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Tagging
The first form of graffiti in New York was known as "tagging" -
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Writers Organized in crews
In the late 70s, murals began to appear around the city. Writers organized in crews, and by the summer of 1980, competition between crews had reached fever pitch. You had to be down with printing a whole subway car or married couples in order to become king -
New York Times
In 1971, Taki 183 even made the New York Times and became the first famous graffiti writer in the city -
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Throw ups
From 1971 to 1974, Writers started using spray cans and making throw ups. Throw ups are quickly done bubble letters or very simple pieces using only two colors. -
Declared war on graffiti
In 1972, the mayor of New York City declared war on graffiti. The New York authorities started what is known as "the buff" – a major effort to clean the city of graffiti. -
Competition between crews
The subway system provided an off tha hook line of communication between writers throughout the city. Crews began to compete on who could put their mark on most places in the city. Slapping all city became common and writers needed new ways of standing out. Graffiti took a turn for quality over quantity. Writers had to enhance their tags and make graffiti of more artistic quality, also known -
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The hard times for writers
The years 1980 to 1985 stand out as a particularly tough time for writers. The buff had made it harder to find a location to write and the laws against graffiti became tougher. On top of that, new writers – toys – started destroying other writers' work to make room for their own writing. Crews got tighter and tougher trying to protect their work. -
Spraying galleries
In an effort to control the writers, the New York authorities offer legal walls called spraying galleries like 5 Pointz in Queens. However, writers also find new ways of getting around the buff in public places. On Staten Island, lamp posts are being plastered with preprinted stickers. In another part of the city, windows are being tagged with an acid-based cream that etches itself into the glass.