1967-1970 Graffiti explosion

The late 60's saw an explosion of names on buildings and walls throughout the city, gang Graffiti weaved its way through political slogans that reflected the social change of a nation.  The peace sign was certainly ubiquitous around college campuses.  Black militancy was seen with spray painted messages of "FREE HUEY" and "OFF THA' PIG".  In most “barrio's” (neighborhoods) there were Puerto Rican flags painted everywhere with the expression; "VIVA PUERTO RICO LIBRE". 

 

The first generation of New York Graffiti writers were distinct in that they assigned a number to the name they had chosen.  Most numbers reflected the street that they lived on: “TAKI 183”, “FRANK 207”, “TREE 127”, “JULIO 204”, “CAY 161”, “JUNIOR 161”, “EDDIE 181” were all writers from the upper west side of Manhattan.  In most histories of early Graffiti in New York the other boroughs usually got short changed, but there's no denying that “LEE 163” from the Bronx, and “UNDERTAKER ASH” and “FRIENDLY FREDDIE” from Brooklyn and many others, played just as significant a role as their Manhattan counterparts.

The old taggers and writers mentioned above have layed foundations for one of the biggest art movements in history to follow in its wake. From the simple act of writing your name on something, has sparked the imaginations of thousands of people. TAKI 183 is one of my favourite writers from the 1960's because seeing it from a modern point of view, the style of their work is very basic but it expresses the culture and generation of their time. Its not so much about what the outcome looks like but the act of scrolling your name somewhere it usually shouldn't be and knowing that the next time you walk past its going to be there.