Graffiti L.A.: Street Styles and Art
(with cd-rom) by Steve Grody
The One And Only
Long before graffiti was adopted as the visual expression of hip-hop
culture in the 1980s, Chicano gang members in East Los Angeles had
been developing stylized calligraphy and writing on walls. Cholo
(gangster) scripts became the first distinctive letter forms to evolve in the
modern vernacular tradition of graffiti writing. Today Los Angeles writers
of diverse backgrounds draw from a unique confluence of cultures that
has led to regionally distinctive styles.
Graffiti L.A. provides a comprehensive and visual history of graffiti in Los
Angeles as well as an in-depth examination of the myriad styles and
techniques used by writers today. Complementing the main text,
interviews with L.A.s most prolific and infamous writers provide insight
into the lives of these fugitive artists. Essential to the understanding of the

development of the graffiti movement, this book will be an invaluable
source to graffiti fans around the world. Included with the book is a cd-
rom with audio interviews and more than 200 extra photos.
Personal Review: Graffiti L.A.: Street Styles and Art (with cd-
rom) by Steve Grody
Fifty years ago, graffiti was something written in restrooms and was
relatively private. Now graffiti is an art form. You can think of it as
vandalism; if it is your wall, or a public wall, and it is supposed to stay
clean and undecorated, any unwanted spray-painting, no matter how
fancy, is vandalism. But even if it is vandalism (and sometimes the owner
of the wall invites the decoration, or the painting is done on canvas for a
gallery), there is no arguing that graffiti now is some sort of art. This is
especially obvious if you examine the hundreds of pictures in _Graffiti L.A.:
Street Styles and Art_ (Abrams) by Steve Grody. Grody loves the graffiti
of Los Angeles, and booms, "Along with the myriad styles these artists
have created, they have also evolved world-class graphic skills now
comparable to the best aerosol work anywhere." It seems funny that
anyone would be comparing "aerosol work" from any locales, but you don't
have to know about the styles elsewhere to enjoy the astonishing colors
and designs found here. Grody examines the ethical issues of this sort of
work, but it is clear that such evaluation is secondary to the art itself. He
includes interviews with many of the artists (they call themselves "writers"),
examines techniques and styles, and shows an appreciation of how this
peculiar form of art has redeemed many of its practitioners, and redeemed
some blighted public spaces as well.
The spray can is the choice of the writers because it is easily concealed
and is portable. On the wall's surface, its effects can be controlled, but it
can also cover an area quickly. The furtiveness of making graffiti
necessitates the use of the spray can, but writers use it even in gallery
work. It is also used, when no concealment is needed, on a "permission
wall", a surface donated by its owner for esthetic reasons to be the site of
an elaborate piece. The writers quoted here have much to say about the
work of others; it is clear that they have examined styles carefully and can
give intelligent critiques of what they have seen, and that they admire the
works of competent competitors. They know "bad can control" or
excessive imitation when they see it. The writers are in danger of criminal
prosecution if they are not working on permission walls, and are in physical
danger if they are working on some surface that is elevated. There is little
tangible reward to this type of artistry, which is mainly a means of self
expression with little other benefit. Grody writes, "It is this creative passion
in light of all the obstacles that gives the best work its pop pulp energy."
There are numerous stories here about members who were at risk of
descending into drug use or crimes worse than artistic vandalism, but were
saved by joining a group of like-minded artists.
The descriptions here of classifications of the work, the social forces at
play, and the lives of the writers are all good for putting the pictures here in

context, but the pictures are the show in this big and glossy book. Not all
the pictures could even get in here, as with the book there is a disk
included of hundreds more, along with audio interviews. It is fun to try to
make out the letters, which are clear in some of the examples shown here,
but are often so stretched and stylized that even if you know the crew that
has put its name up, it is hard to pick the letters out. The depiction of
figures or portraits is sometimes hyper-realistic, but usually in a comic
book style, and is (to my eyes) far less appealing than the letters shaped
into abstractions of extraordinary complexity and color. Grody has a
couple of pages to illustrate some basic techniques, like cuts, 3-D, or letter
blends, but there is no need to acquire a technical eye to enjoy the shows
of kinetic mural energy displayed here. There is still some moral ambiguity
about some pieces and their execution, but one picture after another
shows that this is a vibrant and valid form of folk art.
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