MAGAZINE

3) Street Artists Talk to the
Press
If you can Google an artist
whose work is on the streets,
that person is usually a street
artist. Graffiti writers are
reluctant to talk to the press,
because most of the work
they have done is illegal and
they run the risk of being
apprehended for work they
may have done years ago.
Artist Shepard Fairey, creator
of the iconic Hope poster for
Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential
campaign, was recently
arrested in Los Angeles after
the Detroit Police Department
issued warrants for his arrest
on two counts of malicious
destruction of property — for
acts he allegedly committed
years before.
2) Graffiti is Ever-Changing
You are less likely to see a graffiti
piece survive the test of
time — and not just because SF
Public Works will buff it out. Even
on permission walls, graffiti is
constantly being adding to and
painted over: It is the most temporary
form of artwork. In contrast,
much of the famous street
art in San Francisco will be remain
untouched for at least a year,
and some celebrated murals will
be kept intact for years.
1. Street Art Is Sanctioned,
Graffiti Is Not
Street art and graffiti both
make San Francisco more
colorful; they make artistic
and political statements that
reflect the culture of our city.
In the end, the biggest difference
between the two is not
style, but the fact that graffiti
is illegal while street art is
sanctioned. “Street art is the
evolution of graffiti,” concludes
artist Anthony Garcia
Sr., a Westword MasterMind.
Key Terms
Graffiti
By Kate
6
-graffiti: Writings or drawings which
are scribbled,scratched, or sprayed
illicitly on a wall or other public surface
-Wildstyle: commonly includes a set
of arrows, curves and letters which
have been so transformed as to
be rendered arcane to the eyes of
non-graffiti artists. It has also been
common practice to incorporate
3D elements into the pieces. Letter
structures are therefore rendered
to add depth of visual perception of
the work. Many artists have different
elements to add to their wildstyle that
gain that writer a good deal of respect
within the graffiti scene, especially
if one creates his or her own style
and stays original and creative. Veteran
artists tend to go for more complicated
forms of wildstyle in which the types
are hard to read but broad in creativity.
Getting one’s style mastered is key to
achieving this success.
-tag: a simple letter font that a writer
uses as their alter ego to mark surfaces
with, like a signature.
-piece: short for masterpiece is generally
a thought out body of work including
intricate letter structure, sometime characters
and other elements are included.
-production: A collaboration of artists
creating a singular “piece” or multiple
“pieces” alongside each other, some with
matching color schemes or overlapping
themes.
-all city: term writers use to declare that
they have tagged their whole city or that
they want to go “all-city” tagging every
neighborhood in their city.
-bomb: generally a quick 2 letter or
shortened version of their tag name
created in a hollow/bubble/straight
letter structure that is bigger than a
tag but smaller than a piece. This is
more about quantity.
-throw up: The same idea as the
bomb but can be the whole tag name
instead of a shortened version.
-toy: someone new to graffiti or
lacks common sense on the rules or
isn’t very good style wise.
-king: someone who has put in
immense work in their scene that is
respected by a large body of people.
Generally someone who is either
known for their style abilities or the
quantity of their works one can find.
-side bust: someone who places their
tag/throwup/piece right next to another
persons without their knowledge
sometimes overlapping their work.