SAMO© IS REALLY DEAD1: How the Commercialization of American Street Art Marks the End of a Subcultural Movement

Sharing a canvas with an entire city of vandals, a young man dressed in a knit cap and windbreaker balances atop a subway handrail, claiming the small blank space on the ceiling for himself. Arms outstretched, he scrawls his name in loops of black spray paint, leaving behind his distinct tag that reads, “Flip­One.”2 Taking hold in the mid ‘70s, graffiti in New York City ran rampant; young artists like Flip­One tagged every inch of the city’s subway system, turning the cars into scratchpads and the platforms into galleries.3 In broad daylight, aerosol­can­yeilding graffiti artists thoroughly painted the Lower East Side, igniting what would become a massive

American subculture movement known as street art. Led by the nation’s most economically depressed communities, the movement flourished in the early ‘80s, becoming an outlet of expression for the underprivileged youth of America. Under state law, uncommissioned street art in the United States is an act of vandalism and thereby, a criminal offense.4 As a result of the form’s illegal status, it became an artistic manifestation of rebellion, granting street art an even greater power on account of its uncensored, defiant nature. Demonized for its association with gang violence, poverty, and crime, local governments began cracking down on inner city street art, ultimately waging war upon the movement itself. As American cities worked to reclaim their streets and rid them of graffiti, the movement eventually came to a standstill, giving way to cleaner, more prosperous inner city communities.

1 The title refers to the infamous Jean­Michel Basquiat and Al Diaz graffiti tag: SAMO©, and their specific piece, “SAMO© IS DEAD,” which surfaced after Basquiat found success in the art world as a professional painter, marking the official end of his career as a street artist. See Appendix A for a photograph of SAMO© tag. 2 See Appendix B for a photograph of Flip­one. 3 See Appendix C for photographs of a New York City Subway in 1984. 4 Phillips, Susan A. "Graffiti." Oxford Art Online. N.p.: Oxford UP, 2007. Oxford Art Online. Web. 7 Feb. 2016. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

In the last decade or so, street art has resurfaced as a relatively celebrated art form in the

United States. Today, street art represents a multi­million dollar industry fueled by an increasing public appreciation for the once denounced art form. Ruled by a handful of the most popular artists, street art has been welcomed into the greater art world as the breadwinner of 21st century contemporary art. Praised for its dominating aesthetic and powerful political commentary, modern day street art is revered as “a democratic art form that revels in the American Dream,”5 ​ according to noted sociologist, Gregory Snyder. Seemingly loosening their grip on the graffiti ​ wars they waged in the ‘70s, American cities have begun to allow aesthetically pleasing works to remain up regardless of the vandalism laws set in place.6 In many instances, the works of infamous streets artists are fought over, cut from the streets, and displaced into private galleries.

Standing on the shoulders of the massive subcultural movement of the ‘70s and ‘80s, modern

American street art has grown up to become just another highly commercialized form of pop art.7

This evolution, from a vilified expression of inner city disorder to a lionized form of illegal pop art, represents the end of an American subculture that began as the antithesis to the art world itself.

American street art of the 1970’s and ‘80s functioned as a means of self expression for inner city youth, communicating an overt rejection of the exclusive art world and a rebellion against the local authorities. Facing immense poverty and societal disorder, many of America’s largest cities became cesspools for vandalism and budding street artists. Los Angeles, Chicago,

Philadelphia, and most predominantly, New York City fought gang violence and struggled to

5 Chan, Sewell. "A Sociologist's Look at Graffiti." New York Times 17 Feb. 2009: n. pag. Web. 7 Feb. 2016. ​ ​ 6 Cathcart­Keays, Athlyn. "Is Urban Graffiti a Force for Good or Evil." n. pag. The Guardian. Web. 7 Feb. 2016. ​ ​ ​ 7 For the purposes of this paper, the term “pop art” bears a negative connotation as it is places modern day street art into a more generalized art movement rather than in a subculture of its own.

create safe neighborhoods. As a result, the cities quickly became notorious for crime and unrest.

New York, in particular, struggled to control the unraveling results of inner city violence and economic depression. Kai Eric, Co­Curator and member of New York City’s Club 57 house band, describes Manhattan during the ‘70s as a cesspool of “art students, runaways and lost personalities.”8 As a whole, the city was crime ridden and ruled by drugs, prostitution, and vandalism. New York City’s War on Graffiti officially began with Mayor John Lindsay in 1972 as an attempt to cripple the street art movement before it took complete hold; however, this preemptive measure seemed to fuel the ubiquitous desire to create street art, as noted by Adam

Mansbach of The Huffington Post.9 Although the actual laws on graffiti were left unchanged, the ​ ​ War presented artists with an even greater act of rebellion. By increasing the likelihood of being caught and punished, Lindsay unknowingly helped the movement gain power as an anarchist art form, which Sociologist Adam Mansbach noted in his essay, "Graffiti as Career and Ideology."10 ​ With both the desire for fame and the need to create, the city’s street artists began bombing entire subway cars, leaving the subway caked with multi colored tags and messy drawings.11 At the time, however, the New York Police Department was unable and somewhat unwilling to dedicate the necessary resources to the War of Graffiti; the artists quickly took over the streets, coating the city in tags, murals, stickers, and rollers.12 With a wide array of styles ranging from

Hip Hop to abstract, the street art scene of the early ‘80s boomed. The objective of street art quickly became fame; each artist, with their own unique style and content, worked to become a

8 Davis, Tamra, dir. Jean­Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child. Arthouse Films, 2010. Film. ​ ​ ​ 9 Mansbach, Adam. "New York City's War on Graffiti." The Huffington Post. N.p., 24 Mar. 2013. Web. 7 Feb. 2016. ​ ​ ​ 10 Lachmann, Richard. "Graffiti as Career and Ideology." American Journal of Sociology 94.2 (1988): 229­50. Print. ​ ​ ​ 11 See Appendix C for photographs of bombed subway cars. 12 See Appendix D for examples of the listed graffiti techniques.

source of curiosity and infamy for the gargantuan city of artists.13 This vie for fame resulted in the creation of an interconnected community of subcultural artists, working to expand the art form and add complexity to the motivations behind it. In short, the subcultural street art movement flourished, gaining both power and attention as the ultimate form of anti­art.

In the late 1970’s, an unusual tag surfaced in Lower Manhattan known as “SAMO©.”

SoHo was thoroughly tagged with strange surrealist poetry that said things like “SAMO©, another day, another dime, hyper cool, another way 2 kill some time,” and “microwave x­sistence, ‘Big Mac’ certificate for x­mas ­SAMO©.”14 Just about everyone pondered the strange graffitied phrases and wanted to know who SAMO© was. Described as “oblique pieces of poetry”15 by filmmaker and friend, Michael Holman, the SAMO© tags were an anonymous collaboration between Jean­Michel Basquiat and Al Diaz. An abbreviation of the phrase “same old shit,” SAMO© was appeared to be a message intended for the art world. Unlike much of the circulating street art, “the SAMO© tags had poetry­like content,”16 proposing a political or philosophical question in a messy, yet noticeable style. Basquiat eventually claimed ownership of the tag in 1979, however, the SAMO© tag soon came to its death following Basquiat’s acceptance into the greater art world. After officially being offered a gallery space for his paintings, Basquiat had become a part of the establishment he criticized so forcefully in his street art. The Manhattan community of struggling street artists, including Diaz, rejected Basquiat’s attempt to be a part of both the art establishment and the anti­art world, ultimately resulting in

Basquiat’s final tag, “SAMO© IS DEAD.” This last piece of street art marked Basquiat’s arrival

13 Lachmann, Richard. ​ 14 Davis, Tamra. ​ 15 See Appendix E for examples of SAMO© street art. 16 Hoban, Phoebe. Basquiat: A Quick Killing in Art. N.p.: n.p., 1998. Print. ​ ​

into the art world, however, it also expressed the huge void between commercialized art and subcultural art in 1970’s and ‘80s. Similarly, Keith Haring began his career in the New York

City subways, drawing highly political chalk murals that focused on subjects of controversy such as war and sexuality.17 While murals remained a large part of Haring’s later works, he slowly stopped creating uncommissioned street art as he became more and more famous in the art world. By the mid ‘80s, Haring had become increasingly involved in his advertising campaign for Absolut Vodka: “Absolut Haring.”18 The advertisements combined Haring’s iconic style with

Absolut’s distinct brand, fusing Haring’s art with the advertising industry and thereby, commercialism itself.19 Bordering on an anarchist jab at modern America, the anti­art movement derived its power by rebelling against all establishments, especially the greater art world. In the

1970’s and ‘80s street art occasionally provided an alternative route to the art establishment, however, it rarely presented artists with profitable careers and mostly served as an antithesis to what American art had become: a business.

By the mid 1980’s, almost all large American cities began to take on the subcultural street art movement with force on account of “The Broken Windows Theory.” Published in 1982 by Harvard professor James Wilson and research fellow George Kelling, “The Broken Windows

Theory” proposed a correlation between disorderly neighborhoods and serious crimes such as homicide and rape. As summarized by Criminal Justice professor, Adam McKee, the theory

“saw serious crime as the final result of a lengthy chain of events, theorizing that crime emanated from disorder and if that disorder were eliminated, then serious crimes would not occur.”20

17 See Appendix F for examples of Keith Haring’s street art murals. 18 "Keith Haring: Bio." The Keith Haring Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Mar. 2016. ​ ​ 19 See Appendix G for Keith Haring for Absolut Vodka advertising campaign. 20 McKee, Adam J. "Broken Windows Theory." Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. Encyclopaedia Britannica ​ ​ ​ Online, n.d. Web. 7 Feb. 2016.

Graffiti, along with panhandling, prostitution, and public drinking were recognized as types of physical and social disorder that would eventually amount to serious crime. In an attempt to create safer inner city communities, large cities formed “zero­tolerance policies” on minor criminal acts including vandalism.21 By 1989, New York City in partnership with the NYPD

Vandal Squad had spent over three hundred million dollars cleaning up almost two decades of uncontrolled street art, and by 1990 the city’s crime rate halved.22 With both the NYPD and the wealthy classes backing “The Broken Windows Theory,” New York City street art fell to the wayside, unable to combat the city’s relentless attack on vandalism. Graffiti continued to exist in low income areas, however, it never regained its expansive presence in America’s highly populated urban areas on account of its associations with crime and gang violence.23 The street art movement remained relatively dormant until the early 2000’s with the arrival of a new, smaller generation of brand­driven artists.

21st century American street art has evolved into a profitable industry bound by a global fascination with aesthetically pleasing controversial art. The modern day street art scene is now an extension of the art world, providing massive public interest and revenue for galleries across the nation. Millennials, in particular, fawn over the stencil work of today’s street artists; street art has become a worthy addition to a teen’s Instagram feed and a popular topic of conversation for the ‘hip,’ socially aware adult. With the help of camera phones and social networking, the location­sensitive, ephemeral nature of street art has been compromised by the world wide web’s immortalizing power; now, street artists are able to limitlessly share their work, generating

21 Kelling, George L., and James Q. Wilson. "Broken Windows: The Police and Neighborhood Safety." Atlantic ​ ​ Monthly 249.3 (1982): 29­38. Print. ​ 22 McKee, Adam J. ​ 23 Auletta, Ken. "Fixing Broken Windows." The New Yorker 7 Sept. 2015: n. pag. Print. ​ ​ ​

global fandoms through online documentation. The United States, in particular, has served as a venue for the work of American street artists as well as artists from the global community. Most predominantly, the work of American­based artists Shepard Fairey, Swoon, and Mr. Brainwash have found themselves in the modern art spotlight, basking in the commercial success of their artistic brand.24 The more infamous artists of Europe, including Banksy and Space Invader have held hugely successful exhibitions in the U.S., furthering their status as international street art kings. Fairey and Banksy, in particular, have dominated the commerical street art scene with works worth upwards of a hundred thousand dollars.25 This generational craze for street art represents a deviation from the subcultural movement of the ‘70s and ‘80s, making street art into a lucrative business, rather than an expression of freedom and rebellion.

Contemporary American artist, Shepard Fairey embodies the commercialization of modern day street art as the creator of a massively successful brand that began on the streets of

Los Angeles. His street art career formally launched with his signature “Obey Giant,” featuring an artistic re­imagining of wrestling icon, Andre the Giant.26 In Banksy’s self­directed film, Exit ​ through the Gift Shop, the success of Fairey’s artwork is thoroughly described: “combining ​ Andre’s face with the command to ‘Obey,’ Fairey had clocked up over a million hits around the world” by the mid 2000’s.27 Fairey’s international stardom was secured after his patriotic print of then Senator Barack Obama surfaced, transforming the unknown Senator into an icon.28 Shortly thereafter, Fairey began building the Obey Giant industry, including a clothing line and numerous spin off street art exhibitions. Currently, Fairey’s work resides in some of the nation’s

24 Gray, Steve. "Graffiti Hits the 21st Century." WideWalls. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Feb. 2016. ​ ​ 25 Gray, Steve. 26 See Appendix H for a photograph of Fairey’s “Obey Giant” 27 Banksy. 28 See Appendix I for a photograph of Fairey’s “HOPE” portrait

most prestigious art museums, including The Smithsonian, the Museum of Modern Art in New ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ York City, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.29 His repetitious, aesthetically pleasing ​ ​ ​ style presents political commentary that the 21st century public feds upon; with a net worth of fifteen million dollars, Fairey rules over the American street art scene as a product of the lionization of a once demonized art form.30 Similarly, the infamous British artist, Banksy, has found relentless commercial success in the United States. His Los Angeles exhibition, “Barely

Legal” sold pieces for over one hundred thousand pounds, turning street art into a hot commodity necessary for any serious contemporary art gallery; Banksy's work flew off the walls, lines to get into his exclusive show wrapped around the showing studio, all of which was fully documented in Banksy’s street art documentary.31

Globally recognized street artists like Banksy and Fairey have become outspoken on societal unrest outside of their own communities; in 2008, Banksy made a trip to New Orleans to paint the inner city slums that continued to suffer in the economic depression following

Hurricane Katrina.32 Local journalist Doug MacCash of Nola, recalls Banksy’s artistic rendering ​ ​ in an article on the fifth anniversary of the infamous artist’s visit; by painting images of a child using a lifesaver as a tire swing, Banksy presented the community with the political commentary of an outsider who hadn’t experienced the turmoil he so generously used as the subject of his work.33 In addition, Banksy has visited the Gaza strip numerous times in his career, leaving behind works of street art that are revered by the Western world. His works, however, seem to

29 Pop, Iggy. "Shepard Fairey." Interview Magazine 4 May 2010: n. pag. Print. ​ ​ 30 McVey, Kurt. "In His First New York Show in Five Years, Shepard Fairey Is Still Questioning Everything." New ​ York Times 20 Aug. 2015: n. pag. Print. ​ 31 Banksy. 32 See Appendix J for photographs of Banksy’s work in New Orleans ​ 33 MacCash, Doug. "Banksy Fifth Anniversary Tour Recalls 2008 New Orleans Visit." Times­Picayune 29 Aug. ​ ​ 2013: n. pag. NOLA. Web. 8 Feb. 2016. ​ ​

only bring more controversy to the disorder ridden society; usually, the street art is fought over, blasted off the building, and shipped to an auction house where it sells for upwards of a hundred thousand dollars.34 Similarly, much of Fairey’s work functions as a demand for peace in the

Middle East; however, Fairey himself enjoys the lifestyle of a millionaire, profiting off of years of street art activism. With a net worth of over fifteen million dollars, Fairey is certainly no starving artist dabbling in social justice.35 These well­known street artists are credited with exposing societal ill while they make millions off of beautiful looking political statements. The art form they exploit, however, was founded on poverty, racism, and inner city violence. It seems that less aesthetically appealing street art associated with gangs and poverty remains stigmatized, while the neat Kinko’s­prints and stencil work of adult Caucasian men is revered, creating a modern form of street art that has become sanitized by its need to meet the aesthetically driven expectations of the public.

The street art of modern American no longer serves as a voice for the lost souls of the inner cities, instead it represents the newest craze in pop culture. Pieces by prominent street artists are removed from the streets and sold in art galleries, making the act of vandalism into a profitable business. In the words of contemporary art journalist Sarah Esme, “manipulated onto a canvas or carefully transcribed onto pristine (and more importantly sanctioned) gallery walls, street art loses its edge, and the distinction between genuine street art and the legitimized Street

Art has become irrevocably blurred over time as a result.”36 By authorizing their work to

34 Waheidi, Majd Al, and Isabel Kershner. "Banksy Finds a Canvas and a New Fan Base in Gaza’s Ruins." New York ​ Times 30 Apr. 2013: n. pag. Print. ​ 35 Braun, Maximilian. "5 Wealthiest Street Artists Who Know How to Earn Their Living." WideWalls. N.p., n.d. ​ ​ ​ Web. 6 Mar. 2016. 36 Esme, Sarah. "Street Critique: Is it time we extended art criticism to Street Art?" Dodge. N.p., 5 may 2015. Web. ​ ​ ​ 6 Mar. 2016.

auctioneers, artists like Banksy increase the value of the work exponentially and help the auction house drive up their profits.37 In doing so, the artist commercializes their brand, increasing their personal net value and the likelihood of being offered gallery space in public museums. While the artist does not necessarily receive a profit from the auctioning off of their street art, public sales serve a valuable form of publicity that adds to the pandemonium surrounding a given artist.

With the growing public interest surrounding street art, many American cities have begun holding street art festivals rather than wage a war upon graffiti. Richmond, Virginia has recently become an American city known for its street art; the city’s historical brownstones are tattooed with massive works of uncommissioned art, creating a complimentary museum for the city’s inhabitants. Each year the city holds an annual street art festival, commemorating the city’s vandals.38 This celebration of what is, by law, a criminal offense has in many ways undermined the power of street art; by welcoming graffiti, the rebellious nature of the act becomes moot.

Many cities across the nation have considered creating ‘street art parks’ that would function as a creative outlet for inner city youth. While the parks present an alternative to vandalism, they too eliminate the essential rebellious aspect of the art form. In a society that both celebrates and permits graffiti, the form no longer represents a rejection of establishment and cannot serve as a single finger salute to societal constructs. Instead, it becomes like any other art form, growing in complexity and commercial success, until it is eclipsed by the next art craze.

Presently, it seems that certain forms of street art, depending on their medium and subject, are accepted, while overt statements of entitlement without an aesthetic flare are not; in many American cities, graffiti has become a celebrated form of rebellion as long as it has a

37 D., Anika. "Street Art for Sale and Questions of Ownership." WideWalls. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Feb. 2016. ​ ​ 38 See Appendix K for photographs of Richmond, VA street art.

certain aesthetic appeal and an audience that exists beyond the street art scene. In her article, "Is ​ Urban Graffiti a Force for Good or Evil," art commentator, Athlyn Cathcart­Keays highlights ​ how without a powerful aesthetic, street art is demoted to graffiti and painted over, resulting in cities that showcase only the ‘good street art’ by covering up the less compelling works.39 This tendency showcases modern street art’s dependency upon the public opinion. As street art evolves within the art world, it is unclear how its newfound acceptance will affect its overall effectiveness as an art form. Street art’s evolution, from a sign of crime and violence to a beacon of existential consciousness, has transformed what once was a subcultural anti­art movement into an industry. In many ways, the art form has grown up from an angsty teen of the ‘70s into an adult that puts a suit and tie on like everybody else, functioning as just another profitable pop art fad with an illegal twist.

American street art, once an art form powered by self expression and rebellion, has become a trendy, commercialized form of pop art newly glamorized by its aesthetic appeal and its ability to ‘wow.’ In the large, fastpassed cities of modern America, street art no longer acts as a voice for those unheard. Instead, the large stencil paintings and prints represent the ‘sell out’ of artistic rebellion rooted in a newfound multimillion dollar industry. The growing presence of street art in the media reflects a movement that is tailored to a very specific aesthetic with a global audience prepared to ‘retweet’ or ‘like’ anything that resembles a Banksy. While this new form of illegal pop art is intriguing and beautiful, it seems to lack the authenticity of the anti­art movement that precedes it. Hipsters and art snobs alike find themselves enchanted by street art’s rebellious energy and apparent freedom to criticize whomever and whatever it wants. Street

39 Cathcart­Keays, Athlyn. ​

artists have one thing straight: the rhetoric of rebellion is what sells, and the idea of the free, anti­establishment artist is irresistible. Put simply, street art has become the pop art fad that will eventually fall out of style. It is unclear whether the subcultural movement of the ‘70s and ‘80s will be revived or if street art will take permanent residence in private galleries and contemporary museums, using ‘rebellion’ as a long­term marketing scheme. Inevitably, new forms of anti­art will surface, and perhaps graffiti, once the epitome of anti­art, will never be able to separate itself from the commercial art world.

Appendix A: SAMO© Graffiti Tag40

40 "SAMO© IS DEAD." Stencil Revolution. Stencil Revolution, n.d. Web. 7 Feb. 2016. ​ ​

Appendix B: Flip­One Tagging NYC Subway (1974)41

41 Gennari, Flint. Flip One spraying his name in New York City's underground subway system, 1974. BBC News. ​ ​ BBC, 9 Aug. 2014. Web. 7 Feb. 2016.

Appendix C: Graffiti in the New York City Subway (1984)42 43 44 45

42 Sandler, Richard. A woman looks up from a subway car so covered in graffiti; it's almost more paint than wall, 1984. Daily Mail. Associated Newspapers, 10 Nov. 2013. Web. 7 Feb. 2016. ​ ​ 43 Siegel, Steven. NY in the '80s. Flickr. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Feb. 2016. ​ ​ 44 Sandler, Richard. "Stealing Kisses." Daily Mail. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Feb. 2016. ​ ​ ​ 45 "Punk Press: Rebel Rock Underground." Pinterest. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Feb. 2016. ​ ​

Appendix D: Examples of Graffiti Tags, Murals, Stickers, and Rollers46 47 48 49

46 TRACY 168. Subway Outlaws. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Feb. 2016. ​ ​ 47 Ahearn, Charlie. LEE, “Graffiti 1990” (1979). NYC,1981. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Feb. 2016. ​ ​ 48 Schmidt, Aaron. "Andre the Giant Has a Posse." Aaron Schmidt Photography. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Feb. 2016. ​ ​ 49 Revs roller street art. Art Nerd New York. N.p., 13 Feb. 2013. Web. 8 Feb. 2016. ​ ​

Appendix E: SAMO© Street Art50 51 52 53

50 Flynt, Henry. The SAMO© Graffiti. Henry Flynt. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Feb. 2016. ​ ​ ​ 51 Basquiat, Jean­Michel, perf. Downtown 81. Dir. Edo Bertoglio. Maripol, 2001. Film. ​ ​ ​ 52 Flynt, Henry. ​ 53 Flynt, Henry. ​

Appendix F: Examples of Keith Haring’s Street Art Murals54 55 56

54 "Keith Haring: Subway Drawings." Public Delivery. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Feb. 2016. ​ ​ 55 "Keith Haring: Subway Drawings." 56 "Crack Is Wack" Mural. Animal New York. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Feb. 2016. ​ ​

Appendix G: Keith Haring for Absolut Vodka57

57 "Keith Haring for Absolut Vodka, 1986." imgur. N.p., 2013. Web. 6 Mar. 2016. ​ ​

Appendix H: Shepard Fairey’s “Obey Giant”58

58 Shepard Fairey: OBEY Giant. Flickriver. N.p., 14 Feb. 2005. Web. 8 Feb. 2016. ​ ​

Appendix I: Shepard Fairey’s “HOPE” Portrait59

59 National Portrait Gallery Unveils Shepard Fairey's Portrait of Barack Obama. Flickriver. N.p., 17 Jan. 2009. Web. ​ ​ 8 Feb. 2016.

Appendix J: Banksy’s New Orleans Street Art (2008)60 61

60 MacCash, Doug. ​ 61 MacCash, Doug. ​

Appendix K: Street Art in Richmond, Virginia62 63

62 Bryan, Alix. 620 N Lombardy St. Artist: James Bullough. WTVR. N.p., 2 Aug. 2013. Web. 8 Feb. 2016. ​ ​ 63 Bryan, Alix. “Strawberry Girl”. WTVR. N.p.,v Aug. 2013. Web. 8 Feb. 2016. ​ ​

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WideWalls. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Mar. 2016. ​ Bryan, Alix. 620 N Lombardy St. Artist: James Bullough. WTVR. N.p., 2 Aug. 2013. Web. 8 ​ ​ Feb. 2016.

Cathcart­Keays, Athlyn. “Is Urban Graffiti a Force for Good or Evil.” The Guardian 7 Jan. 2015: ​ ​ n. pag. The Guardian. Web. 7 Feb. 2016. ​ ​ Chan, Sewell. “A Sociologist’s Look at Graffiti.” New York Times 17 Feb. 2009: n. pag. Web. 7 ​ ​ Feb. 2016.

“Crack Is Wack” Mural. Animal New York. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Feb. 2016. ​ ​ D., Anika. “Street Art for Sale and Questions of Ownership.” WideWalls. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Feb. ​ ​ 2016.

Davis, Tamra, dir. Jean­Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child. Perf. Jean­Michel Basquiat. ​ ​ Arthouse Films, 2010. Film.

D’Isidoro, Jack. “The City with a Mural on (Nearly) Every Wall.” Studio 360. N.p., 19 Aug. ​ ​ 2015. Web. 8 Feb. 2016.

Eger, John M. “Graffiti Parks May Be the Answer.” Huffington Post: Arts and Culture. N.p., 9 ​ ​ Aug. 2011. Web. 8 Feb. 2016. Esme, Sarah. “Street Critique: Is it time we extended art criticism to Street Art?” Dodge. N.p., 5 ​ ​ may 2015. Web. 6 Mar. 2016.

Exit through the Gift Shop. Dir. Banksy. Revolver Entertainment, 2010. Film. ​ Fairey, Shepard. MAYDAY: The Art of Shepard Fairey. N.p.: Gingko, 2010. Print. ​ ​ Flynt, Henry. The SAMO© Graffiti. Henry Flynt. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Feb. 2016. ​ ​ Gennari, Flint. Flip­One spraying his name in New York City’s underground subway system,

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Everything.” New York Times 20 Aug. 2015: n. pag. Print. ​ ​ Messages Appear to be Related to Ferguson Verdict. Newton Daily News. N.p., 26 Nov. 2014. ​ ​ Web. 8 Feb. 2016.

National Portrait Gallery Unveils Shepard Fairey’s Portrait of Barack Obama. Flickriver. N.p., ​ ​ 17 Jan. 2009. Web. 8 Feb. 2016.

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Pop, Iggy. “Shepard Fairey.” Interview Magazine 4 May 2010: n. pag. Print. ​ ​ “Punk Press: Rebel Rock Underground.” Pinterest. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Feb. 2016. ​ ​ Rahm, Danielle. “Banksy: The $20 Million Graffiti Artist Who Doesn’t Want His Art to Be

Worth Anything.” Forbes 22 Oct. 2013: n. pag. Print. ​ ​ Revs roller street art. Art Nerd New York. N.p., 13 Feb. 2013. Web. 8 Feb. 2016. ​ ​ “SAMO Is Dead.” Stencil Revolution. Stencil Revolution, n.d. Web. 7 Feb. 2016. ​ ​ Sandler, Richard. “Stealing Kisses.” Daily Mail. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Feb. 2016. ​ ​ ­ ­ ­. A woman looks up from a subway car so covered in graffiti; it’s almost more paint than

wall in 1984. Daily Mail. Associated Newspapers, 10 Nov. 2013. Web. 7 Feb. 2016. ​ ​ Schmidt, Aaron. “Andre the Giant Has a Posse.” Aaron Schmidt Photography. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 ​ ​ Feb. 2016.

Shepard Fairey: OBEY Giant. Flickriver. N.p., 14 Feb. 2005. Web. 8 Feb. 2016. ​ ​ Siegel, Steven. NY in the ‘80s. Flickr. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Feb. 2016. ​ ​ TRACY 168. Subway Outlaws. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Feb. 2016. ​ ​ Waheidi, Majd Al, and Isabel Kershner. “Banksy Finds a Canvas and a New Fan Base in Gaza’s

Ruins.” New York Times 30 Apr. 2013: n. pag. Print. ​ ​