This rare, first-hand account of the birth of the New York subway graffiti movement during the 1970s is the first and only graffiti book to reveal what happened behind the scenes when writers put their lives on the line to grab a scrap of fame from a faceless urban landscape. Through personal interviews and over 275 full-color, unpublished photographs, the colourful origins of subway graffiti are brought to life.Legends such as Taki 183, Bama 1, Phase 2, and CoCo 144 - as well as the city officials who saw the writers as public menaces and their art as vandalism - give accounts of every-day struggles, each full of new advancements, excitement and risk. Alongside archival photographs of everything from vibrant bubble-letter and 3-D pieces to the Holy Grail, are maps, images and ephemera that help fill out this story. A celebration in words and pictures of graffiti's Golden Age, "Graffiti Kings" is a book sure to be coveted by those fascinated and inspired by this uniquely American urban art form.
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About the Author
Jack Stewart, a painter, muralist and art historian, first began to photograph graffiti as it made its transition from the streets to the subways. He was one of the first observers to understand the power and significance of tags, and he befriended and interviewed many of the writers who appear in this collection. This text is based on Stewart's doctoral thesis, completed before his death in 2005 and has been curated and edited by his wife, Regina Stewart.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book is a serious study of the Old School Graffiti years. it starts in the late 1960's in Philadelphia, then moves onto New York.
It is as important as book on Graffiti as has bee written, and has a lot of obscure and interesting information, plus many colour and black & white photos.
An essential buy for anyone interested in Hip Hop linked Graffiti.
It is as important as book on Graffiti as has bee written, and has a lot of obscure and interesting information, plus many colour and black & white photos.
An essential buy for anyone interested in Hip Hop linked Graffiti.
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
What a wonderful book...my partner received this as a christmas gift and loved it .... Good quality book with good illustrations ....and it arrived fast and in good condition :)
By Massire
Format:Hardcover
Having read an awful lot of books on Graffiti culture over the years, I wasn't expecting this to offer anything new. However, this book really delves deeply into the humble beginnings and rapid rise of New York Graffiti that started as 60's tags out of Philly some 200 miles south.
While the art is crude to begin with, the author really explains every detail as to why a certian dot or arrow was placed and who was credited as being the first to do so.
For those who have a certain yearning to find out about the birth & origins of Graffiti or even Hip hop culture, then this is a must.
Strangely the author doesn't mention certain artists and other people who were documenting similar activities at the time (Henry Chalfont/Martha Cooper/Fuzz One etc spring to mind). But that does not take away the grit of the work put into looking at who was doing what back in 1971 at 3.30am in a train yard somewhere in NYC.
A great book and a unique look at the hidden graffiti culture in 1970's New York.
While the art is crude to begin with, the author really explains every detail as to why a certian dot or arrow was placed and who was credited as being the first to do so.
For those who have a certain yearning to find out about the birth & origins of Graffiti or even Hip hop culture, then this is a must.
Strangely the author doesn't mention certain artists and other people who were documenting similar activities at the time (Henry Chalfont/Martha Cooper/Fuzz One etc spring to mind). But that does not take away the grit of the work put into looking at who was doing what back in 1971 at 3.30am in a train yard somewhere in NYC.
A great book and a unique look at the hidden graffiti culture in 1970's New York.
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