Today, graffiti has spread across 6 of the 7 continents (Antarctica is just too damn cold!) and has made its way into the mainstream as an acceptable art form. Many of the great kings from the 70's & 80's have ventured into the commercial world of art shows, mural paintings and mass media. Today, we see graffiti imagery sprayed across album covers, video games, and beyond the realm of the real world into cyberspace. Hundreds (1000s?) of web sites have emerged from all parts of the globe. Also emerging are the many misconceptions about the art form which I attempt to tackle (below).

1) Graffiti is the product of illiterate juvenile delinquents

Not exactly. Though much of this present day art form evolved from the confines of the inner city, it does not mean those responsible were products of a broken family or an educational system gone astray. Graffiti has quickly been associated with "thug-life" simply because the internet is full of fallacies which are repeated over and over until eventually they appear genuine. While I was a graffiti writer, I did not come from a broken home, ever see the insides of a prison cell, nor drop out of school. The same goes for many other writers who now have careers as artists, businessmen, scholars, servicemen in the Armed Forces and government officials.

2) Graffiti is the product of the Hip-Hop culture

Wrong again. Though it appears that the music world (particularly Hip-Hop/Rap) has embraced facets of graffiti in their imagery and lyrics, it is not a by-product of such. During the early 70s, those who developed the art form were moved by the R&B sounds of MoTown, the trendy disco-pop themes ala "Saturday Night Fever" or from the metallic sounds of KISS and other bands. No one rapped. No one rhymed. NO ONE broke into a break-dance while piecing a train. MTV and record company execs are to blame for creating "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air." Graffiti had nothing to do with it.

It seems the primary misconception that these two entities are linked is due to the close proximity in which they developed. Both were nurtured and refined in the Bronx back in the 70s and indeed several early pioneers of Hip Hop were also graffiti writers but the two movements were independent of each other. Many old-school writers feel that the term "Hip Hop Graffiti" is an oxymoron - and rightly so. "Graffiti as a part of Hip Hop is as false as a Disney smile. It is a purchase, a fabrication, packaged for consumption."

3) Graffiti is alive and well today

The very heart of graffiti was in its risk. Risk of being caught - by the authorities or other rival writers. It was a game. A game played around live wires, darkened tunnels and dangerous machinery. When the illegal aspect of graffiti was taken away and made into a safe art form, the very essence of what was once "graffiti" greatly diminished. With much respect to all those who continue to paint walls, build websites, or create mass-media graffiti, I believe I speak for many from the old school that, while "Nu Yawk Style Graffiti" can be reproduced or imitated, it can never be "repeated."