Graffiti & urban art

© Jon Naar

A phenomenon called graffiti art

Graffiti is a global artistic phenomenon that can be seen in every corner of our streets today. It all began in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the late 60's, with graffiti artists such as Cornbread and Cool Earl. By the mid-70's, the graffiti movement was rapidly gaining momentum in New York. Thousands of spray-painted names appeared on buildings, mailboxes, telephone booths, tunnels, buses and finally subway cars. The tags of Taki 183, undoubtedly the most famous of the precursors, could be seen all over New York. Demetrius, his real name, is of Greek origin; and 183 was the number of the street where he lived. He worked as a courier, which enabled him to write his name everywhere during his working hours. Other well-known graffiti artists of this period were: Joe 136, Barbara and Eva 62, Eel 159, Yank 135, Julio 204, Frank 207, etc.
© Henry Chalfant

Hip- hop culture, from the USA to Europe

Hip-hop is a culture that originated among the African-American population living in the Bronx, New York. Eminently practiced in the street, it advocates positive values, enabling its followers to avoid the gloom of their modest social condition. Hip-hop culture had become very popular in the USA thanks to its liveliness, and began to develop in Europe in the early 80's, when punk culture was in full swing. Afrika Bambaataa's Planet Rock became a worldwide hit, New Yorkers graffiti artists were invited to exhibit their work in European art galleries, and the Rock Steady Crew breakdancers began touring. Hip-hop and graffiti were disseminated by the media, which echoed the advent of a new popular culture.

Graffiti regularly appeared in music videos, music videos and books. Films such as "Style Wars" by Tony Silver and Henry Chalfant and "Wild style" by Charlie Ahearn described and promoted graffiti, legitimizing it. Young graffiti artists like Zephyr, Dondi White, Lee and Seen were considered rock stars by the rising European hip-hop scene, and Henry Chalfant and Martha Cooper's book "Subway Art" quickly became the graffiti bible for young graffiti artists and B-boys from Los Angeles to Amsterdam. Henry Chalfant and James Prigoff's second book, "Spraycan Art", published in 1987, documented graffiti on walls around the world.

By the mid-80s, the European graffiti and hip-hop scene had taken root. Graffiti artists from both continents met regularly, exchanging blackbooks and photos of their work on trains and walls. The birth of the greatest artistic movement of all time was born, and still today thousands of young people paint all over the world; graffiti has even spread as far as Asia, Africa and South America, evolving here and there, influenced by local popular cultures.
MinOne at City Hall station, 1981, NYC © Henry Chalfant

Spray painting, the medium of choice
From 1973 onwards, street graffiti began to take on the subway carriages and quickly became a competition. At the time, graffiti was mostly tags. Graffiti artists painted as many train interiors as they could between stations. They soon discovered that the maximum number of trains could be painted more quietly in the depots at night, while reducing the risks of being chased and caught.
As New York's metro system was the largest public transport network in the United States, it became a formidable network for communication and the dissemination of graffiti work for the writer community. With over 400 stations and some 65,000 cars, it seemed like a huge territory to conquer. The youngsters' favorite lines at the time were Nos. 2 and 5, which crossed the whole of New York, from the Bronx to Brooklyn, in a circuit that took almost four hours.

Organized into groups such as WAR (Writers Already Respected), the writers had their own rules: they advised and helped each other, enabling them to execute graffiti in the metro with a minimum of protection, thanks to collective surveillance. The most initiated writers knew the metro network by heart: its forbidden accesses, its sheds, its depots, the interconnections between lines.
The concept and method for painting the trains were established. Each line had its king. The king was the graffiti artist who painted the most on a given line, and executed the biggest and most beautiful graffiti. Respected by the other graffiti artists, they regularly helped him paint at night.
By 1975, the foundations of the movement had been laid. A new school of graffiti artists was preparing to take over in a ruined city in the midst of a financial crisis. New York was heavily in debt and poor maintenance of its rail system meant that the graffiti movement was the most densely represented across the city in its history. Graffiti artists began working on line thickness and adding color to their lettering. The tips of other aerosol products allowed paint to spread more widely and this led to the creation of the masterpiece. It's hard to say who made the first masterpiece, but it's commonly credited to Super Kool 223 from the Bronx and Wap from Brooklyn. The thick lettering contributed enormously to the artist's visibility. Graffiti artists decorated the inside of the letters! With what were known as "designs". First with simple circles, later with hatching, stars and checkerboards. "Designs" were limited only by the artist's imagination. Many different styles could be seen on the subways: cartoon characters and various illustrations were used to complement the lettering. Each style had its own name: top-to-bottom, block letters, panel piece, whole car, leaning letters, throw-ups, etc. For example, the bubble style was invented by Phase II. A more complex lettering style, called "wild style", was illegible to the general public.

Graffiti artists took risks painting at night in the depots, between the electrified third rail and pursuit by the special anti-graffiti police. This didn't stop graffiti artists from expressing themselves and putting their lives on the line. Respect is due to all the generations of New Yorkers graffiti artists, and to the graffiti artists who today perpetuate this practice around the world.
The white "anti-graffiti" paint was not as resistant to graffiti as the MTA had hoped.
Prolific graffiti artist "Seen" tagged the train in October 1982. Photo © Steve Zabel

The MTA erases graffiti
Between 1970 and 1985, the MTA (New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority) spent between $100 and $150 million to remove graffiti from its network. Using a high-pressure water-based chemical pollution called "buff", the price of cleaning one square meter was around 750 dollars, and the entire train set 78,000 dollars. In 1978, graffiti artist Blade lost hundreds of his whole cars in no time at all.
The "buff" only succeeded in partially erasing the works on the oldest trains called "coffins" (built in the 50's), and later on the "flat trains", making them very dirty. The new "buffed" trains were a new challenge for the "Kings Arrive" crew founded by Sharp and Delta, which was soon followed by other crews.
The wave of graffiti repression only solved the graffiti artists' biggest problem: the lack of graffiti-free space. So, instead of curbing the graffiti phenomenon, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority merely reinforced it and did it a favor. The MTA invested huge sums of money in the security systems surrounding the depots, installing five-metre-high barbed-wire security fences. After years of war against the movement, the MTA publicly declared victory over graffiti in May 1989.
© Tats Cru, 2016

Graffiti: from train to wall
At the end of the train era in New York, and while graffiti on trains continued in Europe, New Yorkers graffiti artists were forced to change targets and turned to mural painting. Graffiti on trains can still be seen in Copenhagen and Barcelona and on german, italian and russian trains...and is featured in many french and international magazines. Many cities organize hip-hop events where graffiti artists are invited to paint sophisticated frescoes on the walls. New York's The Tats Cru crew (Nicer, Bio, Just 195, Nosm, etc.), the Macs (Juan, Kongo, Alex, etc.), and Paris' GrimTeam (Chaze, Soda, Dize, Pro, etc.) have become professional painters. Graffiti encounters between the New York old shool and younger generations are organized during the Kosmopolite festival in Bagnolet every year. A wide range of videos show the different styles and trends of graffiti art to the general public. Films from Marc-Aurèle Vecchione's "Writers" to "Trumac", "Dirty Handz" and "Wild War".
Daze, Bill Blast, Dondi White & A One, 2015, Speerstra Fondation

Post-graffiti
Artists' interest in painting on canvas began as soon as graffiti appeared on the streets of New York. Graffiti artists wanted to develop their work in other media. This enabled them to pursue a more personal aesthetic, moving further and further away from street graffiti and opening the doors to the art market.
In 1972, Hugo Martinez, a sociologist at New York University, took note of the artistic and legitimate potential of this first generation of artists. The UGA crew (United Graffiti Artists) and Hugo Martinez selected the hottest graffiti artists of the day and organized the very first graffiti exhibition at the Razor Gallery. UGA was provided with opportunities that were then inaccessible to these artists; the artists represented were: Phase 2, Mico, Coco 144, Pistol, Flint707, Bama, Snake and Stitch1.

An article in a 1973 New York magazine by Richard Goldstein entitled "The Graffiti Hit Parade" was the first public recognition of Graffiti artists. In the early 80's in New York, art galleries such as Fashion Moda, Patti Astor's Fun Gallery, and later Gallery Sydney Janis began showing work on canvas. These galleries later proved to be important factors in the development of the graffiti movement in Europe. The Fun Gallery was run by Hollywood actress Patty Astor, and was recognized as one of the hottest art spots on the New York scene. Here, she exhibited graffiti artists on a par with such household names as Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Harring. European art dealers were very receptive to this new art form and quickly realized its artistic potential. In 1983, Dolores Neumann organized an exhibition entitled "Post Graffiti" at the Sydney Janis Gallery, featuring works by eighteen graffiti artists. Works by Dondi White, Lee, Zephyr, Lady Pink, Daze, Futura 2000, Crash, Rammellzee were exhibited. In the Netherlands, exhibitions at the Boymans-Van Beuningen Museum in 1983 and at the Groninger Museum in 1992 were crowned with success. Art critics and collectors took the movement very seriously. Today, the artists are recognized by institutions, and many museums have their works in their collections. Graffiti paintings and sculptures are now sold worldwide through auctions and art galleries.
"Chuuuttt" by Jef Aérosol & "Knowledge + Action = Power" by Shepard Fairey, 2019, Paris

Urban art
Street art emerged in New York in the 70's, at the same time as graffiti. It takes the form of stencils, graffiti, engravings, posters and projections on buildings, facades and signposts in public spaces. Some conceptual artists have also been linked to this movement. Street art is often left to be completed by passers-by, making it interactive and accessible to all. All the viewer has to do is notice it, and they're in. This free, ephemeral and mostly anonymous art is a reaction to the overflow of commercial images that invade us. "Illicit" art can't be bought, but manipulates images to invade everything like advertising.

As well as advocating a shared vision of the world, street art also hopes that its small actions can change things. Indeed, this transgressive art is constantly questioning our society's taboos and prohibitions, as well as the notion of belonging. What's more, it often highlights the aberrations and paradoxes of our society, placing names and drawings in contexts that are sometimes totally at odds with them. But street art also responds to more basic human needs, such as communicating or leaving a mark.
The best-known artists in this movement include: JR, Obey, Invader, Nunca, Vhils, M City, Blu, Swoon, D*Face, Faile, Zevs, Kaws, Miss-Tic, Bleck le Rat, Banksy, Twist, Os Gêmeos, Buff Monster, Gil Bensmana, Jérôme Mesnager, Mac, François Morel, Open Your Eyes, Paelle?, Tom Tom, VLP, Mosko et associés, Nemo, Scandal, L'Atlas, Blek, Honet, Ernest Pignon-Ernest, Jean Faucheur, G, Antonio Callego, etc.