Mid–1970s in 1973 By the mid-1970s, most standards had been set in graffiti writing and culture. The heaviest "bombing" in U.S. history took place in this period, partially because of the economic restraints on New York City, which limited its ability to combat this art form with graffiti removal programs or transit maintenance. "Top-to-bottoms" evolved to take up entire subway cars. A notable development was the "throw-up", which is more complex than simple "tagging" but not as intricate as a "piece". Not long after their introduction, throw-ups led to races to see who could do the largest number in the shortest time. Graffiti writing was becoming very competitive and graffiti participants strove to go "all-city", or to have their names seen in all five
boroughs. Eventually, the standards set in the early 1970s began to stagnate, and in the 1980s graffitists began to expand and change the subculture as described in the 1984 book
Subway Art. The late 1970s and early 1980s brought a new wave of creativity to the scene. As the influence of graffiti grew beyond
the Bronx, a movement began with the encouragement of Friendly Freddie.
Fab 5 Freddy (Fred Brathwaite) is another popular graffiti figure of this time, who started in a
Brooklyn "wall-writing group". He notes how differences in spray technique and letters between Upper Manhattan and Brooklyn began to merge in the late 1970s: "out of that came 'Wild Style. Fab 5 Freddy is often credited with helping to spread the influence of graffiti and
rap music beyond its early foundations in the
Bronx, and making links with the mostly white downtown art and music scenes. It was around this time that the established art world started becoming receptive to the graffiti culture for the first time since Hugo Martinez's Razor Gallery in the early 1970s. It was also, however, the last wave of significant graffiti occurrences before the Transit Authority made graffiti eradication a priority. The
Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) began to repair yard fences and remove graffiti consistently. With the MTA consistently abating graffiti, many graffitists have quit applying graffiti on their property.
Decline in
Manhattan Just as the culture was spreading outside New York City and overseas, the cultural aspect of graffiti in
New York City was said to be deteriorating almost to the point of extinction. The rapid decline in writing was due to several factors. The streets became more dangerous due to the burgeoning
crack epidemic, legislation was underway to make penalties for graffiti vandalism more severe, and restrictions on paint sale and display made shoplifting more difficult. Above all, the MTA greatly increased their anti-graffiti budget. Many favored painting sites became heavily guarded, yards were patrolled, newer and better fences were erected, and the buffing of pieces was strong, heavy, and consistent.
Stainless steel, to which paint adheres poorly (and was easily removed by the powerful cleaning solutions and spinning brushes used in automatic car washers at the yards) had also become the car body material of choice for new
rolling stock, retiring hundreds of worn out carbon-steel bodied subway cars whose exteriors had made an ideal canvas for taggers. As a result of rolling stock being harder to paint, more graffitists went into the streets, which is now, along with commuter trains and box cars, the most prevalent form of writing. Many graffitists, however, chose to see the new problems as a challenge rather than a reason to quit. A downside to these challenges was that they became very territorial of good spots, and strength and unity in numbers became increasingly important. Some of the mentionable graffitists from this era were Blade,
Dondi, Min 1, Quik,
Seen and Skeme. This was stated to be the end for the casual New York City Subway graffitists, and the years to follow would be populated by only what some consider the most "die-hard" graffitists. People often found that making graffiti around their local areas was an easy way to get caught so they traveled to different areas.
1985–1989 in 1987 The years between 1985 and 1989 became known as the "die-hard" era. The last shot for the graffiti participants of this time was in the form of subway cars destined for the
scrap yard. With the increased security, the culture had taken a step back. The previous elaborate "burners" on the outside of cars were now marred with simplistic marker tags which often soaked through the paint. By mid-1986 the MTA and the
CTA were winning their "war on graffiti", and the population of active graffitists diminished. As their population lowered so did the violence associated with graffiti crews and "bombing". Roof tops also were being the new billboards for some 1980s graffitists.
Clean Train movement The current era in graffiti is characterized by a majority of participants moving from train carriages to "street galleries". The Clean Train Movement started in May 1989, when New York City attempted to remove all of the subway cars found with graffiti on them out of the transit system, as they brought in new graffiti-free rolling stock like the
R62,
R62A,
R68, and
R68A. Because of this, many graffiti vandals were unable to continue vandalizing them. Much controversy arose among the streets debating whether graffiti should be considered an actual form of art.
Videograf Productions was the first graffiti video series to document the New York City's clean train movement. Prior to the Clean Train Movement, the streets were largely left untouched not only in New York City but in other major American cities as well. After the transit company began diligently cleaning their trains, graffiti burst onto the streets of America to an unsuspecting, unappreciative public. City officials elsewhere in the country smugly assumed that gang graffiti was a blight limited largely to the Big Apple. No more. The stylised smears born in the South Bronx have spread across the country, covering buildings, bridges, and highways in every urban center. From
Philadelphia to
Santa Barbara, California, the annual costs of cleaning up after the underground artists are soaring into the billions. During this period many graffitists had taken to displaying their works in galleries and owning their own studios. This practice started in the early 1980s with practitioners such as
Jean-Michel Basquiat, who started out tagging locations with his moniker SAMO (Same Old Shit), and
Keith Haring, who was also able to take his art into studio spaces. In some cases, graffiti practitioners had achieved such elaborate graffiti, especially those done in memory of a deceased person, on storefront gates that shopkeepers have hesitated to cover them up. In
the Bronx, after the death of rapper
Big Pun, several murals were dedicated to his life, appearing virtually overnight; similar outpourings occurred after the deaths of
The Notorious B.I.G.,
Tupac Shakur,
Big L, and
Jam Master Jay. == St. Louis ==