a general sense of squalor and a heightened fear of crime. Advocates of the "broken window theory" believe that this sense of decay encourages further vandalism and promotes an environment leading to offences that are more serious. Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani's subscription to the broken window theory promoted an aggressive anti-graffiti campaign in New York. However, throughout the world, authorities often, though not always, treat graffiti as a minor nuisance crime, though with widely varying penalties.

Chicago's mayor, Richard M. Daley created the 'Graffiti Blasters' to eliminate graffiti and gang-related vandalism. The bureau promises absolutely free cleanup within 24 hours of a phone call. The bureau uses paints (common to the citys 'color scheme') and baking-soda based solvents to erase all varieties of graffiti. [2]

Community cleaning squads have responded to graffiti. In France, the Protestant youth group Éclaireurs de France took their graffiti-scrubbing into the Meyrieres Cave near the French village of Bruniquel in Tarn-et-Garonne, where they carefully erased the ancient paintings from the walls, earning them the 1992 Ig Nobel Prize in archaeology.[3]

Computer generated graffiti No Guts, No Fame, its noticeable "anti-police" theme shows both its subject's and its creator's frustration with the perceived illegal threat of graffiti, and the belief that the likely penalty is worth the price.

Graffiti made the news in 1993, over an incident in Singapore involving several expensive cars found spray-painted. The police arrested a student from Singapore American School, Michael P. Fay, questioned him and subsequently charged him with vandalism. Fay pleaded guilty for vandalizing the car in addition to stealing road signs. Under the 1966 Singapore Vandalism Act, originally passed to curb the spread of communist graffiti in Singapore, the court sentenced him to four months in jail, a fine of 3,500 Singaporean dollars (US $2,233 or 1,450 British pounds), and a caning. The New York Times ran several editorials and op-eds that condemned the punishment and called the American public to flood the Singaporean embassy with protests. Although the Singapore government received many calls for clemency, Fay's caning took place in Singapore on May 5, 1994. (Fay originally received a sentence of six lashes of the cane, but the then President of Singapore Ong Teng Cheong finally agreed to reduce his caning-sentence to four lashes.)

In 1995 Mayor Rudolph Giuliani of New York set up the Anti-Graffiti Task Force, a multi-agency initiative to combat the perceived problem of graffiti vandals in New York City. This began a crackdown in "quality of life crimes" throughout the city, and one of the largest anti-graffiti campaigns in US history. That same year Title 10-117 of the New York Administrative Code banned the sale of aerosol spray-paint cans to children under 18. The law also requires that merchants who sell spray-paint must lock it in a case or display cans behind a counter, out of reach of potential shoplifters. Violations of the city's anti-graffiti law carry fines of $350 per count. Both the full text of the law and an opposing viewpoint written by famous NYC graffiti artist Zephyr appear online.

The Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 became Britain's latest anti-graffiti legislation.

In August 2004, the Keep Britain Tidy campaign issued a press release calling for zero tolerance of graffiti and supporting proposals such as issuing "on the spot" fines to graffiti offenders and banning the sale of aerosol paint to teenagers. The press release also condemned the use of graffiti images in advertising and in music videos, arguing that real-world experience of graffiti stood far removed from its often-portrayed 'cool' or 'edgy' image. To back the campaign, 123 British MPs (including Prime Minister Tony Blair) signed a charter which stated: Graffiti is not art, it's crime. On behalf of my constituents, I will do all I can to rid our community of this problem.

The city of Albuquerque, New Mexico has had an aggressive anti-graffiti program since the mid-1990s. The city regarded its heavily-tagged arroyos, bridges and sound barrier walls as an eyesore. Reports emerged of taggers suffering injury and death attempting to tag their gang's area or while spray painting graffiti on the bridges. Each park and arroyo now has a sign posted that gives the telephone number to the Albuquerque Tagger's Hotline, and a website exists where citizens can report taggers or graffiti online. Most stores in the metro area will not even sell spray paint without seeing an ID, and some have gone so far as to lock the spray paint away. Punishments include fines, community service and jail.

See also

• Types of graffiti
• Bristol Urban Culture
• Guerilla art
• Airplane graffiti

Famous artists

New York City's TAKI 183

References and additional resources

In film

• Bomb the System (Theatrical release May 27, 2005 in America / Sep 3, 2005 in Japan): a narrative feature about a crew of graffiti writers in modern day New York City. Shot entirely on the streets of New York starring Mark Webber as BLEST, a young artist struggling for fame and featuring BONZ Malone, SEMZ, TATS crew, LEE Quinones, Tracy 168, GANO, and artwork from KR, SERF/MINT, PER, T-KID, STEM YNN, KYRO VGL and many many others. Bomb the System was scored by independent hip hop producer El P aka El Producto, his first such attempt at composing for film and directed by 23 year old NYU film school grad Adam Bhala Lough. The film screened at 23 festivals on 3 continents and was nominated for an IFP Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature in 2003. Palm Pictures released the film and subsequent DVD in 2005 to mixed reviews by the mainstream press, but laudes in the New York Times and Village Voice [4]. The first pressings of the DVD contain a limited edition Tracy 168 "Bomb the System" poster. [5] [6] See either website for more details or See Bomb the System at the Internet Movie Database
• RASH (film), 2005, Feature Documentary. Directed by Nicholas Hansen, Produced by Mutiny Media. A contemporary story of Melbourne, Australia and the artists who make it a living host for illegal artwork called street art. See the website
• The Graffiti Artist, 2004: Directed by James Bolton, Produced by Mettray Reformatory Pictures. Award-winning film about two young graffiti artists communicate via their graffiti art. Starring Ruben Bansie-Snellman (from Gus Van Sant's Elephant). See the website at www.thegraffitiartist.com or www.indie-pictures.com. Winner of several major international film festival awards and released by Los Angeles based Indie-pictures.
• Style Wars, 1983: Directed by Tony Silver, Produced by Henry Chalfant. Represents a history of the 1980s NYC graffiti scene as seen through the eyes of its participants. See Style Wars at the Internet Movie Database.
• Wild Style, 1982: Directed by Charlie Ahearn, the first hip-hop movie. See Wild Style at the Internet Movie Database.
• Beat Street, 1984: Directed by Stan Lathan, produced by Harry Belafonte and David V. Picker. A drama that takes place in the emergent hip-hop scene of early 1980s New York City. Among the first popular mainstream movies to feature MCing, DJing, graffiti art, and breakdancing, Beat Street features appearances by many pioneers in these arts. See Beat Street at the Internet Movie Database for more details.
• Turk 182! (1985) gives a fictional account of graffiti used for political purposes in New York City. The name may reference TAKI 183. See Turk 182 at the Internet Movie Database.
• Bombing British Channel 4 documentary featuring many UK and U.S. graffiti artists in the early to mid eighties.
• Quality of Life (coming in late 2005): a narrative feature about two graffiti writers from San Francisco's renowned Mission District graffiti scene, directed by Benjamin Morgan. Co-written and starring Brian Burnam, a former graffiti writer, with cameos by other active and retired Mission-District writers. See the website for more details.
• Writers: 1983-2003: 20 Ans de Graffiti à Paris 2004 Resistance Films. Documentary on the history of Graffiti in Paris. French. Released on DVD with english subtitles. See the website for more details.
• Atlantis Phase I 2004 Subaquatica DVD with 9 video chapters for videos documenting the work of 9 different Spanish Steet Art artists or collectives accompained only with music. No language. Released on DVD with a CD for the music. See the website for more details.
• Infamy USA 2005 Directed by Doug Pray; Infamy is an intense journey into the lives, minds, and families of seven individuals who are obsessed with graffiti and follow that obsession into the most unexpected places. Cameras follow Los Angeles legend SABER by night as he dangles on the supports of a billboard hovering twenty stories up, and by day into the city’s Museum of Natural History, where he is featured in an exhibition about the L.A. River. New Yorkers EARSNOT and CLAW cover the City’s surfaces with their tags in the face of their graffiti minority status as openly gay and female, respectively, and then into their jobs as icons in the Downtown fashion scene. Philadelphia’s ENEM and Los Angeles’ TOOMER tour their intricate murals for murdered friends, as well as their rapidly styled tag signatures, which they frankly prefer. San Francisco’s JASE heads to paint freight trains that will take his art throughout North America, then to his day job in graffiti-specialized spray paint distribution. Finally, there’s JOE CONNOLLY “The Graffiti Guerrilla,” who makes the removal of Los Angeles graffiti his daily passion. Woven throughout these individuals’ stories are their families and neighborhoods; and for every preconception of who is a graffiti writer that they fulfill, there’s one that turns out dead wrong. (Film synopsis from the film's website.)
• Wholetrain 2005 Germany Directed by Florian Gaag: Wholetrain tells the fictional story of the KSB graffiti-crew. When another crew injures their honor it leads to a heated creative conflict. The KSB-crew sets off to paint a wholetrain, unleashing a chain of events that will change their lives forever. Besides focusing on the motivations of graffiti-culture, Wholetrain deals with the problems and tensions arising from the protagonists' constant struggles in a world between their everyday lives, illegality and the persecution of the police - a world you either dedicate yourself to wholeheartedly or not at all. (Film synopsis from the film's website.)
• Just To Get A Rep USA, Documentary directed by Peter Gerard: Just to Get a Rep explores the love-hate relationship between graffiti and hip-hop. The true story of aerosol art is told by New York's pioneers as well as today's innovators from all over the world. (Film synopsis from the film's website.)

In the press

• Beaty, Jonathan. "Zap! You've Been Tagged", Time Magazine, September 10, 1990. p. 43.
• Bennet, James. "A New Arsenal of Weapons to Tag Graffiti Artists", New York Times, September 27, 1992. p. E-2.
• "Fade to Gray in Gotham", U.S. News, May 22, 1989. p. 12.
• Reichenbach, Jean. "Graffiti", Columns, March 1991. pp. 24-27.
• "Scorecard", Newsweek Magazine, August 10, 1992. p. 6.

Dedicated Press

• "Disrupt Magazine" from New Zealand
• "Mass Appeal Magazine" from New York

In literature (by country)

Germany

• "DAIM - daring to push the boundaries" Reisser, Mirko; Mwinkand, Lena; Behrend, Sarah. 2004 getting-up/reisser (Germany) ISBN 3-00-014155-3
• van Treeck, Bernhard: Das große Graffiti-Lexikon, Lexikon-Imprint-Verlag, Berlin, 2001, ISBN 3-89601-292-X
• van Treeck, Bernhard: Street Art Berlin, Schwarzkopf und Schwarzkopf, Berlin, 1999 ISBN 3-89602-191-5
• Urban Discipline 2000 - Graffiti-Art Peters/Reisser/Zahlmann. 2000 Ausstellungskatalog getting-up (Germany) ISBN 3-00-006154-1
• Graffiti Art #1 Deutschland - Germany Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf (Germany), ISBN 3-89602-028-5
• HamburgCity Graffiti, 2003, Publikat Verlag (Deutschland), ISBN 3-980-74786-7
• Swiss Graffiti, S. von Koeding, B. Suter. 1998, Edition Aragon (Germany), ISBN 3-89535-461-9
• Street Art Köln, B. van Treeck. 1996, Edition Aragon (Germany), ISBN 3-89535-434-1
• Hall of Fame, M. Todt, B. van Treeck . 1995, Edition Aragon (Germany), ISBN 3-89535-430-9
• Best of German graffiti. Band 1, Timeless-X. 2001, Verlag H. M. Hauschild (Germany), ISBN 3-89757-121-8

France

• Cope 2, True Legend, Donatien B. Orns. 2003, Righters.com (France), ISBN 2-9520-0608-6
• Le graffiti dans tous ses états, 2002, Ausstellungskatalog, Taxie Gallery (France)
• Langages de Rue #2, Graff-It!. 2004, Verlag Graf-It! (France), ISBN 2-914714-02-5

United Kingdom and Ireland

• Street Art, Tristan Manco. Thames & Hudson. 2004 (UK), ISBN 0-500-28469-5
• Graffiti World: Street Art from Five Continents, Nicholas Ganz. Thames & Hudson. 2004 (UK) ISBN 0-500-51170-5

United States

• Subway Art Martha Cooper, Henry Chalfant. 1984, Thames and Hudson (USA), ISBN 0-80506-788-8
• Spraycan Art, Henry Chalfant & James Prigoff. 1987 Thames and Hudson (USA) ISBN 0-500-27469-X

  (Contains art from 10 countries: USA, UK, The Netherlands, France, Spain, Germany, Austria, Denmark, Australia, New Zealand)

• Broken Windows Graffiti NYC James Murray, Karla Murray. 2002, Ginko Press (USA), ISBN 1-58423-078-9
• Aerosol Kingdom: Subway Painters of New York City, Ivor Miller. 2002, University Press of Mississippi (USA), ISBN 1-57806-465-1
• Autograf: New York City's Graffiti Writers, Peter Sutherland, REVS. 2004, Powerhouse Books (USA), ISBN 1-57687-203-3

Other countries

• Graffiti Oggi Karin Dietz. 2001 Ausstellungskatalog/Exhibition catalogue, Arte Contemporanea Hirmer/M. Wiedemann (Italy)
• NYC Graffiti, Michiko Rico Nosé. 2000 Graphic-Sha Publishing (Japan) ISBN 4-7661-1177-X
• Aspects of Graffiti, Wortbüro Stefan Michel/Zürich. 2001 Ausstellungskatalog, Rote Fabrik (Switzerland)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Graffiti

• ALLgraffiti.com International community of graffiti writers and crews
• ArtCrimes.com A gallery of graffiti art from cities worldwide
• Kolahstudio.com Murals and Graffitiz From Midle East / Iran
• Bombing Science 10,000+ graffiti pictures
• Forum of Graffiti Writers (bbs)
• A Brief History of Graffiti Research by Staffan Jacobson (a chronologically-arranged scholarly bibliography)
• Rap and Hiphop Mixtapes
• Graffiti as an advertising medium
• Graffiticreator.net Create your own graffiti
• Graffiti Books Books on graffiti
• JDoodle.com A graffiti Wiki
• How to read Graffiti Evolutionary timeline of graffiti styles
• A Graffiti glossary at Artcrimes.org

Street art and post-graffiti

• C6.org "The Original Art Wankers"
• Your Mum Rang Street sticker campaign
• Photographs of graffiti from Europe and America
• Stickernation A collection of sticker graffiti from around the world
• Ekosystem A Street-art portal
• BARTOTAINMENT Legal works of german artist barto
• Scrawl Collection of street art from around the world
• Stencil Revolution Biggest Stencil community on the web
• State Of Flux Melbourne-based street-art site featuring stencils, stickers, pasteups and anything else on the street

Pro-graffiti

• Rail7.com International Graffiti Documentation
• Graffiti.org Art Crimes: The Writing on the Wall
• Making Your Mural Last: Graffiti, Varnish and Wall Chemistry
• God Bless Graffiti Coalition A pro-graffiti organization
• Wooster Collective: A Celebration of Street Art
• Pictures Of Walls
• Visual Resistance Political street art

Anti-graffiti

• Removing Graffiti from Historic Masonry by the National Park Service
• Keep Britain Tidy UK organisation, campaigns against graffiti

Argentina

• enthusiast site, a website showing and promoting stencils, grafitti and street art in general from the latinamerican scene.

Canada

• Keele Station, a website profiling graffiti in general, using examples from around the Toronto subway station.

France

• Blek le Rat, pioneering French stencillist.
• Deace, graffiti press ressources.

Germany

• Farbsucht.de Wall, Trains, Streetart, Germany
• 6-_-?||||||||>.4rtist.com Streetartist from
• German HipHop & Graffiti Directory

IRAN

• Iranian Graffiti index
• Graffiti and Urban Art report(Images and reviews (Persian)

The Netherlands

• Sal One Oldskool Dutch Graffiti artist

New Zealand/Aotearoa

• Disruptiv, Professional graffiti crew from Auckland, New Zealand.
• Graffiti, straight from the streets of New Zealand

Australia

• Watarush Large collection of street art from Perth, Western Australia
• Melbourne Graffiti Large collection of Graffiti from Melbourne, Victoria

Spain

• H49, graffiti crew from Bilbao, Spain.
• HHDirecto graffiti y hip hop desde españa.

Sweden

• CapitalSTHLM, Graffiti site from Stockholm.

United Kingdom and Ireland

• Bomblondon.com Anti war graffiti from London
• UK Graffiti Artists Today
• CHU UK graffiti artist and designer
• Banksy Stencil-artists from England
• asbestos Street-artist from Dublin
• Eiresol Style Graffiti from all over Ireland
• DuncanCumming Graffiti photos from the UK and Europe
• Murals in Northern Ireland on the CAIN (Conflict Archive on the INternet) Web Service
• Hurt You Bad an active blog linking urban culture and graffiti

United States

• @149^st New York graffiti
• 50mm Los Angeles Los Angeles Graffiti Archive
• Los Angeles Graffiti Art
• Pacific Northwest Graffiti Seattle Graffiti Communiti
• SNWEB: Detroit Detroit graffiti gallery
• Zephyr Graffiti photo gallery and writings from a prolific NYC graf artist

• Above Street artist from California
• Jean-Michael Basquiat at the Canal Zone with Stan Peskett

World

• OBEY GIANT ★ and related graffiti artworks sighting report with a Google Map