First of all I must say that throughout all my research
and speaking with people from the beginning
nobody really knows who started the Graffiti art.
There will always be one that did it before another...
But the art envelopment and it still does.
In the late 60's and early 70's, gangs used their tags and colors to mark their turf.Those gangs had their own name taggers. The writers would write the gang name wherever they passed and in their own territory. They also used to write their own names. Check this out in the movie "Warriors" from 1979. Also check out the Graffiti on the trains at that time. If any of these writers were caught behind enemy lines, they would be beaten up and then sprayed with their own paint.
Soon this made attention and people took notice. And it did not take long before others were doing the same. Examples like Frank 207, Joe 136, Julio 204, Barbara 62, Eva 62. All after their street adresses.
It soon spread by the train and then it developmented from there on with bigger letters and some with filled colors. One of the first with simple letters on a train was made by Spin. when people saw this they soon started doing the same. By hitting a train thir work went city wide.
From now on there was no limits at all, it developmented fast and quickly became a phenomenon. The letters got more complicated and a lot of characters were entered. The writers started using the train stations for braging and showing black books. Later named as 'Writers Bench'.
The pieces got bigger and soon from top to bottom
Then came the whole car, and by 1984 with the movie Beat street, Graffiti went for real world wide. Today you will probably find a tag or Graffiti werever you travel. Most places Grattiti is illegal now, and you may get arrested and do time.
