Graffito

Rating:
Summary: Excellent book
Review: An excellent book! A great insight into the west coast graffiti culture from someone on the outside. Great quotes, photographs, and graphics. What sets this book apart from other graffiti books is that Walsh goes deeper into the subject, he took the time and interviewed many people in law enforcement and local government who are trying to stop graffiti. Along with many quotes from writers themselves, this gives the book a balance and objectivity. Most graf books are one sided with only the writer's views. Plunk down your cash and learn something. A must for anyone interested in this controversial subject!

Rating:
Summary: Getting Real
Review: Awesome book! This book has great insight on the graffiti scene in the Bay Area. The quotes from the graffiti writers and the people trying to stop them are powerful and honest.
Great photos and design layout. The black and whites really capture the mood and intensity of what graffiti is all about. Highly recomended!

Rating:
Summary: Buy this great book!
Review: Buy this book! It can't be beat for it's rich content of interviews, and great photographs and graphics. This book gets down and deep in the SF graffiti scene. Covers both sides of the issue very well. A real honest portrayal by an outsider.

Rating:
Summary: Hip-Hop is my religion
Review: For the record, this is one terrific book. It showcases much graf talent from the perspective of someone who is not a graf artist but appreciates the merit of graffiti-as-art. This is also one of the best showcases of (West Coast) DREAM, who was murdered last week, and whose life was one singlular contribution to graf. DREAM helped to plant the hip-hop art seed in the WC. Forget the politics, and ignore any hater-isms disguised as hip-hop victimization, if you are an artist and can afford $22 bones, get this book.

Rating:
Summary: Check out what all the fuss is about!
Review: Get this book to check out the real low down on what's going on in the Bay Area scene. Walsh goes deep and interviews graf writers and the establishment. The interview quotes are revealing and direct. Great book design and photographs! The black and white photographs especially capture the mood and isolation of the graf artist. I hope Walsh continues his work with portraying the graf scene.

Rating:
Summary: This Clown Needs to Go Back to School
Review: Go back to school. Don't play journalist in our playground. Outsiders---Stay Away. No matter how sincere you think you are being, you come off all wrong. Be fair to yourself, study something that you really believe and feel passion for, not something that affects you like a mild flirtation. Don't write books on issues you haven't lived through.

Rating:
Summary: "Graffito" A journey into art.....
Review: Graffitio is a graphic designz atempt at a graffiti book publication...."Subway Art",or " The Art of Getting Over" are much more informative but this book can be added to a collection of yours....

Rating:
Summary: In-Your-Face
Review: GRAFFITO is not to be taken lightly. It paints graffiti artists and the hip-hop subculture in an informative raw light. Looking at both sides of the graffiti phenomenon, Walsh shows how the heroes/criminals of graffiti feel about their misunderstood art and how the public interprets it . I was very happy with the myriad of quotes from interviews with actual established writers who live, breath, and sleep graffiti. Although a little profane at times, this book does not cut any corners or leave any of the truthfulness surrounding graffiti out. Graffiti has and always will be revered by its participants and despised by it's enemies. I'm glad that Michael Walsh took the time to hear and voice the thoughts of those so immersed in it. A definite for any graffiti enthusiast. Good pictures too.

Rating:
Summary: Hits the Mark
Review: Great book on the SF graffiti scene. Excellent photography in color and black and white. There are also many interviews from graffiti writers and abatement people. These interviews really help understand what's beyond the writing on the wall. Walsh did a great job with the book design. A must for anyone's art book collection or anyone interested on the deeper issues of the graffiti scene.

Rating:
Summary: A good introduction
Review: I bought this book on the recomendation of a friend, who like me knew nothing about the graffiti subculture or the people who do it. I see graffiti everyday in San Francisco and wanted to know what motivated these people. Some of it I can appreciate but much of it appears to be childish vandalism. Through quotes and pictures from both sides of this issue Walsh does an excellent job by bringing this very closed subculture to normal everyday people like me who see it all the time and want some kind of understanding. I find the black and white photographs especially compelling in their starkness. What he gives is a little view or insight of a much larger picture that no one understands except the people who do it. Buy this book if you want an objective view from someone outside the subculture. Finally, I've browsed through the other reviews presented here and find most of the ones by graffiti writers themselves hilarious in their arrogance and their lack of understanding on how their actions effect people in their community. Give me a break. These kids are starving for attention and causing millions of dollars of damage to public and private property and they can't handle it when an 'outsider' such as Walsh does a piece on them. When art is brought out into the public domain it's fair game. These kids have been screaming for attention by putting their art and tags in public and now they get some attention and moan about it. Wake up.