Late 1970s and early 1980s
The late 1970s and early 1980s was a period of significant transition within the graffiti movement, a period in which it gained recognition as part of a larger culture and moved beyond the city limits and the nation’s borders.
The art world began to take an interest in graffiti with new galleries opening dedicated almost exclusively to graffiti artists. Stefan Eins’ Fashion Moda (1978), one of the only galleries located in the Bronx, and Patti Astor’s Fun Gallery (1981) in the Lower East Side exhibited the first canvases of Lee, Dondi, Fab Five Freddy, Futura, Lady Pink, Crash, Daze, and many others. Working in studios, many writers started to experiment with new techniques and media.
As a result, European galleries and institutions took an interest in their work and invited them to exhibit their art abroad. Simultaneously, others artists inspired by the explosive energy of graffiti art brought their practice to the street. Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring exhibited their work alongside the writers, forging friendships and artistic connections. Though their work was visually and conceptually different, these young painters shared with the New York graffiti artists a similar relationship to the city.
The New York phenomenon became known to a larger public through films that popularized certain major figures of the movement. The film Wild Style (1982), and the documentary Style Wars (1983) revealed, in particular to teenagers, the relationships between graffiti, breakdancing, and hip-hop.
Indeed, for some graffiti artists the idea of a common street culture was closely linked to their practice, while for others, the worlds of breakdancing and hip-hop were completely unrelated to their work.
Musicians coming from the punk movement also connected with the energy of the graffiti movement, leading to new artistic collaborations. Groups like Blondie and The Clash, or Malcolm McLaren, manager of the Sex Pistols, invited Lee, Dondi, Fab Five Freddy, or Futura to participate in their music videos.
During this same period IGTimes, the firstmagazine to focus on contemporary urban youth culture, was created by the artist, David Schmidlapp, later joined by P.H.A.S.E. 2 as artistic director.
Its circulation was limited, but it nevertheless reached Europe where graffiti was taking its first steps, most notably in Paris, London, and Amsterdam.
During the mid-80s, the anti-graffiti crusades led by the city of New York and its transit authorities had greatly intensified, eventually pushing many writers to abandon subway painting.
Since that time, graffiti writers have nonetheless continued to use the urban environment as a realm of expression and in the second half of the 1980s, a new generation of artists emerged. JonOne, West, Ghost, SaneSmith, Sento, Reas, Wane and many others, have carried on the flame of their predecessors, inheriting their struggle with the authorities while continuing to change the visual landscape of the city.
Tournant des années 1970 et 1980