The Graffiti Subculture Youth, Masculinity and Identity in London and New York Nancy Macdonald The Graffiti Subculture This page intentionally left blank The Graffiti Subculture Youth, Masculinity and Identity in London and New York Nancy Macdonald © Nancy Macdonald 2001 Every effort has been made to trace all copyright holders but if any have been inadvertently overlooked the publishers will be pleased to make the necessary arrangements at the first opportunity. All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P 0LP. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published in hardcover 2001 First published in paperback 2002 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y. 10010 Companies and representatives throughout the world PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin’s Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN 0–333–78190–2 hardback ISBN 0–333–78191–0 paperback This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows: Macdonald, Nancy, 1969– The graffiti subculture : youth, masculinity, and identity in London and New York / Nancy Macdonald. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0–333–78190–2 1. Graffiti—New York (State)—New York. 2. Graffiti—England– –London. 3. Youth—New York (State)—New York—Social conditions. 4. Youth—England—London—Social conditions. I. Title. GT3913.13.N7 M23 2001 306’.1—dc21 2001021027 10987654321 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 Printed in Great Britain by Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham and Eastbourne For my godson Ned Prevezer and Mark, my phenomenally special friend This page intentionally left blank Contents List of Figures ix Shout Outs (As They Say) x Glossary xi 1Introduction 1 Chapter outline8 2Climbing Down off the Fence: Locating Our Standpoint and Values 10 Shedding the positivist past – the ethogenic theory 12 Accounts – action through talk or a talk through action?17 Authority, power and postmodernism: a game of hide and seek 20 A culturally oriented approach to research 27 3Are Theories of Subculture Too Class Oriented?32 The Functionalist ‘anomie’ or ‘strain’ approach 33 The Marxist New Wave approach – work by the CCCS group37 Missing links 44 4 I Woz ’Ere: Tales from the Field 49 The fields50 Informants 50 Methods, means and madness 51 Unpacking my personal baggage 57 5 Going Underground: A Journey into the Graffiti Subculture63 All work and no play –graffiti as a career 63 6Constructive Destruction: Graffiti as a Tool for Making Masculinity 94 Masculinity: it can be a crime 97 Urban warfare: blowing up masculinity 107 In among the boys – involvement as the female ‘other’ 127 7 Keeping Its Distance: The Subculture’s Separation from the ‘Outside World’ 151 Worlds apart – the subculture’s publicly private parade 153 vii viii Contents Distance makes the art grow stronger – the legal vs illegal debate 163 8 Making a World of Difference: The Personal Benefits of Subcultural Membership 179 New world, new life: passage to independence 180 New world, new life, new persona: passport to potential 187 The name is the fame of the game – missing bodies 193 The rise and fall of the subcultural identity 217 Conclusion 228 Afterword: Writers Talk Back 234 Bibliography 241 Author Index 251 Subject Index 254 List of Figures 5.1 I am ‘Known’66 5.2 A throwup78 5.3 Using a crown to claim the title ‘king’ 79 5.4 The piecing of one’s name 80 5.5 A whole car top to bottom 85 6.1 ‘Atak’ on the London Underground 110 6.2 Revs and Cost’s sticker messages 133 7.1 The superior society 155 7.2 ‘Wildstyle’ 159 7.3 Pictorial aerosol art 168 8.1 ‘Skore’ 199 8.2 Blockbuster letters 200 8.3 ‘Revs’ and ‘Cost’ 202 8.4 Saying hello 204 8.5 I’m as good as you 205 8.6 I’m better than you 206 8.7 I’m so much more than you 207 8.8 I’m bigger than you 208 8.9 You mean nothing 209 8.10 A dub placed over a piece 210 8.11 A weapon of assault 211 8.12 ‘Drax’ lined out 212 8.13 A writer’s dedications 214 8.14 A creative display of strength and dominance 215 ix Shout Outs (As They Say) I could not have conducted this research nor written this book without the generous help and support of many people. My sincere thanks go to Inspector Chris Connell, Henry Chalfant, Martha Cooper and Dave Holloway for their help both during and after my fieldwork. Several other people came to my rescue at varying points in time. My academic supervisors, Ros Gill and Karen Henwood, come top of the list. Their direction and encouragement helped me find the light at the end of an often very dark PhD tunnel. Karen Howes was a star, as were Rowan, Fred, Sophie, Damon, Annabel, Wink, Hil, Jane, Jessie, Tory, Alio, Julian, Megan, Mum, Myles, Ephraim, Edie, Andy and my grandmother, Anne Macdonald. DDB NY, thank you for my sabbati- cal. My colleagues Bill Hoofatt, Judy, Craig, Shana and Stupot deserve a special mention. Jonathan Perchal, Sue from Posman and the team at Palgrave were also immensely generous with their knowledge, time and guidance. My biggest and most heartfelt thanks, however, go to all the writers who shared their thoughts and stories and gave me a vivid and trea- sured insight into their world. They are: Mear, Drax, Zaki, Stylo, Ego, Proud 2, Rate, Acrid, Series, Akit, Juice, Kilo, Lee, Prime, Elk, Dane, Junk, Skore, Part 2, Rough, Robbo, Dondi, Col, Futura 2000, Lady Pink, Smith, Claw, Az, Sed, Sein 5, Sae 6, Jel, Iz, Lee Q., Flint 707, Freedom, Key 1 and Sar. A special ‘shout out’ goes to Steam and Kirs for the use of their photos and to Cavs for taking an eager novice on her first, and long-awaited, train yard trip. x Glossary Active: A writer who currently paints. All city: A writer whose work can be found in many different locations. Bad: Something which is great or fantastic. Battle: A competition between writers using pieces or tags. Bite: To copy another writer’s work. Black book: A sketchbook containing writers’ graffiti designs. Bomb, cane, destroy, kill: To completely cover something in graffiti. Buff: To chemically clean graffiti from the surface of a train. Bumpkin: A writer who does not live in London. Burn: To paint exceptionally well. Burner: A well-executed piece. Cap; fat or skinny: Spray can nozzles which make the spray width wide or narrow. Catch tags: To tag one’s name here and there. Cheap fame: A profile that has not been earnt through hard work. Crew: A group of affiliated writers. Cross out, dog out, line out: To put a line through another writer or crew’s name. Cross out war: A dispute between writers who are lining out each others’ names. Diss, cuss: To disrespect or insult another writer. Down: A writer who is part of a crew or highly respected. Drop: To paint a piece. Dry, lame, wak: Something which is bad or of substandard quality. Dub: A quick outline of a writer’s name with a silver or gold painted interior. End to end: A piece covering the entire length of a train carriage. Fanatic, hardcore: A highly active or reckless writer. Fill-in: The interior shade of a piece, throwup or dub. Freights, BR’s: Overland trains which travel across the country. Give props: To give a writer credit. Go over: To write over another writer’s name with your own. Grass: A police informant. Hall of fame: A legal or semi-legal walled painting site. Hot: A risky yard or area which is being monitored by the police. xi xii Glossary Inactive: A writer who has temporarily stopped painting. Jock: A sycophant or wannabe. King: The most accomplished or prolific writer. Line: A line on the underground or subway. Mission: An illegal painting trip. New jack: A new or recent writer. New school: A newer generation of writers. Old school: An older generation of writers. On tour: A trip abroad to do graffiti and/or steal paint. Outline: The line silhouetting a piece, throwup or dub. Pay one’s dues: To show one’s dedication through a full and active illegal career. Piece: A painting, short for masterpiece. To paint a word or image with more than two colours. Props: A writer’s credits. Rack: To steal. Rads: Police. Rep: A writer’s reputation. Retire: To give up painting graffiti on a regular basis. Safe: Something which is ‘good’ or without risk. Scar: Graffiti that is still faintly visible after having been chemically cleaned.