Wall Writers: Graffiti In Its Innocence Screening

Though I’ve known about my father’s passion for a while now, I never knew how involved he was in the artistic movement that is graffiti. Now cited as a global phenomenon and an art industry giant, it was interesting to learn about the pioneers that started it all. Quite humorously, none of the early writers considered themselves “artists.” Many of them had very basic tags, done in very basic fonts. Most of them had a number following their name or their initials. For instance, my father’s tag was SJK 171, with the one “171” indicating the street number in Washington Heights that he grew up on. A lot of the pioneers, including my father, were lower middle class youths looking for a release, somewhere to channel their struggles. It was a way for the kids to stand out among their communities, a way to represent themselves among their peers. The “innocence” in the title tells of the time before graffiti was ever capitalized on, before it lost its genuine nature. After the first canvases were sold and money started to pour in, everything changed. At first, selling canvases was a way to try and get kids off the street, and vandalism off the walls. It was an attempt to curate the more talented writers, and allow them to earn some credibility. But the kids were extorted by their manipulative, greedy elder. The elder gentleman began to sell pieces and collect money for himself, rather than paying the artists. The primitive art eventually faded, and the writers eventually retired. But it was a part of their innocence, and instrumental in developing the community, and eventually a movement. Those who started the movement did not seek to capitalize. To them, it was a form of expression. It gave them a voice. It provided a sanctuary.