graffiti

: A detail from a piece entitled "Saw Sude" at the corner of 151st and Gerard in Mott Haven. The character featured is "The Mask" from the comic book that inspired the movie. Writers: Prod, Jel, Psycho, Slust, Kaws, Cher, Siren & Xman.

Hmm...is it good or bad?
Some people think it's vandalism, the others think it's cool! So who is right? If you have any opinions, just submit on the bottom of the page

Graffiti artists call themselves "writers" and their art "writing." Writing began with just that--writing. Writers simply painted or marked their names (actually nicknames) everywhere they could. This activity is called "tagging." From these simple tags, writers took the shapes inherent in standard English characters, expanded them, decorated them, and made them much more than just simple letters. They used these stylized letters to spell their names and make statements. The more creative the style of the letters, and the more often their work appeared, the more popular the writer became with their fellow creators. Over time, many of the letters were so stylized they became difficult to read by the regular viewing public.

A detail of a present piece in a ball court next to Yankee Stadium.
We believe the title is "The Power of Imagination".
The writers' identities are to be determined

In fact, most writers work with a team of other artists, referred to as "crews" (also spelled "cru"). By being "down" (in) with a crew, young artists can learn from several teachers, and gain fame by their association with a given group.