Snyder, G: Graffiti Lives

Gregory J. Snyder is Associate Professor of Sociology at Baruch College, City University of New York. He is the author of Graffiti Lives: Beyond the Tag in New York's Urban Underground.

"Graffiti lives! proclaims author Snyder in this new, vaguely academic account of graffiti in the urban underground-particularly New York." - New York Post "In his first book, fan and socio-anthropologist Snyder doesn't just celebrate urban street art and its rising stars, but takes a thorough look at its history and future, the language of public art and the idea of the graffiti artist as criminal-including an intriguing challenge to the 'broken windows theory' cited by law enforcement and NYC government officials as central to their efforts. Along the way he decodes a backdoor in the East Village covered with a dozen different tags-'in the same way that the sedimentary layers of ancient ruins inspire archaeologists to tell tales of past civilizations'-profiles rising and established stars, and takes a raw, detailed tour of the scene... Snyder's 'the kids are alright' assessment, buttressed by many examples of thrill-seeking taggers finding successful careers in art, design, publishing, and (commissioned) mural-painting, is well-articulated, convincing, and quite possibly reassuring for the urbanites living among (or perhaps raising) today's writers and bombers." - Publisher's Weekly Starred Review "Outstanding, innovative, and multidimensional... I can easily see this book becoming the new 'best book on graffiti.' " - Joe Austin, author of Taking the Train: How Graffiti Art Became an Urban Crisis in New York City "Will prompt readers to look again at graffiti scrawls they may previously have ignored." - Kirkus Reviews "Graffiti writers, the book argues, cannot be understood merely as practitioners of vandalism and social disorder, but also as members of a diverse subculture who, in many cases, have used their experiences to build legitimate careers." - The New York "Graffiti lives sizzles with the illicit energy of the graffiti underground. Snyder knows that energy and he knows where to find it - in the lives of graffiti writers and in the words, images and