Bay Area Graffiti: The Early Years, A Documentary About San Francisco Bay Area Graffiti in the 1980s

Artist Neon describes the rise, in the 1980s, of the San Francisco Bay Area graffiti scene in the short documentary “Bay Area Graffiti: The Early Years” by KQED. The video includes rarely seen photos of early Bay Area graffiti by Jim Prigoff.

Graffiti is a polarizing art form. Many appreciate its boldness and the vibrant color it adds to the urban landscape while others admonish it as vandalism. As graffiti spread from New York City throughout the United States in the 1980s, regional styles and techniques were adapted and remixed. As graffiti artist Neon explains, most graffiti in New York was on trains, while Bay Area artists focused on outdoor walls.

via KQED Arts