Graffiti L.A.: Street Styles and Art

by Steve Grody

Long before graffiti was adopted as the visual expression of hip-hop culture in the 1980s, Chicano gang members in East Los Angeles had been developing stylized calligraphy and writing on walls. Cholo (gangster) scripts became the first distinctive letter forms to evolve in the modern vernacular tradition of graffiti writing. Today Los Angeles writers of diverse backgrounds draw from a unique confluence of cultures that has led to regionally distinctive styles.

Graffiti L.A. provides a comprehensive and visual history of graffiti in Los Angeles, as well as an in-depth examination of the myriad styles and techniques used by writers today. Complementing the main text, interviews with L.A.’s most prolific and infamous writers provide insight into the lives of these fugitive artists. Essential to the understanding of the development of the graffiti movement, this book will be an invaluable source to graffiti fans around the world.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Street Art, Graffiti

304 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2007

Reviews

[Nuri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm looking forward to hearing street art historian Jim Prigoff speak about this book and share his insights at Northeastern on June 14th.

June 19th update:
Ok, so last week I had the opportunity to meet and speak with Jim Prigoff and I received copy of "Graffiti LA", which he signed for me. The book is filled with crisp, clear pictures and words from some of the writers themselves, which is dope. I'm definitely biased in favor of this book because it has some AMAZING pieces done by my friend Marka27, but overall, I think this is a great book to add to any collection on visual art, graffiti and/or HipHop.

[Indigginus · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm looking forward to hearing street art historian Jim Prigoff speak about this book and share his insights at Northeastern on June 14th.

June 19th update:
Ok, so last week I had the opportunity to meet and speak with Jim Prigoff and I received copy of "Graffiti LA", which he signed for me. The book is filled with crisp, clear pictures and words from some of the writers themselves, which is dope. I'm definitely biased in favor of this book because it has some AMAZING pieces done by my friend Marka27, but overall, I think this is a great book to add to any collection on visual art, graffiti and/or HipHop.

[MaxxPerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned a lot about the scene in LA. I already had prior knowledge on nyc and i always liked the early styles of La more than anything that went down in Nyc. the way that it covers history then how the styles where different was interesting how they talked about how not only aesthetics part of it but there was a lot about the socal piece. I would recommend this book to anybody that wants to learn about the culture of graffiti and learn it threw interviews of writers

[Bella · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always been interested in graffiti and I must say if you have ever wanted to learn anything about this urban art style this is a book that will really give a great back story; along with great photographs.

[Jennifer A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book at the library last week-- the cover caught my eye, so I picked it up. So far, I've found the "historical" aspects of graffiti very interesting, and the art is amazing!

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an authority on the subject of graffiti on the West Coast. Very well structured, with great panoramic images to document a fleeting medium. Awesome stuff.

[Taija]

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