It is unfortunate that graffiti should be dismissed as mere vandalism on par with tire slashing and window breaking, because for many young people who often exhibit considerable talent, graffiti constitutes an aesthetic discipline. Graffiti has existed in one form or another as long as writing. The earliest known cave paintings, dating from 20,000 years ago, seems to have more in common with modern graffiti than with writing because they were mostly drawings of their surroundings.

When Henry Chalfant's documentary film, Style Wars, came out in 1985, graffiti, break dancing and rap music were all seen as elements of hip hop culture. It was in this context that it spread. A Chicago graffiti writer Orko said, "We swallowed it as a whole package: breaking, rappin

Writers regularly sign each other's books, attempt to outdo one another, or "get up" in a book that travels far and wide. Just as a writer gains a reputation by painting on traveling trains, does he build repute by drawing in blackbooks that are meant to travel.

Writers eventually started to render these masterpieces the entire height of the subway car also known as top-to bottoms. The additions of color design and scale were dramatic advancements, but these works still strongly resembled the tags on which they were based.

One of them admits to having done some graffiti in the past. But now they're both halfway through a graphic arts program at Madison Area Technical College. And what they are doing is a quality piece of work, which they say will look good in a portfolio when they begin looking for jobs. And they are doing it all with spray paint.

Graffiti artists can become very competitive. Races broke out to see who could do the most pieces. Throw ups peaked from '75 thru '77, as did tagging entire cars. Due to the lack of resources writers became extremely territorial and aggressive, claiming ownership to train yards. Claiming territory was nothing new in writing, but the difference at this time was that threats were enforced. If a writer went to yard unarmed, he could be beaten and robbed of his painting supplies.

g, DJing and graffiti together. We never split them apart." Orko goes so far as to claims that "Graffiti is the center of hip hop. That's why the best MCs were all graffiti writers: KRS-One, Rakim." Graffiti is a vivid and tangible urban artifact, signaling, at the very least, the writer's disrespect for the institution of private property and his/her willingness to take risks.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Mafia Chicano, Art Crimes, Movement Eventually, NYPD SUROC, Melchiano DOZE's, Rakim Graffiti, Style Wars, York Times, San Francisco, Network Despite, graffiti artists, graffiti writers, orleans takeout, graffiti looked, chicano movement, letter alphabet, san francisco, hip hop, chicanos graffiti,
Approximate Word count = 1960
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)