Going All City: Struggle and Survival in LA's Graffiti Subculture

by Stefano Bloch

" We could have been called a lot of brazen vandals, scared kids, threats to social order, self-obsessed egomaniacs, marginalized youth, outsider artists, trend setters, and thrill seekers. But, to me, we were just regular kids growing up hard in America and making the city our own. Being 'writers' gave us something to live for and 'going all city' gave us something to strive for; and for some of my friends it was something to die for."
 
In the age of Banksy, trendy street art, and commissioned wall murals, it's easy to forget graffiti's complicated and often violent past in the United States. Though graffiti has become one of the most influential art forms of the twenty-first century, cities across the United States waged a war against it from the late 1970s to the early 2000s, complete with brutal police task forces. Who were the much-maligned taggers they targeted? Teenagers, usually, from low-income neighborhoods with little to their names except a few spray cans and a desperate need to be seen--to mark their presence on city walls and buildings even as their cities turned a blind eye to them.
 
Going All City is the mesmerizing and painful story of these young graffiti writers, told by one of their own. Prolific LA writer Stefano Bloch came of age in the late 1990s amid constant violence, poverty, and vulnerability. He recounts vicious interactions with police; debating whether to take injured friends with gunshot wounds to the hospital; coping with his mother's heroin addiction; instability and homelessness; and his dread that his stepfather would get out of jail and tip his unstable life into full-blown chaos. But he also recalls moments of peace and marking a fresh tag; the thrill of running with his crew at night; exploring the secret landscape of LA; the dream and success of going all city.
 
Bloch holds nothing back in this fierce, poignant memoir. Going All City is an unflinching portrait of a deeply maligned subculture and an unforgettable account of what writing on city walls means to the most vulnerable people living within them.

Genres: Nonfiction, Urban Studies, Art, Memoir, Cities

211 pages, Paperback

Published November 14, 2019

About the author

Stefano Bloch is a cultural geographer, urban ethnographer, and former Los Angeles-based graffiti writer. His research looks at subcultural crime, criminality, and criminalization. He is currently assistant professor in the School of Geography at the University of Arizona and faculty in the Graduate Program in Social, Cultural, and Critical Theory and affiliated with the Center for Latin America Studies. Going All City, published by the University of Chicago Press, is his first book.

Reviews

[nora · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was really astonishing & eye opening, it was truly great to learn about another person’s life experience!

[amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

you know I was decently surprised by this book, especially given that I don’t normally go for auto ethnographies. this book was assigned to us for our crime class and I honestly really enjoyed it. It was honest and raw, a bit hard to swallow at times just because sometimes the truth is difficult to deal with. But as someone who was in professor Bloch’s class, I now have a greater appreciation for him not only as a teacher but as a person. I feel like I could see a lot of his personality play out in the book, while also having the story be factual and accurate. This story was truly inspiring and changed my overall perspective on crime and graffiti, so definitely a good read.

[camilla · Rating 2 out of 5]

settling on a 2.5 bc i feel like a lot of it did not connect and was very muddled but i guess that is what an auto ethnography is supposed to be — it just didn’t work for me particularly well

[Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Going All City is an autoethnography about Stefano Bloch ('Cisco')'s life as a young graffiti writer in LA. Before reading this book, I knew next to nothing about why people become graffiti writers. I'm glad I was able to learn so much from Bloch's writing, and I appreciate his intentionality in illustrating the lives many young people experience when living through the instability of poverty - and how they are able to find a sense of control and stability with graffiti. In the epilogue, he writes that "the well-meaning defense of these vulnerable communities that takes place within settings such as the academy became a form of romanticization that robs groups of their agency, complexity, and inherently human messiness and contradictions." By reflecting on the complex day-to-day memories of his life, encouraging a sense of empathy and defense of young writers' agency, Bloch writes a powerful work that strikes a balance between personal story and broader academic statements about the lives of graffiti writers.

[Harold · Rating 4 out of 5]

Going All City is a memoir/autobiography of a tagger (graffiti artist) from the San Fernando Valley. This is a graphic, artistic picture of a subculture, and the growth and maturation of a young man in the projects, and a lot of other locations, in North Hollywood and San Fernando.

This book was recommended to me by an anthropologist, which makes perfect sense. Unlike Hillbilly Elegy or Educated where the point is on the surface, the elegance of this book, perhaps like the graffiti that was Stefano Bloch’s calling card, is that its beauty is not obvious, but you can find it with a bit of digging — the art of graffiti, the ambition of being the best, the focus, despite a mother who is an addict, homelessness, and friends who fall prey to gangs and bullets. Bloch tags this book with style. It will leave its mark.

[Jenna Weiss · Rating 5 out of 5]

He’s my professor so I had to give it 5 stars

[Mariyam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Immersive auto-ethnography made up of many stories and memories of Bloch's youth as a graffiti artist in LA during the 80s. He explored so many different areas of poverty, gangs, self-expression, family dynamics that were super interesting. I've read lots of books/autobiographies of youth crime subcultures from LA of that era, and sometimes they all start turning into a generic sludge of chaos and a bunch of gang names i won't remember two pages later... but not this book! Bloch's stories were unique and compelling in their own way. the hyper-specific details were very compelling, and even though it was a non-chronological narrative here memories were jumbled together, it was super captivating to read.

I also found it interesting how Bloch's narrative was sooo similar to a graffiti artist I once interviewed for an article. this graffiti artist was Puerto Rican, from Chicago, and a youth in the 90s. The commonalities between them about ambitions to go "all-city," about how graffiti was a way to make themselves seen in a marginalized society, how it was a social bonding activity, a way to build a reputation.

An aspect i really liked was Bloch's multidimensional approach to race. Oftentimes people thing crime and poverty only happens to racial minorities, but actually anyone in america can be minoritized. Bloch is actually technically white, but he, his mother, and family members go through many of the same challenges as racial minorities. Most of Bloch's peers were Latin/Hispanic and I also found it interesting how he described the

People are so aware about racism and how racial minorities face most of the crime-poverty nexus of challenges... but to the actual people living thru it, they don't really pay attention to the intellectualized causes of their distress. Bloch kind of hints at this in parts of the book i think, specifically in the last part when he'd entered college and was seeing the way criminology analyzes race and crime. he kind of hinted that while its good-intentioned, it is also out of touch with the complex self-perceptions of the very people it studies. (i hope that makes sense, the actual quotes from the book would be better but i can't get the direct quote i already returned the book to the library lol)

the most hope-inspiring thing in this book is the fact Stefano Bloch made it out. between the drive by bullets, the drug addiction, the depression, the diseases that plagued people around him-- he became a great person living an important life, as a professor and researcher, guiding the next generation. All the glowing reviews on RateMyProfessor for him show that he's a legend in his own right.

[clari ۶ৎ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite the few errors I came across, it’s still doubtlessly the best autoethnographical content I have read. Enjoyed the style and stories. I felt like Bloch was genuinely just talking and I just happened to be in the same room.

Holidays are fast approaching and meeting Bloch is now scribbled at the top of my Christmas wishlist. There was something special and grounding about reading about his childhood and formative years in the San Fernando Valley. As someone who lives in it, it was so cool reading the names of streets and places that are familiar and some, even meaningful to me. When my friend Emily shared this book with me, I was so open to it, and even formed my own preconceived notions about it.

Bloch surpassed all my expectations. I loved it. I love it. I love it so much that I don’t shut up about it!! I am sincerely inspired to know how much good Bloch made out of his difficult journey. Even though we are from the same soil, I am again reminded that in every person, there is a whole different world. Stefano, thank you for immersing me in yours.

[Michael Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was born in the same area and grew up 45 minutes north of this area. Being that my life became involved in graffiti at the age of 12, I found the book engrossing as I was able to relate to the feelings shared, the events that happened, and the geography in which it took place. I appreciate the author sharing his life experience and it brings me comfort knowing that a beginning isn’t an end. Life holds opportunities as long as we work hard for them.

[Nikolai Garcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book! It made me NOT nostalgic for the 90's. It brought back some traumatic memories as I read it, but I kinda needed that. Even if you're not into graffiti, you would get a kick out of it, as it's an easy, fast-paced read with lots of action.

[Troy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Growing up adjacent to the LA tagging scene in the 90s, I stayed interested and engaged through this book. I appreciated the lifting of the curtain to hear about what was happening in other areas of the city, as well as the trials and tribulations of just trying to get up on any available wall.

[Mills College Library]

306.10979 B6514 2019

[Joe Foley · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best graffiti books I’ve read.

[J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review forthcoming on jimbotimes.com

[maren · Rating 3 out of 5]

school book. i enjoyed the clear writing style and learned a lot about graffiti culture

[Aaron Velasco · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to read this for my class. I thought it was good

[Alissa Sheldon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, wow, wow. Autoethnographic account of a life growing up in LA graffiti culture. Bloch’s incredibly educated account of his life on the streets is riveting.

[Puss Slayer · Rating 4 out of 5]

sick guy, asshole mom, school assigned YAY

[Kayleigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for a class, good

[Medhini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the exploration of a subject that is so visible yet unquestioned. How often do we see graffiti tags but don’t think twice? This book unpacks the people and stories behind the subculture through brilliant vignettes from Bloch’s life. Beautiful, engaging, and fascinating.

[Jewel Nguyen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just read it

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable memoir. Stefano Bloch had a really dark childhood. These are some of the most vivid descriptions of the futile stupidity of gang life I’ve ever read. The author’s voice is calm, straightforward, slightly disconnected emotionally but he tells a compelling tale.

I would have enjoyed slightly more focus on the graffiti - tales of specific spots and how they’re accessed, more about the development of the art, etc.

[Maddy Crader · Rating 4 out of 5]

School book but pretty good