Graffiti in New York

Paoyi HuangDecember 3, 2002

Graffiti Glossary

Bite - to copy other writers’ styles.

Buff – any means used by Transit Authority to remove graffiti from trains.

Burner – a well-done piece.

Down – in part of a group or action.

Fade – to blend colors.

Graffiti Glossary (continued)

Getting Up • also known as “Getting Around,” “Getting Over,” and

“Getting the Name Out.”• successfully hitting a train, or writing writing their names

prolifically.• one of the most significant factors differentiating New York’s

subway writers from the creators of traditional forms of wall writings.

Going Over • One writer covering another writer’s work with his/her own.• Once a piece has been “gone over,” it is considered as

destroyed.

Graffiti Glossary (continued)

Rack Up – to steal, the process of acquiring all kinds of materials used in writing.

Tag (Up) – writing signature with marker or spray paint.

Throw Up – a name painted quickly with one layer of spray paint and an outline.

Top-to-Bottom - extend from the top of a subway car to the bottom, but not necessarily the full length of the car.

Toy – in experienced or incompetent writer.

A Brief History of Writing I

Space • Illegal space. writing had first begun on local

buses and local neighborhood walls.• In the 70s, the ultimate goal is the subway trains.

Fame• Taki 183 (late 1960s)

Two separate communities in mind• The community of writers themselves.• The general city audience.

A Brief History of Writing II

“Graffiti Art” vs. Galleried Art World• Two very different systems – • subway trains vs. art-on-canvas• Writers vs. Traditional trained artists (e.g. Keith

Haring, Jean Michel Basquiat, etc.) Common – illegal public locations, linear drawing or words in their works.

Difference – timing, tradition, etc.

• Communication between two different systems• Result and its implication

A Brief History of Writing III

Graffiti and Hip-Hop• Writing has more than a decade of history before

rap get into the popular music scene.• Writing was rapidly broadcast, and it became a

global youth art movement partly through the connections to hip-hop.

Retaking the Trains• War on graffiti, Surveillance, Clean Car Program

1984.• The dynamics between writers and the Transit

Police changed after the late 1970s.

A Brief History of Writing IV

Return to the Walls (1980s)• Two career paths –• bomber vs. piecer (productivity vs. skill) • Space

bombers take the streets.

the style masters go to “hiding places.”

• Results localized

loosing network/community

alter traditional norms

A Brief History of Writing V

Two Alternative Forms• Stickers• Other modes of transportation as writing means (e.g.

railroad) Using Technology – the Circulation

• Writers’ zines (e.g. International Graffiti Times)• Video

Globalization• NYC as the “Homeland of Graffiti”

~The End~