GRAFFITI: EAST AUSTIN
BY ANTHONY ZUBIA
This is dedicated to the artists that apply their craft in the streets without taking rules and regulations into consideration. Thank you for the inspiration.
GRAFFITI: EAST AUSTIN
BY ANTHONY ZUBIA
INTRODUCTION Austin is such a unique city in itself, but there is a certain area that I feel is more unique than others. This is the side of town known as East Austin. I first visited this part of town to eat a Don Juan breakfast taco from Juan in a Million, but that was the only part of this side of town that I saw. What a shame. I later came back to visit another day and I walked up and down Cesar Chavez St. and I was immediately blown away. East Austin has a culture in its own. There are food trucks, small shops and bars, friendly people, and plenty of artwork. With events such as East Austin Studio Tour and South By Southwest, this part of town holds much talent and inspiration. There are many artists who have studios as well but what intrigued me the most was the art all over the walls. I immediately fell in love with the East Austin Murals. There are murals that are heavily inspired by Mexican culture (top right) and there are the more abstract murals (bottom right) as well. The murals that caught my eyes the most were the graffiti murals. Graffiti is very dominant in East Austin and I felt like these needed to be documented. I find myself constantly going back to visit and if you’ve never been there yourself, I suggest you take some time and take a trip to the east side. Introduction 2
TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 Graffiti: East Austin
HISTORY OF GRAFFITI 6 DIFFERENT STYLES OF GRAFFITI 14 THE GALLERY
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THE BLACK BOOK 32 Table of Contents 4
HISTORY OF GRAFFITI
The art of graffiti has been around since the 1960’s. I feel that the history of graffiti and it’s start in New York is a story that is important to any who wants to be a writer. It is amazing that a movement such as this has spread not only all over the country, but all around the world as well.
History of Graffiti 6
This was what a throw-up would look like by the influential graffiti artist Phase 2
TAKI 183 was one of the first people to tag a wall 7 Graffiti: East Austin
Futura 2000 had a more complex tag than other artists
THE HISTORY OF GRAFFITI-WRITING Article by Arpone from hiphop-network.com The phenomenon, which we can observe all over the world, in colloquial speech, is called GRAFFITI. The beginning of this occurrence was taken place in New York on the turn of 60’s and 70’s. Since people from whole world have seen the first water resistant markers (called flow-masters), young people have been starting to write their own names or nicknames on the walls of buildings, postboxes, phone boxes, underground passages, and in the end on the subway. First of all it was called single hitting then tagging. It was the time when some young people start to rival with the others through the writing own signatures. Probably the biggest collection of signatures had got guy named TAKI 183, who gave a interview to The New York Times newspaper in 1971.The real name of TAKI 183 was Demetrius. He was a young Greek who worked in NY as a boy for everything. Moreover he traveled a lot by a subway and during this time he was writing his tag’s almost everywhere. Another well known writers from that period of time were: JOE 136,
BARBARA 62, EEL 159, YANK 135, EVA 62. In turn of 60’s and 70’s The MTA (Metropolitan Transit Authorities) had to spend over 300 000 dollars to remove subway. This amount was the equivalent of 80 000 working hours necessary to remove graffiti. However the writers not only were young kids. Also gangs to designate their territory and to become a famous used these forms of communication. Probably that was one of the most important facts, because after publishing an interview with TAKI 183, hundreds of kids start to write their names everywhere. The names, which were written on the hardcore places very rapid, become famous and well known. And the owners of these signatures just day by day become heroes in their own local society. When the spray paint was invented graffiti had become more and more popular, besides more visible. After some time on the walls start to be missing free places and new tag’s were invisible between some many others. It was necessity to begin new style, which would be more extravagant and of course unusual. Throughout this time tags have become some kinds forms of artistic expression, new forms of graphics and logs that were characteristic for some writers. The letters has become more and more huge, with added of outline and connected with ‘throw out’. That was the born of new form of graffiti called ‘Piece’. It is the short History of Graffiti 8
Hip-Hop played a big influential role in this movement
version of word Masterpiece. In that time the most popular medium for graffiti was a subway. In 1973 The New York Magazine Newspaper throw open to competition for the best graffiti in the subway and admitted Tags award. Styles were huger and added of third dimension, and ‘throw out’ in many new ways. So in the 1976 person called “Caine 1” painted first Whole Train, furthermore famous group named Fabulous Five painted the second one. In the same time young people worked very hard to create their own diverse styles. For the close the composition of letters added full stops, commas, inconvenient ways of union letters or 9 Graffiti: East Austin
deformation’s letters. At that time were made o the most gorgeous and cults elements in graffiti. One of them was arrow, invented by Phase 2(he was also the inventor the bubble style). The graphics’ compositions that were made with letters weren’t intelligible any longer. So this new technique created an innovative style called ‘Wild Style’. Subsequently the background elements of graffiti were made and the new artists quiet fast adopted to develop them to their own styles. However almost everybody remembered about people who have experimented with sprays paints on the subway. This people were created the real manner of graffiti. For example Hondo
created first top to bottom, Dead Leg-first top with clouds, Phase 2 -arrows, bubble style etc. During this whole time the creations of thousands writers cost MTA hundreds millions of dollars. Generally speaking, between 1970-1980 The MTA had to spend about 100-150 millions of dollars to remove graffiti or to build securities systems etc. These amounts of money were spent, most of times, for unsuccessful tests of removing graffiti’s. For example approximately cost of removing one quadrate meter is about 750 dollars, one whole car is about 78 000 dollars. In the end of 1978 new system of removing whole cars were finally invented. It was water with specific chemises under huge pressure (it was called ‘buff’). Only Blade lost in those days hundreds of his whole cars. However for the oldest cars called ‘coffins’ (that were built in the 50’s) the buffing system didn’t work perfectly. The system removed only parts of graffiti’s. It seemed like coffins were dirtier than before. Painting on the new painted or buffed whole cars were for most of the writers the new challenge. Beyond this, the system worked more effective than any times before. By the way, MTA invested huge quantity of money to built securities systems in whole NY subway, for example MTA built five-meter high security fence with barbed wire. The fact is, that security of NY subway have be-
Artists would also breakdance and were known as b-boys
come more aggressive and violence and few writers were caught in and thrashing on dead. In case of that in 1978 writer Lee Quinones well known as Lee started to change their neighborhood. He changed the grimy place near Brooklyn Bridge into spectacular and incredible famous gallery of graffiti. He painted almost every night the walls next to a baseball fields, some people thought that it was an immense and very essential split in graffiti. The writers started to paint the walls not a subway. Fab 5 Freddy was one of the people who were really interested in this occurrence. He wrote an article to Village Voice newspaper about this innovative transHistory of Graffiti 10
The spray can was the b-boy’s main tool of choice 11 Graffiti: East Austin
form in graffiti. In the same time Claudio Bruni, the owner of Medusa Gallery in Roma, arrived to New York He came on to find out the people who painted graffiti. Nevertheless Lee and Fred became first writers who have presented their artworks in Europe. In 1983 Yaki Kornblit the tradesman of artwork from Amsterdam, came to New York and looked for the most talented writers. He wanted to present that kind of arts on the European market of artworks. He thought that it would like 20 years before when the Pop -Art were successful promoted in Europe. Yaki created group of experienced writers (who panted whole cars and take part in extremely important exhibitions in NY for example” Fashion Moda”, The Mudd Club”, “ The NY New Wave Show At P.S.I”, “ The Fun Gallery” and many others. In this Group were incredibly famous people such as Dondi, Crash, Ramellzee, Zephyr, Futura 2000, Quik, Lady Pink, Seen, Blade, and Bil Blast. The exhibitions of theirs artworks in Museum Boymans van Beuningen were an unbelievable success. The critics and collectors of art talked in positively way about their artworks. However it was not the end, this occurrence had deep meaning for development and promotion graffiti in Europe. The young people from Holland were (and perhaps still are) very insubordinate and in that time on the street there were first signs of graffiti. In the similar
time there was legendary meeting writers from NY with talented kids from Amsterdam of course in NY. It was the beginning of graffiti stage in Holland and also in the other parts of Europe. In a consequence the writers started to divide for two different groups. The first one started to develop in a way to real art, to a new motives and inspirations. Their arts started to be more multiple, subtle and also well selling. Those writers, most of time, losing a contact with their previous publicity and the spray paint started to become one of many their painter’s tools. The second groups were the writers connected with traditional paintings on the walls. This group focused more and more young people also connected with culture, which joined writers, breakers, rappers and DJ’s. It was the graffiti culture of street. On the beginning of 80’s the Hip-Hop Culture had become more popular in USA and started developing in Europe. The most important thing is, that media promoted this culture. Thanks to them, and esp. legendaries films, and video clips or books whose described and promoted Hip-Hop many of young artists from New York become a stars. Such as Africa Bambata, The Rock Steady Crew, Phase 2, Futura 2000, Blade, Seen, Skeme, Dondi, or Lee. The style of Kase 2 (Computer Rock- who take part in film” Style Wars” or described in book “Subway Art”) has become lately a pattern for
young writers from Los Angeles or San Francisco. In Spain B-boys are dreamed that they will have become the members of famous crew Africa Bambata-Zulu Nations in future. In Great Britain writers were painted the sign of Zulu almost everywhere. In many cities in Europe and in the USA graffiti become developing after the concert of Rock Steady Crew, because one of the members DOZE was the famous writer from NY. But the most significant for development graffiti art was the “Beat Street” film. Frankly speaking this film was huge Hollywood production, and has nothing common with real graffiti culture, moreover the ‘throws out ‘were painted by Hollywood scenographers whose have nothing ordinary with real writers. Nevertheless this film was an inspiration for many young people from whole over the world to painting, dancing and DJ-ing. The first trains were painted in Wien, Dusseldorf, Munich, Copenhagen, Paris, London and Sydney but very seldom this kind of arts is well seen by some conservative people. This is connected with a specific situation in these cities. There were only few writers and their works were removed very quickly. Nevertheless European writers are focused on painting walls. Besides European people and writers from USA continue the NY style of artworks and trying to build up them in their own ways. History of Graffiti 12
11 East Austin Graffiti
DIFFERENT STYLES OF GRAFFITI
For those who may not know, the different types of graffiti vary. To list them, there are tags, throw-ups, stencils, sticker slaps, wildstyle, pieces, blockbusters, the heavens, and flyposting. Each have their own unique way of portraying a message. Some are easy to do, some are trickier, and some are even dangerous. In the article Graffiti Designs + Styles: Tagging, Bombing, Painting, Delana from weburbanist.com has an in-depth commentary on these styles. East Austin has examples of all of these different styles and you can view them in the rest of this chapter.
Different Styles of Graffiti 14
A throw-up on the side of a convenient store on E. Cesar Chavez St.
A tag on E. Cesar Chavez St. 15 Graffiti: East Austin
A spraypainted stencil on the side of Domy Books
GRAFFITI DESIGNS + STYLES: TAGGING, BOMBING, PAINTING An Article by Delana from weburbanist.com When you walk by graffiti in the street, do you take the time to study it? Do you look at its composition to determine the intention of theperson behind the spray paint can? If you do, you may notice that there are identifiable styles or types of graffiti. From the simple, quickly-done tags to the elaborate and often breathtaking full-wall pieces, graffiti runs the gamut. There’s a whole language and complicated hierarchy of graffiti out there that most people simply walk by every day without noticing.
Tag Tagging is the simplest type of graffiti, consisting of the writer’s street name in one color. Tags are basically the graffiti writer’s signature; if they’re associated with a crew, they might also contain the crew’s name or initials. Tags can be seen everywhere and are done in spray paint, markers or pens. If a tag is put up over another writer’s tag or piece, it’s extremely disrespectful.
Throw-Up A throw-up is a little more complicated than a tag, usually having two or three colors, but not nearly as elaborate as a piece. A throw-up is something that can be done quickly and repeatedly, while still identifying the writer. They’re usually done in bubble letters, often in one color with a differently-colored outline. When a graffiti writer goes out bombing, they’re usually either putting up tags or throw-ups all over their area.
Stencil Using stencils is a quick and effective way to put up somewhat-complicated pieces very quickly. By holding the stencil against the wall and spraying, you can get a much more detailed picture than you would be able to with just a spray can. Even if you use two or three layers to make a more colorful and intricate picture, stencil graffiti can be thrown up in a matter of minutes. This is the type of graffiti that was made popular by the likes of Blek le Rat andBanksy and has now taken hold with graffiti writers everywhere.
Stickers (Slaps) Stickers are a quick and easy (some say lazy) way to throw up a tag quickly. Graffiti writers used to use the “Hi, My Name Is” name tag stickers, but these days it’s also common to see them on the free address laDifferent Styles of Graffiti 16
An example of a blockbuster on E. Cesar Chavez St.
bels you can get from the Post Office. It’s just as likely to see elaborate, professional-looking printed stickers with a message or image plastered all over. Graffiti artists like stickers because they can take their time on the art in private, then quickly slap them up wherever.
Wildstyle Wildstyle is a particular style of writing that was developed and popularized by graffiti artists like Tracy 168, Stay High 149 and Zephyr in New York City. It’s a complicated and extremely stylized form of writing that, to the untrained eye, is not easy to read. Wildstyle writing features arrows, spikes, curves and other elements 17 Graffiti: East Austin
that non-graffiti artists may have a hard time understanding. Wildstyle pieces are often 3D and considered to be one of the most complicated forms of graffiti.
Piece A piece (short for masterpiece) is a graffiti painting, much more complex than a tag and having at least three colors. Pieces are hard to do illegally because of the time and effort involved, so a good piece will gain a lot of respect for that particular graffiti artist. As graffiti has gotten more respect as a legitimate art form, a lot of pieces have been commissioned – or at least the artists given permission to put them up.
Blockbuster A blockbuster is used to cover maximum area in a minimal amount of time. Often consisting of large block letters, the blockbuster can be accomplished with paint rollers and two or three colors of paint. Usually a blockbuster is put up to cover up other work or block other writers from putting anything up on the same area.
Heaven A heaven is a piece that’s put up in a very hard-to-reach location, often near or on the tops of tall buildings or on freeway signs. Because they’re so dangerous and difficult to reach, graffiti artists who manage to get a piece up in such a spot will usually gain some added respect from their peers.
A heaven piece on top of the Austin Metal & Iron factory
Flyposting Flyposting (sometimes known as wild posting or bill posting) is a guerrilla marketing tactic through the act of placing advertising posters or flyers in legal or illegal places. In the United States, these posters are also commonly referred to as wheatpaste posters because wheatpaste is often used to adhere the posters. Posters are adhered to construction site barricades, building façades and in alleyways. OBEY sticker on a sign
Posters on a church wall Different Styles of Graffiti 18
THE GALLERY
East Austin is filled with amazing grafiiti murals that should be showcased to everyone, not just the people who live and work in this part of town. In the next pages, you can view the ten most dominant pieces as well as their location in Austin. Also included are some quotes from an article from TIME Magazine on whether graffiti is art or vandalism.
The Gallery 20
LOCATED ON PEDERNALES AND E. CESAR CHAVEZ ST. 21 Graffiti: East Austin
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The aerosol paint can is science’s contribution to the ancient art of public defacement, and the vacant-minded or vicious are taking to it in ever-increasing numbers -- gleefully spraying their names, initials, class numerals and favorite biological functions over national monuments and natural wonders. The taxpayers’ bill for cleaning up after them is getting higher all the time.
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MURAL ONE
LOCATED ON PEDERNALES AND E. CESAR CHAVEZ ST.
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No one can fix an accurate price tag on vandalism, which is not always reported, not always identifiable as such and covers everything from toilet graffiti to arson....Contemporary life invites the vandalistic act. The media play so endlessly on themes of violence and aggression that they become, to the young at least, an accepted part of life.
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MURAL TWO
The Gallery 22
LOCATED ON CLARA AND E. CESAR CHAVEZ ST. 23 Graffiti: East Austin
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The stylized smears born in the South Bronx have spread across the country, covering buildings, bridges and highways in every urban center. From Philadelphia to Santa Barbara, Calif., the annual costs of cleaning up after the underground artists are soaring into the billions.
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MURAL THREE
LOCATED ON BRUSHY ST. AND E. CESAR CHAVEZ ST.
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Twombly was one of the first American artists to interest himself in graffiti. Forty years ago, the term didn’t suggest city kids’ spraying their aggressive colored tags all over subway cars and buildings. It wasn’t bound up with the seizure and degradation of public space. It was, so to speak, more muted and pastoral: harmless scratches, small obscenities, chalk on Roman distemper.
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MURAL FOUR
The Gallery 24
LOCATED ON BRUSHY ST. AND E. CESAR CHAVEZ ST. 25 Graffiti: East Austin
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Brassai discovered the weird beauty of graffiti. Just as he had seen what was lovely in the louche spectacle of the Parisian cafes, he recognized what was indelible about graffiti, the bad penmanship of the group unconscious. In his photographs of the stick figures and screaming heads carved and scribbled on Paris walls, you find the most unruly human impulses brought alive and made legible in odd corners.
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MURAL FIVE
LOCATED ON BRUSHY ST. AND E. CESAR CHAVEZ ST.
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The other route an artist can pursue is to borrow from readily understood sources in pop culture. That would describe Basquiat’s graffiti-derived gestures and Koons’ life-size renditions of Michael Jackson and the Pink Panther.
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MURAL SIX
The Gallery 26
LOCATED ON E. 4TH ST. AND MEDINA ST. 27 Graffiti: East Austin
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In the brief annals of street-art history, graffiti ranks as something like cave painting--a first gesture, recognized for its primal intuition that public space is up for grabs--and has, in the past four or so years, been overtaken by a host of new practices: wheat-pasted posters, adhesive stickers with oddball images on them, elaborately stenciled images and even three-dimensional objects.
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MURAL SEVEN
LOCATED ON E. 4TH ST. AND MEDINA ST.
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Many British fans never forgave Eno when he split from Roxy Music after just two albums and headed off into musical outer space. But in New York City they came to adore him Ñ eno is god read the graffiti in the late ‘70s Ñ as he set about reinventing the studio as an instrument for making music rather than a place for capturing it. Light Years Into The Future.
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MURAL EIGHT
The Gallery 28
LOCATED ON E. 4TH ST. AND MEDINA ST. 29 Graffiti: East Austin
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Majerus made waves by painting the entire facade of the Italian pavilion at the 1999 Venice Biennale with a pastiche of famous artworks. In 2002 he covered Berlin’s famed Brandenburg Gate with a digital rendering of a graffiti-blighted East Berlin housing block.
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MURAL NINE
LOCATED ON E. 4TH ST. AND MEDINA ST.
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It’s humiliating, and hard not to interpret this as a collective punishment against Palestinians. First, I walk into a long, wire mesh cage that runs along a 20-ft.-high concrete wall which, on the Palestinian side, is smeared with graffiti. On the wall, someone has painted a big pair of scissors as if to say: Cut along the dotted Line. If only it were that easy.
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MURAL TEN
The Gallery 30
THE BLACK BOOK
The black book is where you dedicate your time and effort to become a great street artist. Now that you have seen some inspiration, feel free to use the next few pages as a black book instead of having to go out and buy one. Included are some quotes to keep your inspiration flowing so that you can stay dedicated and work on your pieces. What seperates a toy from a king is the amount of practice they put in their black book. Your journey starts here...
The Black Book 32
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Graffiti is one of the few tools you have if you have almost nothing. And even if you don’t come up with a picture to cure world poverty you can make someone smile while they’re having a piss. -Banksy
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I spray the sky fast. Eyes ahead and behind. Looking for cops. Looking for anyone I don’t want to be here. Paint sails and the things that kick in my head scream from can to brick. See this, see this. See me emptied onto a wall. -Cath Crowley
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¬ Everyone has to scratch on walls somewhere or they go crazy. -Michael Ondaatje
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¬ Graffiti is beautiful; like a brick in the face of a cop. -Hunter S. Thompson
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Art is an evolutionary act. The shape of art and its role in society is constantly changing. At no point is art static. There are no rules. -Raymond Salvatore Harmon
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¬ Graffiti is an impulse to get recognized. -Mint & Serf
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¬ We don’t communicate in full sentences anyway. We don’t need all those words. -Shepard Fairey
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¬ Rappin’ is my radio, graffiti is my TV. B-boys keep them windmills breezy. -Aesop Rock
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The Black Book 40
CREDITS I would like to personally thank TIME Magazine Arpone of hiphop-network.com Delana of weburbanist.com Shepard Fairey Banksy Aesop Rock Mint & Serf Raymond Salvatore Harmon Hunter S. Thompson Michael Ondaatje Cath Crowley The Artists of East Austin
Credits 42