The History Of Graffiti

The Washington Post explores the origins and details of urban scrawl, also known as graffiti.

1 minute read

May 7, 2001, 4:00 AM PDT

By Chris Steins @planetizen


"Free Agents: A History of Washington, D.C., Graffiti," a new show atMocaDC(the Museum of Contemporary Art) in Georgetown, explores that city'sdistinct style of urban graffiti. "Starting out, it was just kidswritingtheir names," says the show's curator Roger Gastman, a 23-year-oldself-styled graffiti historian who has plastered the gallery's surfacesphotos and art by graffiti guys back to the 1980s. According to TheWashington Post, Washington graffiti writers never got as "hot" as NewYorktaggers did. Gastman has also published a compendium of essays,interviews,and photos of the people whose canvases were Metro trains and retainingwalls. It bears the same name as the MocaDC show, which runs throughJune 26.

Thanks to Dateline APA

Thursday, April 26, 2001 in The Washington Post

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

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