About Graffiti L.A.:
I have been documenting L.A. graff non-stop since 1990. At a certain point, I noticed that there was much that was not being addressed in the books I saw, and nothing focusing on a full, solid presentation of L.A. So that's what I've done with this book. In a nutshell, it covers the "pre-history" of Cholo handstyles that pre-date the modern movement, the relationship to New York, the developments of important crews and areas around the city, issues of technique and aesthetics from the early days to now, personal motivations and importance of the crew, and so on. I tried to bring out issues that have not been talked about up to this point and feel that it was a success because of the generosity of so many writers giving their time in the interviews spread throughout the book. I made it a point in the dozens of interviews to be even handed in featuring important veterans from the East side, West side, Mid-city, South side, Valleys and down into the O.C. Among them are the many opinions about what's what, as there are few universal views agreed on by everybody. I thank those writers and am glad that the feedback on the book has been so consistently positive. Many people didn't even know their own crew history, much less general history of L.A. and even less about what major players from outside their circle thought. So here it is, and I hope you enjoy it!
In support of this book, please visit my blog site graffitiLA.com
The function of that site is two-fold: one function is to make available commentary and interview material that didn’t make it into the book. Considering that the rough draft I gave to my publisher was twelve thousand words over the forty thousand word limit in the contract, there is a significant amount that I post there. The second function is for additions and corrections to the book material that have or will come to my attention since publication. As well, things change easily in this scene: for example, already a number of writers have left crews that they were presented as part of in the book. Included are some important photos that were cut from the book for reasons beyond my control, such as Neo/MAK’s Mickey Mouse piece on the 110.
A street-based activity is not easy to represent accurately, and though I
consulted many sources, other legitimate voices may have differing perspectives.
Writers emphasized in the book were chosen according to what veteran writers
emphasized and writers that illustrated points in the text.
An important point that I would like L.A. writers to understand is that some
writers are not represented in the photos as much as they deserve to be because
no GOOD pictures were available, and since this is a professional project and
not just for the graff community, awful photos of important pieces (by Ayer or
Gkae for example) were not included.
Between the book and the accompanying CD-Rom, I believe over two hundred
writers are represented in over nine hundred photographs. Significant writers
with deeper history and presence are emphasized over relative new-comers,
talented though some may be.
What is represented in the book may be a fraction of the writers that have
come and gone, but most of the major players are represented.
I welcome input from the L.A. graffiti community, and the useful posts will
be a permanent part of the record here. People writing in just to whine will be
deleted. You can send me commentary either through posting, or through e-mail at
graffiti@graffitila.com.
NEW NOTE: To have some difference between this site and GraffitiLA, I'll be posting earlier photos on GraffitiLA and a random selection on this site. I'll try to post a few new each week, but don't hate me if I slip, because sometimes I'm out of town.
