The Popular History of Graffiti: From the Ancient World to the Present Hardcover – June 4, 2013

This is a brutally honest review from the viewpoint of an artist. I was excited to get this book after reading a few reviews, but was sorely disappointed. You may agree or disagree, and that’s cool. Here are my thoughts, pros, cons, and opinion on who might or might not enjoy this book or find it useful.If you are a semi-experienced graffiti artist, already have a few graff books, went to art school, are a professional artist of some kind, are already familiar with multiple graffiti artists, believe hip hop culture and graffiti are a historically (and currently) significant pairing, if you hate crappy tags and throw ups, if you hate vandalism (versus ART) because it gives the graffiti community a hard time, if you’d like to see train and subway art get a section, if you are not that interested in stencil art, if you want an *artistically* represented history of graffiti with emphasis on 60s-90s art and writing styles, this book might NOT be for you.CONS & WHAT WASN’T (really) INCLUDED:Train & subway art as a movement, writing styles in different regions, attention to the point when modern graffiti as we know it today began to emerge, more than one tiny paragraph on hip hop & graffiti (literally, the section titled that is maybe 5 lines long), more on graffiti as art rather than 80 pages of cave writings, petroglyphs, stone carvings, and writing on bathroom walls, and I hoped for more on retro graffiti and cartoon character styles that emerged from that period that greatly influenced the comic scene. Just because I’ve had trouble finding books on that.This book title should read “A Basic History of Graffiti.” It left so much to be desired. I’ve had a hard time finding books with a lot on 60s-present graffiti (as it developed), b-boy graff cartoon art, and specific styles’ influences on pop culture, design, and other areas of the arts (like comics, as I mentioned). There’s a glossary of what are street terms, essentially, but these terms aren’t really used in the main text. The book does spend a lot of pages on “tags,” and the examples are pretty bad. Region, neighborhood, or group-specific styles aren’t highlighted (west coast, east coast, etc.), flourishes and techniques aren’t mentioned, graffiti in the context of its influence and contribution to the art world is missed or skimmed over at best, and graffiti ART’S place in social movements isn’t given much attention to. Most of the photos the author chose to include poorly represent the artists mentioned and there seems to be more focus on ancient stone writings and vandalism-type scribblings than the art of aerosol. This book is way more basic than expected. It’s gotten a few great reviews, but I just don’t see it. The section on Basquiat contains one image—a page of scribblings in a notebook, not his SAMO work. The Keith Haring section also has one photo....and its of a random dude in a Keith Haring shirt. I was super annoyed by that.PROS:It’s a decent way to learn wikipedia-type facts about a number of artists, and half of them have photo examples of their work. The binding is nice and the pages are smooth. High quality book from that standpoint. The glossary is useful for people new to graffiti. If you don’t know much about graffiti or have trouble appreciating it, this might be a good place to start, but more reading material with better images will be required to grasp graffiti as an art form.NEUTRAL: 80 pages on writing in stone (etc.), lots of examples of stencil art. There should have just been a section on stencil artists considering that. Nothing provided for context on the author and their purpose behind the book. There’s a randomness to it, as there’s not a full spectrum representation of art and artists. The cover of the book is more stunning than a lot of what’s inside. The book is text-heavy and written somewhat academically. It has an encyclopedic feel to it.I’m not a graffiti expert or specialize in graffiti as an artist, but hope this helps you figure out if it’s for you!

The history of graffiti has been misstated repeatedly. This may be the only telling that does not grossly simplify the very long history of graffiti. Although it's commentary on the political ramifications of an art movement arising from the criminal act of vandalism is thin and its conflation of graffiti with other forms of street art is arguably misguided, these are technical matters relating to my perspective on graffiti. This book is the only statement of graffiti history that I will cite as a reference. It is not the definitive history of the subject but it is the only book in the field that is close.

I chose to read this book because I am teaching a 9-week class about graffiti in the Fall. This book is a good resource for the class as it asks important questions about what is classified as graffiti, and what it has meant to society.

I like this book. I mainly like it because I’m featured in it, but a like is a like. Someone told me to get it, so I did and added it to my collection of books and newspapers and magazines that feature my work in them. I’m going downstairs to get another beer, bye.

This is a wonderful book about an intriguing subject--graffiti and street art, which have always been with us even though we often think it's just a modern phenomenon. The author takes us on a fascinating journey through history which clearly shows that this most ephemeral of arts is also paradoxically one of the most permanent: from the beginning of time, it seems, people have felt the desire to express themselves on walls, and what they express runs the full gamut from true poetic and artistic sensibility to the crudest of sentiments, and the need to assert identity, from the runes of Varangians inscribing their names on Roman lintels to 'Kilcoy was here' and the tags of today. From vandals to poets, rebels to highly-paid cult figures, graffitists themselves vary as much as what they create, and cultural backgrounds also determine very different styles: the street art of Paris, for instance, which I know well, is very different in approach, media and style to that found in American cities. From the ubiquitous spray can to the startling use of icing sugar, the materials used to create vary enormously too, and there's even 'fake graffiti' which exists only as Photoshopped creations in cyberspace..The book is beautifully produced, lavishly illustrated with lots of color photographs(including some of my own, of Paris street art)and very well designed. Recommended.

I don't like graffiti, I'll say that now. Or rather I didn't until I found 'A Popular History of Graffiti' by Fiona McDonald.This book covers graffiti from all areas of history and Fiona's use of language made me interested enough to keep reading. Did you know that in Ancient times it was OKAY and almost expected to Graffiti on a regular basis? Even rude stuff! She has also sourced fantastic images of graffiti from around the world, including some that I recognised from my home town in the Blue Mountains in Australia.I've been a fan of Fiona's for years, especially her graphic novel 'Ghost Doll and Jasper' as well as her series of knitting books. Is there anything this woman can't do???