Inside the Graffiti Subculture

Illegal graffiti is disconnected from standard modes of visual production in fine art and design. The primary purpose of illegal graffiti for the graffiti writer is not the visual product, but "getting up." Getting up involves writing or painting one's name in as many places as possible for fame. The elements of risk, freedom and ritual unique to illegal graffiti serve to increase camaraderie among graffiti writers even as an individual's fame in the graffiti subculture increases. When graffiti has moved from illegal locations to the legal arenas of fine art and advertising; risk, ritual and to some extent, camaraderie, has been lost in the translation. Illegal graffiti is often erroneously associated with criminal gangs. Legal modes of production using graffiti-style are problematic in the public eye as a result. I used primary and secondary interviews with graffiti writers in this book. My art historical approach differed from previous writers who have used mainly anthropological and popular culture methods to examine graffiti. This analysis enabled me to demonstrate that illegal graffiti is not art.