A rare look into the world of contemporary graffiti culture On the sides of buildings, on bridges, billboards, mailboxes, and street signs, and especially in the subway and train tunnels, graffiti covers much of New York City. Love it or hate it, graffiti, from the humble tag to the intricate piece (short for masterpiece), is an undeniable part of the cityscape. In Graffiti Lives, Gregory J. Snyder offers a fascinating and rare look into this world of contemporary graffiti culture. A world in which kids, often, shoplift for spray paint, scale impossibly high places to find a great spot to "get up," run from the police, journey into underground train tunnels, fight over turf, and spend countless hours perfecting their style. Over the ten years Snyder studied this culture he even created a few works himself (under the moniker "GWIZ"), found himself serving as a lookout for other artists engaged in this illegal activity, spent time in the train tunnels in search of new work, created a blackbook for writers to tag, and took countless photographs to document this world - over sixty included in the book. A combination of amazing "flicks" and exhilarating prose, Graffiti Lives is ultimately an exploration into how graffiti writers define themselves. Snyder details that writers are not bound together by appearance or language or birthplace or class but by what they do. And what they do is reach for fame, painting their names as prominently as they can. What's more, he discovers that, though many public officials think graffiti writing will only lead to other criminal activity, many graffiti writers have turned their youthful exploits into adult careers-from professional aerosol muralists and fine artists to designers of all kinds, employed in such fields as tattooing, studio art, magazine production, fashion, and guerilla marketing. In fact, some of the artists featured have gone on to international acclaim and to their own gallery shows. Snyder's illuminating work shows that getting up tags, throw-ups, and pieces on New York City's walls and subway tunnels can lead to getting out into the city's competitive professional world. Graffiti Lives details the exciting, risky, and surprisingly rewarding pursuits of contemporary graffiti writers.

The first book to focus exclusively on women as subjects in street art, this study, part travelogue and part dialogue, examines these depictions of women artistically, politically, and culturally across continents. Interviews with artists peel back the layers between artist and image, revealing stories about their work, its context, and its environment. From artists in LA pushing back on Hollywood's shiny perfection; to painters in Costa Rica examining the cultural links of women, myth, and nature; to women in South Africa decrying domestic violence, what links these works are their temporality and public ownership. Why do wall artists choose women as their frequent and favourite subjects? What does it say about our conceptions of gender and rebellion, protest, pride, place, and community? And how does the growing commercialisation of street art affect their portrayal? Colour photos and guided historical context provoke these questions and inspire further ones.

Graffiti writing was born in the streets of Philadelphia in the late 1960s. But it was in New York in the early 1970s that it became a full-fledged urban art, gradually taking over the landscape of the city, from its walls to its subway cars. In these years when this art form was emerging, graffiti pioneers laid its foundations through the constant game they played with the twenty-six letters of the alphabet, which they distorted and highlighted in the tags that they painted on walls. In the first section of this book, Woshe recounts the incredible story of the birth of this culture. He then offers us a detailed examination of the twenty-six letters of the alphabet, their structure and the ways in which graffiti writers have made them evolve. This study is enriched with a wealth of illustrations and examples of the customizations that artists add to their letters. At the end of the volume, ten of the international scene's most talented graffiti creators answer Woshe's questions about matters that include their practice, their relationship with letters and their backgrounds. Interviews to: BATES (Copenhague, Denmark); DARCO (Paris, France); DEMS (Elche, Spain); GESER (Connecticut USA); JURNE (Oakland, CA, USA); LOKISS (Paris, France); SERCH (Zwolle, The Netherlands); SWET (Copenhague, Denmark); SYE (New Yor, NY, USA); ZOER (Grasse, France). This is a writing manual, an inspiring collection of ideas and a beautiful book on the world of graffiti, but above all it is a declaration of love for this culture that mixes urban performance and mastery of letters. It includes a map of New York with the sites where the most important graffiti are located.

Having forged his graphic style painting subways in New York in the late 1970s, Futura was among the first graffiti artists to be shown in contemporary galleries in the early 1980s, where his paintings shared space with works by Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Kenny Scharf. As the commercialization of street culture in the 1990s inspired collaborations with fashion and lifestyle brands, Futura s work moved toward a more refined expression of his abstract graffiti style. Commissions from era-defining brands such as A Bathing Ape, Stussy, Supreme, and Mo Wax saw his artwork canonized as an elemental component of the street aesthetic. Collected here, among never-before-published reproductions of earlier paintings and drawings, is an archive of personal photography and ephemera that reveals how integral Futura has been to the evolution of street art and culture. Guided through more than forty years of work, and with interviews with key players in Futura s career, this is at once a definitive monograph of a legend of contemporary art and an indispensable chapter in the history of graffiti.

"Although the street art is generally conveyed in a very natural matter, even his dead animal paintings seem at peace." - Streetartbio.com "Detached from the artist's identity, his detailed, illustrative animal paintings have brought him back to the world. With local species of animals as his main focus, ROA inevitably starts a dialogue about human interaction with nature and the environment, whether it is painting on the walls of a museum or in an abandoned rural factory." - Hi Fructose - The New Contemporary Magazine "One of the most influential acts of street art around the world." - The Huffington Post Fascinated by nature, the anonymous muralist and street artist ROA is inspired by the beauty of its non-human inhabitants. With great attention to detail, ROA draws over-sized black and white creatures of endemic or endangered species on buildings around the world, from Moscow to Mexico City, and from Los Angeles to London. His subjects are frequently survivors; scavengers, rodents, and unusual animals that thrive in their particular milieu.

Literary Nonfiction. Graffiti. Photography. When it comes to art, London is best known for its galleries, not its graffiti. However, not if photographer Martin Bull has anything to say about it. While newspapers and magazines the world over send their critics to review the latest Damien Hirst show at the Tate Modern, Bull, in turn, is out taking photos of the latest street installations by guerilla art icon Banksy. In three guided tours, Martin Bull documents sixty-five London sites where one can see some of the most important works by the legendary political artist. Boasting over 100 color photos, BANKSY LOCATIONS AND TOURS also includes graffiti by many of Banksy's peers, including Eine, Faile, El Chivo, Arofish, Cept, Space Invader, Blek Le Rat, D*face, and Shepherd Fairey. US edition has locations updated and 25 additional photos.

If street art is, in itself, an act of rebellion, it is tragically ironic that the genre seems dominated by men. This exciting book is an important first step in shedding light on the substantial number of women who are gaining fame in the street art world. It brings together the work of 24 artists, through dazzling photographs of their work and intimate portraits of their lives based on interviews collected by award-winning journalist Alessandra Mattanza. On walls, sidewalks, prison cells, grain silos and other nontraditional canvases, these artists tackle ideas around empowerment, feminism, the pink revolution, body shaming and body imagery, racism, and the climate crisis. From Oklahoma City and Brooklyn, Tatyana Fazlalizadeh makes site specific work that considers how people experience race and gender within their surrounding environments. South African multidisciplinary artist Faith XLVII imbues her narratives with a longing for a deeper connection to nature, and a resurrection of the divine feminine. Italy's Camilla Falsini incorporates joyful, bold colors and simple shapes to deliver serious messages about the environment. Shamsia Hassani, one of Afghanistan's first female street artists, makes vibrant murals and paintings in which women play musical instruments as a vehicle for self-expression. Bursting with colorful photographs of works in situ as well as in detail, this thrilling and incisive book proves that street art is not only female-it's the essence of conceptual rebellion itself.

"I've never made my art because I want to make money. I make it because I believe that my paintings . . . can change the world." Meet C215, a master street artist with a mission. C215 is the pseudonym chosen by Christian Gu my ("The French Banksy"), one of the world's most important masters of contemporary street art. He became famous in 2008 when Banksy invited him to collaborate on some projects, and today, even though he has the talent to work for galleries or museums, he continues producing his art on the street. See his amazing creations, and get to know him through a series of interviews conducted by Alessandra Mattanza, an expert in international street art. Known for drawing, painting, spray-painting, and personally photographing his works, C215 himself has in fact taken many of the images shown in this eye-opening volume. These photos enrich this intimate portrait of the artist, presenting his vision and his experience on the street. Readers can grasp the essence of his philosophy, and discover his most important works in the cities of Paris, London, Los Angeles, New York, Rome, Istanbul, New Delhi, and Fez as well as in Brazil, Poland, Israel, and Morocco.

For fifty years, graffiti and street art have been challenging conventions and stimulating debate around our perceptions of what constitutes art. As the genre enters its sixth decade, this ground-breaking book presents a new interpretation of where street art and graffiti are situated today. Introducing the concept of 'Intermural Art' - art in between the walls - Rafael Schacter presents a genre at a key moment of transition. While many street and graffiti artists are still challenging the orthodoxies of the public sphere, an increasingly large group are reshaping the field by no longer furtively entering the institution, no longer slavishly reproducing exterior works inside, but instead attempting to merge out and in to create a form that articulates graffiti, street and contemporary-art influences. Through forty profiles of the leading proponents of this new approach from around the globe, Rafael Schacter presents a compelling analysis for 'Intermural Art' while also showcasing some of the boldest work being made currently.

Chicago is home to more intact African American street murals from the 1970s and 1980s than any other U.S. city. Among Chicago's greatest muralists is the legendary William "Bill" Walker (1927-2011), compared by art historians to Diego Rivera. Francis O'Connor, America's foremost mural historian, called Walker the most accomplished contemporary practitioner of the classical mural tradition that runs from Giotto to Rivera. Though his art could not have been more public, Walker maintained a low profile during his working life and virtually withdrew from the public eye after his retirement in 1989. Author Jeff W. Huebner met Walker in 1990 and embarked on a series of insightful interviews in 2008. Those meetings form the basis of Walls of Prophecy and Protest, the story of Walker's remarkable life and the movement that he inspired. Featuring thirty-five color images of Walker's work, this handsome edition reveals the artist who was the primary figure behind Chicago's famed Wall of Respect and who created numerous murals that depicted African American historical figures; protested social injustice; and centered imagination, love, respect, and community accountability.

Characters are the most popular and easily accessible side of graffiti. They are the figures that stand beside the writers name and attract attention to it. They are brought to the fore in Graffiti Coloring Book 2: Characters. The book features themes by the worlds foremost graffiti writers. Well-built b-boys and b-girls with spray cans, boom boxes and attitude, comic figures with cartoon features and realistic portraits. All are waiting to be rendered in glorious color. In graffiti culture, the black-and-white drawing serves both as a model for a graffiti piece and as a work of art in its own right. Similarly, this book is both a toy and an art history document. With characters from world famour graffiti writers like: T-Kid TNB (New York), Tack FBA (New York), Part One TDS (New York), Wane COD (New York), Ezo TDS (New York), Zimad TD4 (New York), Too Fly (New York), Nic 707 OTB (New York), Revolt RTW (New York)

'A beautiful, deeply affecting and powerful marriage between art and activism' - KHALED HOSSEINI, bestselling author of The Kite Runner 'These are vital conversations. Everyone should eavesdrop on them'- KAMILA SHAMSIE, author of award-winning bestseller Home Fire Conversations From Calais is a global art movement that captures moments between volunteers and refugees in poster form. Pasted on our city walls these posters amplify marginalised voices and bear witness to those who are often ignored. Features essay contributions by Osman Yousefzada, Gulwali Passarlay, Nish Kumar, Joudie Kalla, Waad Al-Kateab, Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, Ai Weiwei and Inua Ellams. 'Showcases what the world so desperately needs more of right now: heart, hope and humanity' - EMMA GANNON, author & podcaster 'These conversations remind us that the only difference between ourselves and anyone else is circumstance' - OLIVE GRAY, actor

What happens to design when cultures merge and traditions dissolve, when everything is "bastardized"? The authors of Bastard set out to learn the answers on a high-speed 21-day research trip to seven hot spots of globalization on three continents, including Mexico City, L.A., Tokyo, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Dubai and Frankfurt. Over the course of hundreds of meetings with artists, musicians, designers and authors, they collected enough prints, books, photographs, audio interviews and notes to fill an encyclopedia. The comparatively slim Bastard, which comes in at just under 400 pages, offers a portfolio from around the world. In the course of collecting it, Christian Ernst found himself coming around to this globalization thing: "Everyone is afraid of standardization. When everyone has the same design books does that mean young designers everywhere will use the same design? No--people are individual and influenced in different ways. They're simply different, and that was definitely a relief to discover " Bastard has been designed in more than 50 unique typefaces created by typographers all over the world. A selection of those fonts, a musical sound track and 50 high-resolution images are all included on the enclosed DVD.

Lorna Brown is an artist specialising in watercolour architectural paintings that represent something other than just bricks and mortar. With a keenness for adventure, she likes to hunt for new places to paint; buildings with character and story that represent the people who have occupied these spaces in the past, present and future.

Lorna has travelled around the world to produce this collection of illustrations of street art in urban landscapes. Visiting London, Bristol, Helsinki, Berlin, Cairo, Bethlehem, New York, Los Angeles, Detroit, Christchurch, Melbourne, Painted Cities demonstrates how the architecture shapes the unique street art in each city and tells the story of the painters and people who live there.

Late 1970s New York City was bankrupt and its streets dirty and dangerous. But thecity had a wild, raw energy that made it the crucible for the birth of rap culture and graffiti. Graffiti writers worked in extremely tough conditions: uncollected garbage, darkness, cramped spaces, and the constant threat of police raids, assault by security staff and attacks by rival crews. It was not unlike practicing performance art in a war zone. Yet during the fertile years of the late 1970s and 1980s they evolved their art from stylized signatures to full-blown Technicolor dreamscapes. Henry Chalfant created panoramic images of painted trains by photographing overlapping shots along the train s length. It took time to earn the writers trust andrespect, but Chalfant became their revered confidant and with Tony Silver went on to produce the classic documentary film Style Wars (1983). Through a series of interviews conducted by Sacha Jenkins, we hear the voices of these characters of old New York. Quite a few of the original writers are no longer with us, but those who have survived have continued to push the envelope as artists and individuals in a new millennium.The stories they tell, included here alongside iconic, raw photographs of their work, will enthrall graffiti fans everywhere."

'You capture so much in one frozen moment of time, and the fact that this tiny moment will now last forever makes it so much more profound...' Immortalised through the BBC's 'Peaky Blinders', and now in the throes of HS2 development, Birmingham's up and coming creative quarter is in the spotlight as Nigel Parker documents the unique people and places of Digbeth.

Dirtypilot.com Year 1 Rewind presents the work of 15 of the artists that Dirtypilot.com has showcased in its monthly online exhibitions during its inaugural year, beginning in May 2007. These works embrace a range of movements from graffiti, street and urban art to pop and and outsider art. Rendered in mediums, from spray paint, oil, acrylic, water color and mixed media, to simple pen and ink, graphic, silkscreen and other transfer methods. Featured artists include up and coming talents along with established artists, such as Chris "Daze" Ellis, Kime Buzzelli, Bravo Jet, Albert Reyes, Papermonster, Chris Stain, Ghost, Ewok 5MH, Cern YMI, Dennis McNett, Greg Gossel, Stephen Tompkins, Enrique Martinez, Justin Bua, Michael Krueger and Daniel Johnston. Both a contemporary representation of the most riveting urban art of our time and a frozen slice of art history that hundreds of thousands of urban art collectors and aficionados who frequent DirtyPilot.com can enjoy today and tomorrow. This diverse body of artwork also stands as an enlightening sampling for collectors and art students unfamiliar with urban motifs. A sturdy, hardcover compellation of shows, Dirtypilot.com Year 1 Rewind dedicates from two to six pages of illustrations of each showcased artist as well as the dates the artists showed their work on Dirtypilot.com. It also delivers biographical sketches on each contributor. The book's introduction by Dirtypilot.com founder Alan Bortman offers insightful background information on the origin and focal point of the Dirtypilot site. If you're passionate about urban art and urban artists and want to learn more, Dirtypilot.com Year 1 Rewind is a visual treasure trove for collectors thatyou won't want to be without.

In the 1960s and early 1970s, young people in New York City radically altered the tradition of writing their initials on neighborhood walls. Influenced by the widespread use of famous names on billboards, in neon, in magazines, newspapers, and typographies from advertising and comics, city youth created a new form of expression built around elaborately designed names and initials displayed on public walls, vehicles, and subways. Critics called it "graffiti," but to the practitioners it was "writing."

"Taking the Train" traces the history of "writing" in New York City against the backdrop of the struggle that developed between the city and the writers. Austin tracks the ways in which "writing" -- a small, seemingly insignificant act of youthful rebellion -- assumed crisis-level importance inside the bureaucracy and the public relations of New York City mayoral administrations and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for almost two decades. "Taking the Train" reveals why a global city short on funds made "wiping out graffiti" an expensive priority while other needs went unfunded. Although the city eventually took back the trains, Austin eloquently shows how and why the culture of "writing" survived to become an international art movement and a vital part of hip-hop culture.

A complex and contradictory graffiti culture has been brewing over the last few decades in one of the least expected settings-China's capital. Through an unparalleled collection of one local photographer's images, as well as interviews with 25 prolific artists, see how Beijing has developed its graffiti movement against the backdrop of the once-secluded nation's rise to global economic might. While Beijing graffiti artists take their cue from the subculture's Western origins, the local scene has also been highly influenced by both foreign visitors and traditional Chinese art and culture. Profiles of significant artists explore the dynamics of creative self-expression in such a perceivedly authoritarian setting, including the surprising amount of freedom they have to make their art undisturbed compared to Western counterparts. A must for graffiti enthusiasts, Sinophiles, and anyone interested in how this colorful subculture is still growing half a century after it emerged.