Questions from an outsider

[Avalonthas]

Hello all,

I am doing some research into graffiti work and the subculture as I enjoy looking at graffiti work, and I am trying to advocate for "legal" spaces where graffiti artists can express their work and show it off. So anyways this brings me here. I am currently participating in writing a manual or a book of sorts in an effort to help this movement. And so I have some questions to ask, feel free to answer them under the condition your responses may be published (under your nickname unless you specifically ask for anonymously.). Posting your city is also beneficial so I can get an idea of where everyones coming from.

1) When I speak to politicians or thoughs involved in policing or some other form of bureaucracy, they always claim graffiti is gang related. I personally reject this notion but am curious as to your thoughts?

2) What style of graffiti work do you prefer and why (bombing, tagging, mural, or some other form I have yet to run into)

3) For thoughs who enjoy work on trains/subways, what is the attraction to these locomotives. Is it the large free space, the ability for them to be observed by so many, there seclusion allows for time and effort

4) Of all the artists I speak to, the majority prefer to paint with Montana's even though its pricey compared to many other brands. Why is this, whats so special about this paint?

5) I noticed there is sort of like a respect issue within graffiti where its frowned upon for another artist to tag or paint over another's work. Are there any other "rules" that a graffiti artist is expected to follow, or do you believe there are rules that they should follow.

Thats pretty much all I am curious about at this stage. feel free to answer some or all of the questions. Remember if you dont want your name or nickname to be published with the data please ask for it.

[Wilt]

for the 2nd question I think bombing because It can look really nice and be in dangerous places instead of murals or pieces and looks nicer and dosent cause as much trouble as just tags. Civilians wont mind bombing as much as tagging if you know what I mean.

[vampireboy65]

For the 1st question ok we do graffiti not gang writing ok i mean gangs do graffiti but i mostly only tags (so that people will here about there gang)as to where graffiti writers are trying to become more artist and just become know and express their self.COMMON MISTAKE made by people outside of graffiti "crews" in graffiti are not gangs crews are just a group of friends painting together so when u see graffiti and the are littel letters next to it like MSK or AWR THAT IS NOT A GANG they dont go out and kill people and mug cash from 12 year olders.
QUESTION 5-yup most of have rules like if you have been painting 2 months dont go over someone who has been their whole life.also we have rules like DONT TAG/PAINT-peoples houses,peoples cars(like cars you would drive not VANS)holy places such as churchs and things, and not profittably organizations(not everyone follows these rules but most writers have gudilines for them self)-peace vampireboy

[urban revolution]

1.graffiti is not gang related...crews are not gangs most to all of them are not involved in organised crime.
2.there are a lot of methods to get up(to do graffiti)they are different than styles.the methods i prefer are tagging, stickers,wheatpasting and some bombing.
3. trains, frieghts, and subay cars travel acroos city/ country so if you paint a frieght in toronto it can end up in california and vice versa... locomotives are seen by a lot of people and is a good wy to ge your name up
4. montana paint is made for writers its a good paint because it does not drip and is easy to control the can and can be used for pieces and characters and tags and has a good pressure in the can.
5.ye there are basic rules to go by.. dont use an established writers name as your own, dont bite others style..thats different than seeing a piece or a character and using it for inspiriation...there are alot of things writers dont hit, but that changes writer to writer...for us its not tagging houses,cars,churces. -peace-

-RWAP CREW
-Urban Revolution Army

repping aurora and toronto

[mattFOO]

if i had a free space to "freely" express myslef in a form of art i would not paint illegal spots at all. right now im out on bond for a graffiti related charge.. i regret getting caught i do not regret putting up my art.. it was what i felt and the lines i painted is was what my brain saw at that moment in time. i think to fully understand why i do this you would have to fully understand why a man needs art. theres many books on the philosophy on why men need art in their lives. i am no different to me its one of the biggest things in my life.. and im sure it is in alot of the users of this website. i do not belong to a crew. but in my case a crew would just be other writers that enjoy the same thing as i do.. some one to share my art with.. and if theres no legal walls around some one to watch my back as i paint a illegal wall.. what im getting at is if your looking at graffiti from the outside dont get the wrong idea and see us as criminals. we just want to express ourselves.. thats it.. we want our name out there. we want to be remembered.... i am not a criminal... i have been charged with a felony for criminal mischief because i painted a wall under a bridge. cmon. thats not logical. i just cant restrain my self from being so inspired by art to make my own art anywhere i want... im done

[_Slur_]

1. Well graffiti is done by krews so yea I cans ee how you associate the two but its usully done by ARTISTS not GANGBANGERS
2. I like wildstyle, its hard and its trippy
3. I dont have trains here so I cant do shit on them >8(
4. Montana is made for taggers and it dosent drip, yet I onlt used it once because I'm a cheap fuck who'd rather walk to the store.
5. Everyone has there one rules I don't tag over good things or on house. Except that guy who keeps putting $ around his name and tagged over one of my piece claiming it was his. piece of shit aint going to have his name anywere in my city

[1nOnly Baze]

1) When I speak to politicians or thoughs involved in policing or some other form of bureaucracy, they always claim graffiti is gang related. I personally reject this notion but am curious as to your thoughts?

- Politicians are always going to be ignorant about that because they only see things by the book. Gang graffiti is whats gang related. Sometimes a graff writers tag might have there crew name by it and yes by law its considered a "gang" but it's the last thing that graff crews would like to be considered. Gangs are known to push drugs, force other members to push them, and for initiation you're most often forced to get the living hell beat out of you before you can claim that you're a member. With a graffiti crew its not about pushing drugs, working prostitutes, and being beat to near death, its more or else about bonding and gaining crew members respect and appreciation for your work. All gangs think about is the country being one big hood and there only being one big free loading, gun shooting, robbing, stealing gang in it so they point guns in each others faces and act like there gang own the whole land... SOME graffiti may be gang related, but the graffiti that you seek to put on legal walls come from GRAFFITI ARTIST, not tagbangers. All tagbangers do is push the name of there gang to piss another gang off.


2) What style of graffiti work do you prefer and why (bombing, tagging, mural, or some other form I have yet to run into)

- I prefer bombing, but ONLY because there is no place for me to come and do a nice piece or collaboration with someone without having to worry about anything.



3) For thoughs who enjoy work on trains/subways, what is the attraction to these locomotives. Is it the large free space, the ability for them to be observed by so many, there seclusion allows for time and effort

- What you just said is bassicaly why most of us his freights with graffiti. Ive only touched a train twice, but sometimes I like to sit close to the tracks without trespassing and watch them go by just to see work that you wont find on the internet. To me its the equivalent of laying in the grass at night and watching the stars.

4) Of all the artists I speak to, the majority prefer to paint with Montana's even though its pricey compared to many other brands. Why is this, whats so special about this paint?

- Some like using Montana Paint for the low pressure, some like it for the color variety, and some just like it because others like it. Belton isn't so bad either. Recently it seems like a new kind of paint is made every other month, so valve systems are just improving and making techniques much more complex.

5) I noticed there is sort of like a respect issue within graffiti where its frowned upon for another artist to tag or paint over another's work. Are there any other "rules" that a graffiti artist is expected to follow, or do you believe there are rules that they should follow.

- Im not going to go there. I follow my own rules, if someone doesn't like the fact that ill drop a tag by a church than thats my hate crime but im not going to stop doing what i do because someone else doesn't agree with me..

[[phenom5]]

Yeah I'm pretty positive this ain't UC, and he's not askin any questions I wouldn't have a problem answering to anyone anyways.


1) When I speak to politicians or thoughs involved in policing or some other form of bureaucracy, they always claim graffiti is gang related. I personally reject this notion but am curious as to your thoughts?

No matter what anyone says we'll always be associated with gangtaggers. But graffiti artists have always and always will rebel against the government, as much as it's a fight for them to get rid of us, it's our fight for freedom to express ourselves. Getting legal walls to me is considered winning that fight.
But on a side note, not once have I ever met a crew of writers who are drugdealers or gangbangers. I won't lie, I bet most writers know those types of people or have had to deal with them in one situation or another, but there should be recognisable line between what we do and what they do.

2) What style of graffiti work do you prefer and why (bombing, tagging, mural, or some other form I have yet to run into)

Personally, I like the fact that there is a story behind every bomb, piece, tag or mural you see. I tend to try and hit up spots that most people would look at and go "Now how in the hell..." I remember as a kid on a school field trip downtown, to talk about the history of our city and all this shit, something this guy said stuck out to me, he said "The most beautiful art in our city will always be found by looking up." Since then whenever I go on the bus I tend to look at the tops of buildings and rooftops and shit like that, it's when I see bombs or pieces up there where I get real facinated and think "well there's a story behind that. some kid had to come out probably in the middle of the night, and sit there and paint that. and now that has an effect on me."
Aside from my little story there, here's what I think about it. Tags, you do in a couple seconds so you just do that to get your name out there. Bombs are generally a few minutes, so you do up a bomb if it's a heaty spot. And pieces is where it's at, nothin like chillin out all day with homies and just having the freedom to do whatever you want with it.


3) For thoughs who enjoy work on trains/subways, what is the attraction to these locomotives. Is it the large free space, the ability for them to be observed by so many, there seclusion allows for time and effort

I haven't really hit up trains or subways so I couldn't say for myself, but I'm sure you just covered most of the reasons why, also there's a huge rush involved with the train yards or subway cars. It's usually a pretty dangerous place and that's where alot of the accidents have happened with artists.

4) Of all the artists I speak to, the majority prefer to paint with Montana's even though its pricey compared to many other brands. Why is this, whats so special about this paint?

Meh I'll use anything I can get my hands on. Just depends on how heavy my pockets are that week. The only attraction personally I see to Montana is the vast colour range. Plus I either have to order it or go down to Toronto to get it, so I pretty much stick to Krylon and Rustoleum.

5) I noticed there is sort of like a respect issue within graffiti where its frowned upon for another artist to tag or paint over another's work. Are there any other "rules" that a graffiti artist is expected to follow, or do you believe there are rules that they should follow.

There is definately some unwritten rules that MOST respectable artists follow. Things that would just be obvious to anyone with respect to certain things like..schools, graveyards, peoples homes, cars. As for going over another artists shit, unless it's some toy who just wants ups for going over someone respected, then it's usually a personal beef between crews. I wouldn't go over someone else myself just cause I think it's a lost cause for artists to be fighting with each other, when the rest of the world already hates us. But for the people that do it goes: throw up over a tag, bomb over throwie, piece over a bomb.

[JackJill]

1) When I speak to politicians or thoughs involved in policing or some other form of bureaucracy, they always claim graffiti is gang related. I personally reject this notion but am curious as to your thoughts?

- Graffiti is not gang related. Gangs are graffiti related; I say that because it's just easier for gangs to make their mark over another gang without having to confront the opposition in person.


2) What style of graffiti work do you prefer and why (bombing, tagging, mural, or some other form I have yet to run into)

- I personally prefer piecing and murals. Wheatpasting and stickers are fun too because they're quick and you can work on them at your leisure at home or work.

3) For those who enjoy work on trains/subways, what is the attraction to these locomotives. Is it the large free space, the ability for them to be observed by so many, there seclusion allows for time and effort

- What you just said is basically why most of us hit freights with graffiti. To me its the equivalent of laying in the grass at night and watching the stars. Or because I'm not very close to trains, I enjoy watching freights as I'm taking the train.

4) Of all the artists I speak to, the majority prefer to paint with Montana's even though its pricey compared to many other brands. Why is this, whats so special about this paint?

- I guess it's where you come from; Most Canadians use Montana, Other artists use Belton, and still others use Ironlak. Some use it because it has lower pressure, therefor your'e not forced to draw your can at 60km/h and then sit a fan in front of it so you don't get drips. Some like it because it's popular, others like it because of colour variety. I use it because of low pressure. But Krylon isn't so bad, they just don't have very many colours to choose from.

5) I noticed there is sort of like a respect issue within graffiti where its frowned upon for another artist to tag or paint over another's work. Are there any other "rules" that a graffiti artist is expected to follow, or do you believe there are rules that they should follow.

- One of the biggest rules is not to "go over" another artist's work. However, using primer before you go over someone else's work voids that rule. Other than that I don't really believe there are many other rules to be followed, aside from not touching churches, schools and grave yards. Respect is a two way street. Graffiti wasn't really meant to be permanent, there will always be another artist going over your own work or vice versa. A temporary frescoe is what comes to mind when someone mentions graffiti.

[top5ive]

1) When I speak to politicians or thoughs involved in policing or some other form of bureaucracy, they always claim graffiti is gang related. I personally reject this notion but am curious as to your thoughts?

yes some graff is gang related but for the most part its id say no. i dont even consider what most gangbangers put up as graff just a way to rep their set while graffers do what they do to make a statement or express themselves

2) What style of graffiti work do you prefer and why (bombing, tagging, mural, or some other form I have yet to run into)

i personally llike bombing for the simple fact that u get up a hell of a lot more then you would as if you were piecing and the rush is so much more

3) For thoughs who enjoy work on trains/subways, what is the attraction to these locomotives. Is it the large free space, the ability for them to be observed by so many, there seclusion allows for time and effort

i dont really rock trains but i would say that its prob a lil bit of all of the above

4) Of all the artists I speak to, the majority prefer to paint with Montana's even though its pricey compared to many other brands. Why is this, whats so special about this paint?

first things first SPANISH MONTANA ALL DAY. im not crazy about geman montana. but montana is the best for the simple fact of the coverage it gets, no dripps, and the colors are nuts.

5) I noticed there is sort of like a respect issue within graffiti where its frowned upon for another artist to tag or paint over another's work. Are there any other "rules" that a graffiti artist is expected to follow, or do you believe there are rules that they should follow.

every writter has their own rules and guidelines for when they paint and it varies from writter to writter but for the most part i feel most of us are on the same page

top5ive- .th. .acs. .izm. .doc. reppin jersey for life!!!

[1nOnly Baze]

wow. monkey see monkey do.

[MAST]

1) When I speak to politicians or those involved in policing or some other form of bureaucracy, they always claim graffiti is gang related. I personally reject this notion but am curious as to your thoughts?

Gangs have almost always done tags to mark their turf or to just get known, but they usually do shitty symbols or just write the gang name on a wall with no style whatsoever. As a writer, you usually work to better your artistic style over just getting up wherever you can. The people who know what they're doing usually work a long time on their sketches until they get good, then they hit the walls with it. After that is when you should worry about how much you get up. It mostly depends on the writer, though, and what they're worried about, and whether they'd rather tag or bomb than piece and do collabs with other writers.

2) What style of graffiti work do you prefer and why (bombing, tagging, mural, or some other form I have yet to run into)

I prefer bombing, because that's the one part where you can make it look really good, with plenty of artistic influences in it, but it's still quick and easy, so you can get up a lot. For instance, i'd rather spend about a minute or 2 doing a nice throw up to get my name out there, than spend 5 seconds to do a handstyle. That's only when i have the choice, though. There's a couple factors, like time, space, amount of paint, and how heated the spot is.

3) For those who enjoy work on trains/subways, what is the attraction to these locomotives. Is it the large free space, the ability for them to be observed by so many, there seclusion allows for time and effort

I personally love the fact that it can travel anywhere on the continent. To me, they're like traveling canvases. You can usually take your time (it depends on the yard), therefore resulting in a beautiful piece of art that's out there for anyone to see. And even better, it says your name, so theres not really a "Who's that by?" factor involved, unless they have an untrained eye that can't read it, or if you don't sign it next to the piece.

4) Of all the artists I speak to, the majority prefer to paint with Montana's even though its pricey compared to many other brands. Why is this, whats so special about this paint?

I can't say. I've never used it. I just use America's finest, and when i can afford it, Rusto.

5) I noticed there is sort of like a respect issue within graffiti where its frowned upon for another artist to tag or paint over another's work. Are there any other "rules" that a graffiti artist is expected to follow, or do you believe there are rules that they should follow.

To each his own, I couldn't care less if another writer hits a spot i wouldn't hit. I usually just don't hit cars or houses, and that's it. I understand when other writers have beef and one goes over or crosses out what the other one has done, but when toys just do it for fun, it pisses me off, so i go over theirs.


That's my 5 cents. Omni Oner, RSK, Nashville, TN



cunt.

[JadedSketches]

1) When I speak to politicians or thoughs involved in policing or some other form of bureaucracy, they always claim graffiti is gang related. I personally reject this notion but am curious as to your thoughts?

Although there is graffiti that is gang related, that graffiti is simply people representing their gangs on walls, and isn't particularly artistic. We practice graffiti that evolved from Hip Hop culture, not gang culture. We usually don't promote hate or violence with our graffiti, we're just writing our names on things. Taking up space.

2) What style of graffiti work do you prefer and why (bombing, tagging, mural, or some other form I have yet to run into)

Tagging is just putting your name up, muralists, piecers and bombers all have tags, it's the graffiti writers signature. I personally prefer bombing, just because i enjoy the rush of evading police and getting fame.

3) For thoughs who enjoy work on trains/subways, what is the attraction to these locomotives. Is it the large free space, the ability for them to be observed by so many, there seclusion allows for time and effort

When people hit trains or metros, it's because they know their shit is going to be seen by a high amount of people, and to the contrary they aren't very secluded, they're usually quite dangerous to paint and heavily guarded.
Freight trains on the other hand are much more lax, and they travel across the country, letting other writers see your work.

4) Of all the artists I speak to, the majority prefer to paint with Montana's even though its pricey compared to many other brands. Why is this, whats so special about this paint?
Montana, Belton, whatever. Those are brands of paint made to write graffiti with. They each have their own individual traits, but are still more expensive than what you can buy in department stores. Piecers and muralists often use more expensive paint, but most bombers just steal all theirs.

5) I noticed there is sort of like a respect issue within graffiti where its frowned upon for another artist to tag or paint over another's work. Are there any other "rules" that a graffiti artist is expected to follow, or do you believe there are rules that they should follow.

If you cross someone out, or cap them (going over someone's work), you should expect beef.
Don't write on private property, cars, cemeteries and places of worship.
You don't go over someone who's better than you.
If you go over toys it doesn't matter.

That's pretty much it.

[stay(KooL)92]

1) When I speak to politicians or thoughs involved in policing or some other form of bureaucracy, they always claim graffiti is gang related. I personally reject this notion but am curious as to your thoughts?

"some graffiti is gang related but the mojority of i where i live is artist graffiti not gangs.i live in little chute wisconsin a suburban town. where gangs are not a problem and when there is gang tags there fake wannabes. but i do understand the hard laws in bigger city's

2) What style of graffiti work do you prefer and why (bombing, tagging, mural, or some other form I have yet to run into)

i prefer bombing for my own art but i love to see other artists murals but i don't do murals because of the risk/ i have to be carefull becsue im on two DPA's and im screwed if i get caught and im not good enough to do a mural that i would be proud of

3) For thoughs who enjoy work on trains/subways, what is the attraction to these locomotives. Is it the large free space, the ability for them to be observed by so many, there seclusion allows for time and effort

i think attraction is that trains are big solid colors hunks of metal just asking to get tagged also they go to place's that we don't so that more people can enjoy our art work

4) Of all the artists I speak to, the majority prefer to paint with Montana's even though its pricey compared to many other brands. Why is this, whats so special about this paint?

i don't use Montana at the moment but i am hoping to in the near future because then i can use caps. but i cant get it because i don't want to send it to my house because i don't want my parents to find out i tag until i'm off my DPA

5) I noticed there is sort of like a respect issue within graffiti where its frowned upon for another artist to tag or paint over another's work. Are there any other "rules" that a graffiti artist is expected to follow, or do you believe there are rules that they should follow.

me and my friends don't tag over other artist work unless its is very bad. ever since me and my friends got in to graffiti some other people want to do it to but they have no talent for art. e also tag over gang graffiti. the rules i follow no tagging on places of worship ,cars ,small business, houses

[buffadds]

1. gangs are about crime, graff crews are about art. Although the two cross paths, graff crews don't stray from graffiti, gangs push drugs and run guns. Gangs may use spray paint to convay bullshit, but it's not the same as repping your artist crews name. No one ever needs to be afraid of graffiti artists, we try to exist without getting shit kicked as it is, just leave us be, don't fear us we wont hurt you.

2.Something that bugs me allot is when people say to me, "that's so ugly, who just tags their name? all that big colorful art downotwn, that's cool, but tags are for fags,and gangs n shit" tags bombs and pieces, are just three different mediums to express the same name. When you have the time and a safe place, a piece is done, this looks the most obviously like art, and is usually the most accepted. Bombs take less time and can look nice too if you understand the limitations you work with. A tag usually just looks like scribble to most people, which is why they say it's ugly. but there is a whole world of artistic ability within the letter style of tags. It comes from calligraphy, the design of one dimensional letters in a cursive manor. But each artist makes his own style, and a good artist is always changing it. Hand style is the most important thing, think of it like your personnel signature like when you go to the bank or something, but with no limits on how out of the box you can push it. Once you learn to see the letters you can see what the artist has done with them and understand what they have expressed through it. It's art in it's simplest form, most people just don't take the time to learn how to see it that way. A good artist does all three, tagging all the time to get a name up, boming at night, and piecing when you can.
3.it's 2007, if you paint a train in North America it's getting pulled off the rails ten minutes later, good luck! They stopped letting us get away with that in the nineties. I still love to tag the insides of trains, it never stays long but if you do it enough it gets seen, everyone uses Public Trnaspo, also etch is good for the windows.your stuck on the train anyway, it's better then looking at adds.

4. Most if not all of the specially designed caps for painting custom shaped lines, are built for Montana's specific valve size, Krylon or Painters touch will overflow if you put a custom cap on, that's why I use it. Also the colors are infinitely better and have a much more varied selection. And lastly, no drips... unless you suck.
5. this is kinda difficult. On one hand I say, anyone who follows rules when it comes to art is not a true artist. On the other, some things really upset me when I see them. There are so many writers and space is limited, a bomb goes over a tag, a fill bomb goes over a hollow, a piece goes over anything, but use discretion with all of this stuff. If there is a really nice piece of work, don't go over it just cuz you can, find another spot and increase instead of replace. Stick to your own personnel morals also, don't get caught up in the fame of it and start doing things JUST for ups. if you don't like the look of etch, don't use it, find other ways to keep your shit up. True art can only be done for yourself, so forget about the peanut gallery, but at the same time, accept that there is a community of people with similar beliefs in your chosen medium, so try not to upset anyone even if you don't really agree. Don't start beef neither.

[Blame!]

1) When I speak to politicians or thoughs involved in policing or some other form of bureaucracy, they always claim graffiti is gang related. I personally reject this notion but am curious as to your thoughts?

graffiti is art anything some gangbanger is puttin up is trash and shouldnt even be called graffiti.

2) What style of graffiti work do you prefer and why (bombing, tagging, mural, or some other form I have yet to run into)
bombing. the rush is awsome and i like havin some art in my stuff so taggin isnt my favorite thing.

3) For thoughs who enjoy work on trains/subways, what is the attraction to these locomotives. Is it the large free space, the ability for them to be observed by so many, there seclusion allows for time and effort

all of thats good stuff but its like previous people said. those trains are goin all over. you dont even know how many people are gonna see it.

4) Of all the artists I speak to, the majority prefer to paint with Montana's even though its pricey compared to many other brands. Why is this, whats so special about this paint?
no drip! unless you cant paint!

5) I noticed there is sort of like a respect issue within graffiti where its frowned upon for another artist to tag or paint over another's work. Are there any other "rules" that a graffiti artist is expected to follow, or do you believe there are rules that they should follow.
graffiti all about respect for me. but you gotta give respect to get respect.

[AteskOne]

1) When I speak to politicians or thoughs involved in policing or some other form of bureaucracy, they always claim graffiti is gang related. I personally reject this notion but am curious as to your thoughts?

this seems to be the most common question that is asked about graffiti by outsiders...and to me it is the most annoying. as several have already stated, there are many gangs that use "tagging" as a way to mark their territory. graffiti artists use their art as a way of achieving fame or a way of expressing themselves. many writers, such as myself, are against gangbanging because of the negativity it brings our names. most of us also strive ourselves in trying to be more open minded towards other cultures and therefore see how senseless gang violence can be at times. we do our fare share of illegal activities. none of us will lie about that, but if you ask me, painting a wall doesnt quite compare to shooting rival gang members or selling drugs on your local "corner". the negativity thrown at us by the city politicians and law enforcers can be very aggrivating at times. many writers use art as a way to get away from gang violence and, instead of being recognized for this, we are thrown in with the gang members and treated as delinquent's. there is just too much misconception about the art of graffiti. many people do not understand our messages or motives and therefore immediately peg us as something we are not.

to sum up...gang graffiti is very much frowned upon in the graffiti world and gang tags are usually nothing more than scribbles on street signs that consist of no talent or skill.

2) What style of graffiti work do you prefer and why (bombing, tagging, mural, or some other form I have yet to run into)

i'd have to say this depends mostly on what area you grew up in. i mean every city has everything from pieces to tags and every type or artist from king to toy (a rookie or beginner to the graffiti game), but most areas will have more of a certain style than others. in some cities you see almost nothing but bombs, others you'll see more piecing. most writers will stay true to their area and rep their cities style. i live on the east coast in the boston area. the graffiti in my area, although similar because we are so close, is different from the rhode island graffiti i've seen. some of the biggest debates are between people from either coast, arguing over which coast has the best graffiti. the styles differ a lot across the country and even more across different countries...for instance the euro style.

5) I noticed there is sort of like a respect issue within graffiti where its frowned upon for another artist to tag or paint over another's work. Are there any other "rules" that a graffiti artist is expected to follow, or do you believe there are rules that they should follow.

graffiti is definitely all about respect. respect to your elder, more experienced artists, as well as self respect. many toys do not respect themselves or their elders as they paint after only writing for a few weeks. graffiti is an art and therefore takes many years to even be considered good. when kids are new to the game they dont realize these "guidelines" and they think their work is amazing...we have all been there and know what it is like when you finally wake up and realize that your shit does actually stink. we basically make our own rules to follow, but most artists will agree, stick to paper until your worthy of showing off you artwork. dont go over more experienced artists work and just stay true to the game.

[Tagger101]

cop?!?!

[C3ZR ONE]

I guess all your questions have been answered...

What I'm concerned about is.....

#1- How come you're writing a book and can't differentiate between the words "Those" and "thoughs" ???

#2- Why didn't any of your questions hold any relevence whatsoever to the topic you're supposedly writing about aside from the gang issue?


Here's what you should be concerned with when advocating legal walls.....


#1- The biggest detterent to cities considering legal walls is the half assed statistic that legal walls actually produce more illegal graffiti in the surrounding area.... I think most of us who have had experience with legal walls can vouche for the fact that legal walls will for the most part, put a damper on alot of illegal graffiti. Toys are keen on legal walls, because they don't feel as scared, and that's great, because it's worse to see that shit on the streets than a graff friendly zone. We've got a legal alley a block long here and most everybody stays in that alley. I use it for practice myself, but if you really want to do graffiti, legal walls aren't gonna stop you from hitting the streets entirely, they'll just slow you down a bit. Overall though. I think legal walls are good for communities, and will damper alot of illegal graff. It's an especially good time to advocate them, because we're seeing a graff popularity boom right now and all kinds of know nothings are jumping on the bandwagon, so if they have a legal wall, they'll probabbly stay there. Otherwise you're gonna have a hundred newjacks who have never practiced the art, or learned the practice making a mess of everything. Graffiti is kind of like a ritual to some. It has unwritten laws and practices that most beginners don't realize. That's how come you walk out your front door and your Subaru Outback says "Trane Oner" across it all drippy and skunk. I meet kids at the legal wall and they ask me questions. I tell them how to practice the art intelligently, cuzz they're gonna do it anyway. That's another way they legals help, cuzz if I ran into them at a layup, things would be different.

Legal walls are needed now more than ever. I live in a small city. 3 years ago the local bookchain had 2 copies of "graffiti World"... Now there's 28 copies of a dozen different books..... Destruction is coming one way or the other. Legal walls will undoubtedly curb some of it.



PS- I hate it when kids post topics pretending to be proffesors advocting graff for us... I always end up rambling to no avail. Thanks for wasting my time kid.hahaha!

[AVID1]

1) When I speak to politicians or thoughs involved in policing or some other form of bureaucracy, they always claim graffiti is gang related. I personally reject this notion but am curious as to your thoughts?
Graffiti is approximately 10-5% gang related. The reason why some ignorant politicians claim this, is because they're empty heads cannot digest art. they cannot appreciate the culture, art and style generate by graffiti and therefore claim it to be gang related. however, politicians fool themselves into thinking they know everything, and assume that nobody in there right mind would bother risking there life for 'art'. they simply don't understand art unless it is worth millions.

2) What style of graffiti work do you prefer and why (bombing, tagging, mural, or some other form I have yet to run into)
All kinds. Tagging is one of the lesser forms..
If you take a look at how graffiti was actually created and how it evolved, it may help you gain a perspective on these styles. at first people would simply write there names, then people wanted to get it bigger and bigger, and it evolved. Mostly, since tags are the easiest, people try to get them everywhere. and also, you cannot really paint a throw-up inside a train without getting caught, so people would tag. When there's enough space, they go bigger.

3) For thoughs who enjoy work on trains/subways, what is the attraction to these locomotives. Is it the large free space, the ability for them to be observed by so many, there seclusion allows for time and effort
Trains are part of the graffiti subculture. I personally love trains because it is seen by so many people. it travels the entire city, so that everyone can have a glimpse at the magnificent art. It's also interesting for the towns citizens to contemplate 'how is it possible for someone to do something so wonderful on a train?'.

4) Of all the artists I speak to, the majority prefer to paint with Montana's even though its pricey compared to many other brands. Why is this, whats so special about this paint?
It's like cars. the better brand the paint, the better the result. As you should know, there's legal issues with Spanish montana and German montana. The spanish montana was the originial brand to create a 'By writers for writers' spraypaint and german montana pretty much STOLE that idea and gave it a cooler look. I would say German Montana is a marketing scheme that should be stopped, which is why I have boycotted german montana and I only use spanish, regardless of it's high price.

5) I noticed there is sort of like a respect issue within graffiti where its frowned upon for another artist to tag or paint over another's work. Are there any other "rules" that a graffiti artist is expected to follow, or do you believe there are rules that they should follow.
It is funny, that I just realized that it is a humungus sign of disrespect for somebody to 'vandalise' over someone elses art. Basically, the code for a writer is to respect other writers, and not to copy, destroy, or otherwords 'take out' someone elses style/art/pieces. it's just down right disrespectful, nobody wants to have somebody go over your stuff.

Anything else feel free to ask. I would also like to know more information about the project you're working on, because I'm interested.

[percoset fun]

Hello all,
5) I noticed there is sort of like a respect issue within graffiti where its frowned upon for another artist to tag or paint over another's work. Are there any other "rules" that a graffiti artist is expected to follow, or do you believe there are rules that they should follow.



There are a number of so called "un-written" rules in the graffiti community, when it comes to where you put your name how you do it and who you put it over.
Probably the most respected being
1. no taging on houses of worship.ex. churches or what ever
2. no tagging on house's, cars what ever personal property, not nescisarily buisnesses but small buisness are shunned upon.
3. dont go over people better than you, especialy people who have been around longer, and have more ups than you.
4. Puting your name on anything and everything is annoying to everyone not only the public especialy if it doesnt look good.
5. Theres many methods of puting your name on thing some are unessisary including, etch which is acid to burn glass, sandpaper, and scratching.

not all of these rules are set in stone. some people brake them. not all of them aply to everyone but they are general and most people that brake them are shunned upon.


i write percs one from the 973 area code in new jersey

[crac]

1) When I speak to politicians or thoughs involved in policing or some other form of bureaucracy, they always claim graffiti is gang related. I personally reject this notion but am curious as to your thoughts?

personally im not a gangsta and the graffiti i produce doesnt promote gang violence but there is a fine line outsiders usualy dont see between vandalism and graffiti i would consider throwing up a tag graffiti but throwing up a gang name vandalism yes to the outsiders eye both acts would be considered graffiti but as a writer you see past all that red tape, but to be politicaly correct a gang is a group of 3 or more people with 2 commiting illegal acts, well that could be ones tagging while the others commiting underage drinking and the other ones taking a piss behind the seven elevin.. fucking politics...

2) What style of graffiti work do you prefer and why (bombing, tagging, mural, or some other form I have yet to run into)

it all depends on the mood, if im down for just having fun creating caos the tagging and bombings my ammo but if im down for takign my time smoking a blunt and doing somthing like a prodo then murals/ piecings where its at

3) For thoughs who enjoy work on trains/subways, what is the attraction to these locomotives. Is it the large free space, the ability for them to be observed by so many, there seclusion allows for time and effort

i havent done many frieghts but i think theres just a certain high between using the cold or hot steel as a medium and knowing that this one 4 tonn piece of raw steel is going to travel to more places in a year with your piece of artwork on it then most people will travel to in 10 years and its going to get seen by writers, cops, children staring out the window of a moving car and alot more people out there.

4) Of all the artists I speak to, the majority prefer to paint with Montana's even though its pricey compared to many other brands. Why is this, whats so special about this paint?

montana is a paint for painters, it comes thick, high or low pressurized, in a million different colours so you can tweek your piece just right its thick not watered down and it smells like motha fuckin candy.

5) I noticed there is sort of like a respect issue within graffiti where its frowned upon for another artist to tag or paint over another's work. Are there any other "rules" that a graffiti artist is expected to follow, or do you believe there are rules that they should follow.

i think respect means alot in the world of graffiti, without it your lost and with too much theres always somone looking to take it away, toys know nothing of it, theres definetly an unspoken book of rules in graffiti, and it all comes down to respect, like dont tag a church a house or somones car, dont cap a piece with a tag or floater thinking your not gonna get beef etc etc.

i write grilzone or grader from 250 canada

[tense]

well, for question #5, there does seem to be sum hypocrisy in the way graffiti writers act. We dont like to follow rules, but we realize that inorder for graffiti to remain intact and to last, sum rules r needed, For examnple, U do not go over sumone elses work becuz its considered a sign of disrespect, its basically like a filmaker goin over sum other guys film, if they did that, many great pieces of art would be destroyed, the same applies for graffiti. U do not write on ppl's houses or private property, unless that person did something BAD to u. Churches and other places of worship r strictly off limits, too powerful of a place, for me the reason most places written on r worn down or bland is becuz it makes for a more beautiful landscape. Its basically like scanning through a photo album full of black and white photos and seeing a beautiful color one all of a sudden, the same goes for me, becuz i write i stand out, its like graffiti writers r a splash of color in an otherwise grey surrounding.