history of graffiti going up to 1985.

1966- 1971

Graffiti was used primarily by political activists to make statements and street gangs to mark territory. The history of the underground art movement known by many names, most commonly termed graffiti begins in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the mid to late '60s and is rooted in bombing. The writers who are credited with the first conscious bombing effort are CORNBREAD and COOL EARL. They wrote their names all over the city gaining attention from the community and local press.

1971- 1974

Shortly after CORNBREAD, the Washington Heights section of Manhattan was  entering a new world full of a lot more writers being influenced by CORNBREAD & COOL EARL. In 1971 The New York Times published an article on one of these writers. TAKI 183. This writer was the alias of a kid from Washington Heights. TAKI was the nick name for his given name Demetrius and 183 was the number of the street where he lived. The appearance of this unusual name and numeral sparked public curiosity prompting the Times article. He was by no means the first writer or even the first king. He was however the first to be recognized outside the newly formed subculture. Most widely credited as being one of the first writers of significance is JULIO 204. FRANK 207 and JOE 136 were also early writers. FRIENDLY FREDDIE was an early Brooklyn writer to gain fame. The subway system proved to be a line of communication and a unifying element for all these separate movements. People in all the five boroughs became aware of each others efforts. This established the foundation of interborough competition.

Writing started moving from the streets to the subways and quickly became competitive. At this point writing consisted of mostly tags and the goal was to have as many as possible.

1978- 1981

A new wave of creativity bloomed in late 1977 with crews like TDS, TMT, UA, MAFIA, TS5, CIA, RTW, TMB, TFP, TC5 and TF5. Style wars were once again peaking.

1982-1985

During the early to mid 1980s the writing culture deteriorated dramatically due to several factors. Some related directly to the graffiti culture itself and others to the greater society in general.

The crack cocaine epidemic was taking its toll on the inner city. Due to the drug trade powerful firearms were readily available.

The climate on the street became increasingly tense. Laws restricting the sale of paint to minors and requiring merchants to place spray paint in locked cages made shoplifting more difficult. Legislation was in the works to make penalties for graffiti more severe.

The major change was the increase in the Metropolitan Transit Authority's anti-graffiti budget. Yards and layups were more closely guarded. Many favored painting areas became almost inaccessible.

Graffiti removal was stronger and more consistent than ever, making the life span of many paintings months if not days. This frustrated many writers causing them to quit.

To be continued!!