Heavy Hitting Graffiti
This is a fairly random assortment of graffiti writers who have contributed great influence to the evolution of graffiti across the world. These are the artists I draw inspiration from. These artists I see as the fathers, and mothers, of graffiti who are unique in their inventive and creative displays of self expression. I include artists generally recognized as the pioneers of modern American graffiti, as well as current artists I believe are shaping the worldwide culture of graffiti. Words in blue are links to the artists’ websites that you can explore for further information. -K
Darryl McCray AKA “Cornbread”
Often credited as the first modern day graffiti writer. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Cornbread found his alias at a juvenile correctional facility. Although Cornbread was not the first person to write on walls, he was the first to write an adopted name used for self-promotion rather than promotion of a gang. Cornbread became gained notable fame by tagging a elephant at the Brooklyn Zoo and an airplane belonging to the Jackson 5. McCray’s fame rose quickly in the underground graffiti subculture, but quietly faded out of popularity when McCray supposedly fell victim to drug abuse.
Taki 183
Taki 183 formed his name from a combination of his home street, 183rd Street in Washington Heights in Manhattan, and Taki, a diminutive for several Greek names. Taki 183 took advantage of his job as a delivery boy to spread his name across New York. He wrote on the subway during his commute to school, and simulated techniques of campaign posters in the 1968-1970 election. Taki 183’s signature was soon seen in subway cars, street signs, and public walls all across New York. In 1971 The New York Times wrote an article about Taki 183 which gave him his widely known fame.
Lady Pink
“First” Female Graffiti Writer
Born in Ecuador and raised in New York, Lady Pink was the first skilled female graffiti artist. Here work has inspired thousands of female graffiti artists around the world. Lady Pink’s art was respected as fine art in the 1970’s and held its own exhibition while Lady Pink was still in highschool. Her role in the iconic movie, “Wild Style” made her an iconic and respectable figure in the graffiti subculture.
Stay High 149
Wayne Roberts was born in Emporia, VA and moved to Harlem at age seven. Harlem for him was a battleground, filled with victims of the crack epidemic, derelict buildings, and gangs. Soon after the assassination of Malcolm X, Robert’s and his family moved to the Bronx, where Roberts adopted the pseudonym “Stay High”, a tribute to his copious marijuana consumption. Like his inspiration, Taki 183, Roberts used his occupation as a messenger to scribble his name across the city. The numerals 183 represent the street Roberts lived on, a common practice in early New York graffiti culture. In 1972, Stay High 149 was on almost every subway car in New York City, what made his name so recognizable was the ever-attached haloed stick figure smoking a “marijuana joint.” This extremely recognizable figure was featured in New York Magazine, along with his portrait, a month later non other than the NYPD knocked on Roberts’ door and placed him in handcuffs and transported him downtown to confiscate his alias, and issue a $20 ticket for vandalism. This didn’t stop Roberts, within a month he had adopted a new alias “Voice Of The Ghetto” which soon gained the same level of notoriety among underground street artists in New York. Roberts retired from graffiti in 1975, but returned in 2005 at the age of 50 when graffiti had evolved into a more respected and critical form of art.
WildStyle Crew-“Tracy 168”
Founded by Michael Tracy “Tracy 168” in 1958, the WildStyle Graffiti Crew is credited with the creation of wild style graffiti, very intricate and detailed graffiti pieces. Tracy explains his crews progress into their notable style, “styles were coming out. We got into this thing with colors. First it was two colors, then three colors, then four.” His pieces incorporated abstract lettering and detailed color schemes, which caught they eye of almost every person living in New York. His crew not only wrote wild style, but also lived it. In Bomb It, a movie dedicated to the history and culture of graffiti, Michael Tracy explains the hard, non- stop, lifestyle his crew lived by. His crew believed that by reaching places left untouched by graffiti, their style and name would stand out even more. The WildStyle Gang began painting water towers, building roofs, and other objects usually passed over by graffiti artists. Today, Tracy 168 still paints graffiti, but features his work in fine art galleries and graffiti exhibitions rather than illegally painted on the streets.
IZ the Wiz
Michael Martin, aka: “IZ the Wiz was one of the most affluent and popular graffiti artists in the early New York graffiti scene. Martin began his tagging career by signing “IZ” on subway cars, street signs, and other common canvases of graffiti. IZ began attaching “the wiz” to his simple two-letter alias and continued to garner enormous fame throughout the city. Martin ran with several street graffiti gangs, or “crews”. IZ the Wiz developed kidney failure in the early 90’s as a result of inhaling aresol from his spray paint cans. An interview in 2000 conducted by Style Wars, Martin confessed he would trade all his fame for his full health. In 2009 Michael Martin passed away from kidney failure.
Donald Joseph White “DONDI”
Born in Brooklyn, Dondi climbed out of the racial tension of 1970-1980s New York and obtained a government office job. Holding down a job, for the government no less, and actively pursuing a popular profile in the graffiti world was risky. Even more risky was the closeness Dondi had to White’s real name, Donald. Dondi’s artwork took the intricate forms presented by the WildStyle Crew, and the simple readable letters of the majority of graffiti writers and presented to the world a stylized, beautiful, and legible graffiti piece that could be read by anyone in the city. Dondi began painting his name on metro cars and soon enlarged his style to completely cover the cars. Dondi passed away from AIDS in 1998 and was immortalized by tributes created by other very notable and respectable artists such as “IZ the Wiz”, Zephyr, and Doc.
Chaz Bojorquez
Instead of growing his roots of graffiti in New York, Bojorquez began and continued his career in east Los Angeles. The strong Latino culture that surrounded Bojorquez. He also studied Asian calligraphy and the “Cholo” style of block lettering. Bojoroquez found his passion in calligraphy, but also created a symbol adopted by Latino “Cholos” to represent their Latino pride. This character was inspired by the packaging art of Zig-Zag rolling papers, the zoot suit culture prevalent in the history of his community, and a skeleton as an ode to his close Latino heritage and their celebration of Dia de la Muerte.
OBEY
Andre the Giant has a Posse
Obey is not just a clothing company for white kids trying to look tough, it’s an icon that shattered the standards for mass communication in the 1980s. Founded and operated by Shepard Fairy, the Andre the Giant has a Posse campaign began as stickers and stencils included in skateboard shoes and deck sales. This new form of promotion was revolutionary in the sense that instead of putting up one piece of graffiti by one person, the stencils of Andre the Giant’s face was applied to street signs and public surfaces by a whole sub culture of interlocked skateboard and graffiti enthusiasts. Fairy also promoted his OBEY icon by traveling the world and applying wheat pastes of Andre, himself. OBEY incorporates the underground idea of rebellion and antigovernment, which is the reasoning behind “OBEY propaganda.” The OBEY icon has itself become a style of art in itself, with a contrasting black and white portrait taking various different meanings and designs.
Space Invaders “Invader”
Invader’s character is possibly recognized more from the 8-bit arcade game, than his expansive street art found across the globe. Invader is a pioneer in the game of graffiti who has left behind the standard use of markers and spray cans in preference of tiled mosaics. His work alters from the standard definition of graffiti, in that his work is produced in a studio and later applied to pre-determined spots. Invader describes his graffiti adventures as “invasions” and is regularly transversing the planet “invading” cities such as Brazil, France, the United States, Spain and many, many others. Invader’s identity is a closely kept secret. In an interview titled, “Space Invader, You Rule the City” Invader claims that even his real name is known by a small handful of people and that his parents even think he works as a tiler in the construction industry.
Heavy Hitting Graffiti This is a fairly random assortment of graffiti writers who have contributed… Heavy Hitting Graffiti This is a fairly random assortment of graffiti writers who have contributed great influence to the evolution of graffiti across the world.