Graffito

by Michael Walsh

The graffiti phenomenon taking place in urban America has erupted into a full scale war. The main weapons: aerosol spray paint versus hundreds of taxpayer-funded abatements programs. To the graffiti writer, graffiti is a secret language, an empowering form of self-expression, a screaming voice against an unjust, alienating society. To the upholders of social law and order, graffiti is "vandalism," an ugly and terrifying threat to social value, which cost U.S. taxpayers four billion dollars in 1995.

For two years, beginning in the fall of 1994, Michael Walsh immersed himself in the graffiti world of the San Francisco Bay Area. He took thousands of photographs, frequented train yards, went on all-night "bombing runs" with graffiti writers, prowled the Muni train tunnels at 3a.m., rode with graffiti abatement crews, spoke with small business owners who are frequent targets of graffiti, and tracked down key city officials and personnel directly involved with graffiti removal.

This powerful book delivers a raw, in-your-face account of this complex and controversial subject. It contains nearly 200 photographs, and quotes from over fifty interviews regarding both sides of the issue, and dispels many of the media-generated myths concerning graffiti. In this moving, articulate, visual account, Michael Walsh presents to us an urban phenomenon begging to be understood.

144 pages, Paperback

First published October 9, 1996

About the author

American artist and author Michael Walsh was born Michael Joseph "Mike" Walsh on January 13, 1960 in Buffalo, New York of Irish, German, and Italian ancestry.

Walsh was a rebellious and adventurous youth, leaving Minneapolis for Florida at nineteen. He hitchhiked frequently, and journeyed to San Diego, California soon after he turned twenty. He resided in California for eighteen years; also living in Sacramento, and the San Francisco Bay Area. In 1995, Walsh graduated from California College of the Arts in Oakland. The following year, in 1996, Walsh created the book titled GRAFFITO, a photo essay of the graffiti phenomenon in the San Francisco Bay Area. The book was well received in the United States and Europe.

Walsh ventured to Prague, Czech Republic in 1997 and began work on Frontier Town, an experimental photo essay set in Prague. In 1998 Walsh was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship in Photography to Taiwan. For the next two years, Walsh made frequent excursions with his camera to many regions of Taiwan traveling by bus, motorbike, and train. Later he began recording some of his Taiwan experiences in writing. CADILLAC FIN SUITCASE, a collection of eighteen short works concerning Taiwan, was published in 2011.

Walsh's latest work, WESTERN ROADS, was released in May 2013. It's a semiautobiographical tale of wanderlust, friendship, and murder.

Walsh's next book, FRONTIER TOWN, will be available in 2014. The work utilizes photographs, graphics, and a fictional narrative set in Prague.

To view a sample of Walsh's Taiwan photography and artwork: http://michaelwalsh7.wordpress.com/

Reviews

[Verlyn Lastierre · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a documentary about graffiti and the perceptions of both sides, the graffiti writers and the people who appreciate it and the people who oppose it. Each page is alive with color and the works are outstanding. This is a beautiful, rare book.

Other than the masterpieces presented, it also gives you an insight to the opinions of individuals who became a part of the sub-culture.

Love it or hate it, graffiti is part of society, and this is one of the references that can help people understand its existence.