100 Best Graffiti Books of All Time (Updated for 2026)

1

Wall and Piece

Banksy

5.0

Banksy, Britain's now-legendary "guerilla" street artist, has painted the walls, streets, and bridges of towns and cities throughout the world. Not only did he smuggle his pieces into four of New York City's major art museums, he's also "hung" his work at London's Tate Gallery and adorned Israel's West Bank barrier with satirical images. Banksy's identity remains unknown, but his work is unmistaka

2

Subway Art

Henry Chalfant and Martha Cooper

4.9

In 1984 the groundbreaking Subway Art brought graffiti to the world, presenting stunning photographic documentation of the burgeoning movement in New York. Thirty years later, this bible of street art has been updated with over seventy photographs not included in the original edition and new insights on an incredibly rich period for urban art and its legacy.

In new introductions, authors Martha Coo

3

Graffiti Alphabets: Street Fonts from Around the World

Claudia Walde

4.7

Classic graffiti lettering and experimental typographical forms lie at the heart of street culture and have long inspired designers in many different fields. But graffiti

artists, who tend to paint the same letters of their tag again and again, rarely design complete alphabets.

Claudia Walde spent over two years collecting alphabets by 154 artists from thirty countries to show the many different sty

4

Graffiti School: A Student Guide and Teacher Manual

Christoph Ganter

4.7

Although the public perception of graffiti has changed radically over the last fifty years, few would have predicted that it would become the subject of this major new textbook.

Christoph Ganter covers the history of informal mark-making in the public realm, from the first unauthorized characters inscribed on the ancient walls of Egypt and Pompeii to nineteenth-century Vienna, where Joseph Kyselak

5

Graffiti World Updated Edition: Street Art from Five Continents

Nicholas Ganz

4.7

Graffiti World, now updated, is the most comprehensive and bestselling survey of graffiti art ever published. The original collection of more than 2,000 illustrations by over 150 artists around the world is joined by a new section devoted to work created in the five years since the book's first edition.

Graffiti has long been a ubiquitous aspect of the urban landscape, since anonymous, largely unsu

6

Graffiti Moon

CROWLEY CATH

4.6

Lucy is in love with Shadow, a mysterious graffiti artist.

Ed thought he was in love with Lucy, until she broke his nose.

Dylan loves Daisy, but throwing eggs at her probably wasn't the best way to show it.

Jazz and Leo are slowly encircling each other.

An intense and exhilarating 24 hours in the lives of four teenagers on the verge: of adulthood, of HSC, of finding out just who they are, and who they

7

Spraycan Art

Henry Chalfant, James Prigoff

4.5

Shows examples of graffiti from around the world and shares the opinions of graffiti artists about their work.

8

Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation

Jeff Chang, D.J. Kool Herc

4.5

Can't Stop Won't Stop is a powerful cultural and social history of the end of the American century, and a provocative look into the new world that the hip-hop generation created.

Forged in the fires of the Bronx and Kingston, Jamaica, hip-hop became the Esperanto of youth rebellion and a generation-defining movement. In a post-civil rights era defined by deindustrialization and globalization, hip-h

Recommended by Dorian Lynskey and Doug Rossinow.

Dorian Lynskey

This is not the biography of a single activist. It is a kind of sociopolitical history of hip-hop. It goes back a long way. Chang spends a lot of time describing the rise of gangs from the late 1960s. He tells you a lot about 1970s New York. Hip-hop really started as an artform long before most people outside the Bronx were aware of it. And I loved this social background because it shows that if people had a curiosity about the music you could show them all this other stuff. [source]

Doug Rossinow

Hip-hop culture was the authentic cultural expression of young people of color in America at a time when they saw fairly bleak prospects for themselves. [source]

9

You're Welcome, Universe

Whitney Gardner

4.5

When Julia finds a slur about her best friend scrawled across the back of the Kingston School for the Deaf, she covers it up with a beautiful (albeit illegal) graffiti mural.

Her supposed best friend snitches, the principal expels her, and her two mothers set Julia up with a one-way ticket to a “mainstream” school in the suburbs, where she’s treated like an outcast as the only deaf student. The las

10

The Fortress of Solitude

Jonathan Lethem

4.5

The Fortress of Solitude is the story of Dylan Ebdus growing up white and motherless in downtown Brooklyn in the 1970s. It's a neighborhood where the entertainments include muggings along with games of stoopball. In that world, Dylan has one friend, a black teenager, also motherless, named Mingus Rude. As Lethem follows the knitting and unraveling of their friendship, he creates an overwhelmingly

Recommended by Bryan Callen and Jay McInerney.

Bryan Callen

So here are my three must read books. I've been reading a lot of great books like: Outsmart Your Instincts, The Culture Code, and Antonio Damasio’s The Strange Order, and sometimes when you read a lot of nonfiction it’s very enriching, sometimes you need a novel. I really believe you should take a minute and read something beautiful. Listen, listen to Lolita by Nabokov. But also listen to Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy and listen to Richard Poe narrate that. Those are two of the greatest feats of the english language that I can think of. Then there’s Fortress of Solitude, an amazing book, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, these are great novels. Cold Mountain is a beautiful novel, Snow Falling On Cedars, I mean they’ve been around for a while. But goddamnit, get those under your belt. Those are the novels I think you should read. You know Love In The Time Of Cholera it just makes you ache. Kind of like a Hemingway thing, where Hemingway “ahh!”, it’s the same thing, you know. So I don’t know, I’m a fan of all those books. Those are my 3 slash 20 books. [source]

Jay McInerney

Lethem was one of the first people to write about the new Brooklyn. This is a beautiful coming-of-age novel. [source]

11

Freight Train Graffiti

Roger Gastman, Darin Rowland, et al.

4.4

Like "Graffiti World," "Freight Train Graffiti" is the definitive history of a vibrant art form. Until now there was almost no written insight into this vast subculture, which inspires fascination across America and around the world. As dazzling as the art it celebrates, the book is packed with 1,000 full-color illustrations and features in-depth interviews with more than 125 train artists and "wr

12

Street Art: The Graffiti Revolution

Cedar Lewisohn, Henry Chalfant

4.4

Over the last decade, street art—art made in public spaces including graffiti, stickers, stencil art, and wheat-pasting— has become one of the most popular and hotly discussed areas of art practice on the contemporary scene. Developing out of the graffiti-writing tradition of the 1980s through the work of artists such as Banksy and Futura 2000, it has long since reached the mainstream. Street Art

13

The Anatomical Shape of a Heart

Jenn Bennett

4.4

Beatrix Adams knows exactly how she’s spending the summer before her senior year. Determined to follow in Da Vinci’s footsteps, she’s ready to tackle the one thing that will give her an advantage in a museum-sponsored scholarship contest: drawing actual cadavers. But when she tries to sneak her way into the hospital’s Willed Body program and misses the last metro train home, she meets a boy who tu

14

Graffiti Women: Street Art from Five Continents

Nicholas Ganz

4.4

From the author of the enormously successful "Graffiti World" comes this spectacular follow-up, celebrating the contributions of women to contemporary graffiti and street art.
Female writers have always been in the vanguard of the graffiti movement, though often shunted to the sidelines by their male counterparts. This exhaustive volume places them front and center, featuring 1,000 full-color illu

15

Hip Hop Files (Hc)

Martha Cooper, Akim Walta, Zephyr, Charlie Ahearn, FABEL, Patti Astor

4.3

Hip hop culture emerged from an environment of extreme deprivation and decay in the South Bronx, New York City. The concept of pure invention--of creating something from nothing--was in full effect at the end of the 1970s as graffiti ("borrowed" spray paint), breaking (cardboard as dance floor), and outdoor jams (electricity source: the base of street lights) captured the attention of urban youth,

16

Banksy You Are an Acceptable Level of Threat

Patrick Potter

4.3

New expanded 248pp 2019 Edition. The single best collection of photography of Banksy's street work that has ever been assembled for print. If that isn't enough there are some words too. You Are An Acceptable Level of Threat covers his entire street art career, spanning the late '90s right up to the 'Seasons Greetings' Christmas 2018 piece in Port Talbot, Wales. This new edition includes his self-d

17

Graff: The Art & Technique of Graffiti

Scape Martinez

4.3

Once viewed as merely a blemish on the urban landscape, graffiti today has evolved into a legitimate art form in its own right, influencing entertainment, advertising, fashion and other creative industries worldwide.

In this unprecedented book, master graffiti artist Scape Martinez shows how he does his thing, offering streetwise advice to help other -writers- create maximum-impact, legally sanctio

18

Banksy.: You Are an Acceptable Level of Threat

Gary Shove, Patrick Potter

4.3

A collection of photographs of Banksy's street work. You Are An Acceptable Level of Threat concentrates on this singular artist's iconic imagery, spanning the late '90s up until the end of 2011. The locations are from around the world (predominantly the UK, US and Europe), and many images have never been seen before. When Banksy started out painting, the political landscape was bleak. Fortunately

19

Graffiti New York

Eric Felisbret, Luke Felisbret

4.3

Decades after the movement globalized, New York is still the mecca of graffiti culture. Painting there is a badge of honor, with graffiti artists from around the globe making pilgrimages to New York for that purpose. This is the city where it all began, yet few know the back story.

Graffiti New York fills that gap, detailing the concepts, aesthetics, ideals, and social structures that have served a

20

The Urban Sketcher: Techniques for Seeing and Drawing on Location

Marc Taro Holmes

4.3

Make the world your studio!

Capture the bustle and beauty of life in your town.

Experience life as only an artist can! Join the rapidly growing, international movement of artists united by a passion for drawing on location in the cities, towns and villages where they live and travel. Packed with art and advice from Marc Taro Holmes, artist and co-founder of Urbansketchers.org, this self-directed wor

21

Obey: Supply and Demand

Shepard Fairey

4.3

From Obey to Obama and all that s in between, Supply & Demand, The Art of Shepard Fairey - 20th Anniversary Edition expands upon the previous version of this book and adds 100 new pages of illustrations and text to showcase Fairey s entire body of work, a massive retrospective covering 20 colorful years. Thrust into the spotlight for his image of President-elect Barack Obama, Fairey helped catalyz

22

The Art of Getting Over: Graffiti at the Millennium

Stephen Powers

4.3

What started as simple street movement, a way to assert individuality and pride, has blossomed into much more: Graffiti is everywhere. From Sprite commercials to The Source magazine to Soho art galleries, the elements and vernacular of the graffiti aesthetic are apparent in today's society. This book examines graffiti's influence from its earliest days to its undeniable ubiquity now. Written by an

23

Blank Comic Book (Draw Your Own Comics): A Large Notebook and Sketchbook for Kids and Adults to Draw Comics and Journal

Lux Reads

4.3

24

The Faith of Graffiti

Norman Mailer, Jon Naar

4.3

The Faith of Graffiti is the classic, definitive look at the birth of graffiti as an art form, pairing the fascinating 1974 essay by Norman Mailer—National Book Award and two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Naked and the Dead and The Executioner’s Song—with the stunning, iconic photography of internationally acclaimed photographer Jon Naar. Back in print for the first time in three decad

25

Beautiful Losers: Contemporary Art and Street Culture

Aaron Rose, Christian Strike, Alex Baker, Arty Nelson, Jocko Weyland, Mike Mills, Barry McGee, Margaret Kilgallen, Ryan McGinness, Harmony Korine, Ed Templeton, Chris Johanson, Shepard Fairey

4.3

The greatest cultural accomplishments in history have never been the result of the brainstorms of marketing men, corporate focus groups or any homogenized methods; they have always happened organically. More often than not, these manifestations have been the result of a few like-minded people coming together to create something new and original for no other purpose than a common love of doing it.

26

Going All City: Struggle and Survival in LA's Graffiti Subculture

Stefano Bloch

4.3

“We could have been called a lot of things: brazen vandals, scared kids, threats to social order, self-obsessed egomaniacs, marginalized youth, outsider artists, trend setters, and thrill seekers. But, to me, we were just regular kids growing up hard in America and making the city our own. Being ‘writers’ gave us something to live for and ‘going all city’ gave us something to strive for; and for s

27

Kings Way: The Beginnings of Australian Graffiti: Melbourne 1983–93

Duro Cubrilo, Martin Harvey, Karl Stamer

4.3

A comprehensive account of the first decade of the graffiti-writing subculture in Melbourne, Australia, this compilation pays tribute to the individual writers and crews who established the city’s reputation as a global street-art presence. Beginning with the year 1983, this volume depicts the rapid changes in styles in these early years as Melbourne’s graffiti changed from simple scrawls to intri

28

Graffiti Animals: An Adult Coloring Book with Badass Animal Drawings, Stress Relieving Doodles, and Street Art with Attitude!

Jade Summer

4.3

29

Blade: King of Graffiti

Steven Ogburn

4.3

BLADE has already told his life story through graffiti. Now, more than forty years into his career and armed with an incredible memory, BLADE sits down with Chris Pape to reflect on growing up in the Bronx in the turbulent 1970s, and recounts the highs and lows of his storied career, holding nothing back. BLADE is considered "The King of Graffiti" because, by 1980, after painting 5,000 wildly crea

30

Michael De Feo: Flowers

Michael De Feo

4.3

As an art student in 1993, Michael De Feo drew a simple bloom that became a familiar and welcome presence in New York after he spent countless nights pasting hundreds of versions of it all over the city’s building walls. Twenty-five years later, these flowers have been sighted in more than 60 international cities. His street works took a new direction in 2015 when a guerrilla art collective provid

31

Writing the Future: Basquiat and the Hip-Hop Generation

J. Faith Almiron

4.3

How hip-hop culture and graffiti electrified the art of Jean-Michel Basquiat and his contemporaries in 1980s New York

In the early 1980s, art and writing labeled as graffiti began to transition from New York City walls and subway trains onto canvas and into art galleries. Young artists who freely sampled from their urban experiences and their largely Black, Latinx and immigrant histories infused th

32

A Visual Protest: The Art of Banksy

Gianni Mercurio

4.3

33

Lost Walls: A Calligraffiti Journey Through Tunisia

el Seed

4.3

Lost or forgotten were the walls that now proudly carry the messages of calligraffiti artist eL Seed. "Lost Walls," his first book, beautifully and poetically documents these walls, handpicked during his road trip around Tunisia. "Lost Walls" is a calligraffiti journey of discovery for eL Seed, who chronicles the painting of 24 walls in four weeks. Inspired by the reaction to his largest project t

34

The Art of Urban Sketching: Drawing On Location Around The World

Gabriel Campanario

4.3

The Art of Urban Sketching is both a comprehensive guide and a showcase of location drawings by artists around the world who draw the cities where they live and travel. Authored by the founder of the nonprofit organization Urban Sketchers (www.urbansketchers.org), this beautiful, 320-page volume explains urban sketching within the context of a long historical tradition and how it is being practice

35

Portraiture of Los Angeles: Vol. 1

Estevan Oriol

4.3

Iconic photographer/director Estevan Oriol releases a follow-up to his cornerstone LA Woman book: Portraiture of Los Angeles Volume 1. The release of Oriol's first published book, LA Woman (2009), caught fans and followers by surprise. Capturing the women of Los Angeles in their most confronting, gritty environments it was not the subject matter he was most well-known for. It established Estevan O

36

Bomb the Suburbs: Graffiti, Race, Freight-Hopping and the Search for Hip Hop's Moral Center

William Upski Wimsatt

4.3

In this blockbuster word-of-mouth, underground classic, Bomb the Suburbs: Graffiti, Race, Freight-Hopping and the Search for Hip Hop's Moral Center, William Upski Wimsatt attacks the whole idea of the suburb as "an unfortunate state- of-mind..., founded on fear, conformity, shallowness of character, and dullness of imagination." Upski uses his coming of age in the Chicago break dancing and hip hop

37

Style: Writing From The Under Ground

IGTimes

4.2

38

Stickerbomb 3

Studio Rarekwai

4.2

Stickers are an essential part of the street art movement. Inexpensive and easy to produce, they act as a kind of informal business card for some graffiti writers, and a quick and effective promotional tool for many artists and illustrators. As more and more stickers are placed around major cities in the world, interest in the subject keeps growing.

Stickers have been the subject of many street ar

39

Stickers 2: More Stuck-Up Crap

DB Burkeman

4.2

A new bible of sticker art--a visual history of street art in one of its most elemental, accessible, provocative, and ubiquitous forms--with twelve pages of collectible stickers

A new bible of sticker art--a visual history of street art in one of its most elemental, accessible, provocative, and ubiquitous forms--with twelve pages of collectible stickers
This follow-up volume features more than 3,000

40

Graffiti 365

Jay Edlin, Andrew Witten

4.2

Graffiti 365 delivers the first real insider’s view into the contemporary graffiti and street-art scenes, as well as their antecedents. A fun, wide-ranging survey of the international graffiti movement, this book uses more than 600 rare, previously unpublished, or legendary images to introduce and describe important artists—from Blade to Banksy—and styles—from bubble to wild. Along the way, Graffi

41

Graffiti Kings: New York City Mass Transit Art of the 1970's

Jack Stewart

4.2

Graffiti Kings is the definitive book on New York's subway graffiti movement, an unprecedented creative explosion that occurred across the five boroughs during the 1970s. This rare, firsthand account of the birth of this movement is the first and only graffiti book to reveal what happened behind the scenes when writers put their lives on the line to grab a piece of fame from a faceless urban lands

42

The History of American Graffiti

Roger Gastman, Caleb Neelon

4.2

With 40 years of history as an organized artistic lifestyle sport, graffiti has sprung from the neglected neighbourhoods of New York and Philadelphia to cover cities throughout the world. This book provides a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the roots of a subculture that has managed to movemainstream without losing its edge.

43

Calligraffiti: The Graphic Art of Niels Shoe Meulman

Niels SHOE Meulman

4.2

'Calligraffiti - The Graphic Art of Niels "SHOE" Meulman' is an impressive publication that presents a large selection of typographic works by Niels Shoe Meulman arranged in a uniquely simplistic manner; every spread presents two interacting visuals on its opposing pages. This repeating duality makes this book much more than just a collection of the artists best work; it unveils the basis of all g

44

Fuzz One: A Bronx Childhood

Vincent Fedorchak

4.2

Fuzz One is the staggering, outrageous, true story of a raucous and wholly unsupervised childhood in the Bronx of the 1970s. Through Vincent Fedorchak's hilarious deadpan narration of a wild existence wrought with adolescent braggadocio, we are taken on a rough journey through a deteriorating Bronx jungle-wonderland where property value was plummeting and kids ruled the streets. Whether executing

45

Graffiti Cookbook: The Complete Do-It-Yourself-Guide to Graffiti

Bj Almqvist, Tobias Barenthin Lindblad, et al.

4.2

The complete DIY bible of graffiti. Now in softcover! A rich source of inspiration for anyone interested in do-it-yourself culture. Graffiti Cookbook is a guide to the materials and techniques used within today s most creative and progressive art movement. In hundreds of pictures and illustrations and a dozen of interviews with some of the world s most famous artists the authors show how graffiti

46

Pow! Wow! Worldwide!: 10 Years of International Street Art

Jasper Wong

4.2

Since its founding in 2010, the POW! WOW! mural festival has quickly become a preeminent leader in the street art world. With annual exhibitions and events taking place across the globe, POW! WOW! has featured hundreds of internationally renowned street artists, each creating large scale public murals and works of art. Annual POW! WOW! Festivals occur around the world including in Honolulu Hawai'i

47

Blek le Rat

Sybille Prou, King Adz

4.2

Street artist Blek le Rat is revered and acknowledged by the international graffiti community, and his work has influenced CD design, advertising, and graphics, as well as the work of urban artists around the world.

From small, simple stencils to complex multimedia events, Blek's distinctive art is showcased here for the first time, demonstrating the development of his technique and creativity over

48

The Nasty Terrible T-Kid 170

First Last

4.2

The Nasty Terrible T-Kid 170 is the life story of graffiti writer T-Kid 170 from gang member to style mentor for urban youth--the uncensored Bronx hip hop story. At the age of sixteen, Julius Cavero was hit three times in a gang shoot-out in a park. Left there almost dead, he survived after weeks in a hospital emergency unit. With little else to do in the hospital, he drew endlessly, and it was th

49

Urban Sketching: 100 Postcards: 100 Beautiful Location Sketches from Around the World

Gabriel Campanario

4.2

Share 100 postcards featuring all your favorite cityscapes from Gabriel Campanario's The Art of Urban Sketching (Quarry Books). Enjoy beautiful and contemporary location drawings by artists around the world who draw the cities where they live and travel.

50

Blank Manga Book: 120 Manga action pages, 7 panel layout, White Paper, Draw and create your own Manga scenes (White cover)

Manga Drawing Books

4.2

51

Graffiti and Street Art

Anna Waclawek

4.2

Whether adored or abhorred, graffiti and street art provoke passionate debate. This is the first comprehensive popular survey of the art movement around the world. Organized thematically, it explores the origins of the movement and its evolution, the relationship between street art and the urban environment, its interactions with (or rejection of) the market and the world of commercial galleries,

52

Dondi White: Style Master General: The

Andrew Witten, Michael White

4.2

"In the beginning, there was the Word. On the streets and in the yards, the word was the Name. And the name was everything. It was persona and place, form and content, truth and fiction. The name was an act of self-invention, a pure visual manifestation, through alter ego, alias, and nom de plume, of personal expressions in the public realm. The name was a line and the line begat the Mark. Then, i

53

Existencilism

Banksy

4.2

The second, eagerly awaited Banksy collection. Same handy pocket size as Banging Your Head...now in full, glorious color. As ever, the stencils and art are complemented with various commentary, thoughts and context from the man himself, together with various reviews and emails. Quite superb.

54

Blank Comic Book Notebook: Create Your Own Story, Comics & Graphic Novels

The Whodunit Creative Design

4.2

Create Your Own Comic Book Today! Art Book and Sketchbook for Kids!
Kids love making their own cartoons and comics. This Blank Comic Book Notebook will give them plenty of room to tell their stories. Filled with comic book templates of various styles, with over 100 pages, this book will keep budding artists busy for hours. Sized a bit larger than a normal comic book at 8.5" x 11" there's more room

55

Where's Banksy?: Banksy's Greatest Works in Context

Xavier Tapies

4.2

Wheres Banksy? fully captures the drama of this illustrious artist's exploits on the world stage with clever chronologically-arranged maps. The only survey that looks at Banksy's entire street art career, from his earliest works in 2002 through Dismaland and to the present, the book details his most significant works one piece at a time, with photos and in-depth analysis of the history of each wor

56

Getting Up: Subway Graffiti in New York

Craig Castleman

4.2

"Getting Up" is the term used by graffiti "artists" to describe their success in making their mark on the New York subway system. Through candid interviews, New Yorker Craig Castleman documents the inside story of the lives and activities of these young graffitists.

57

Stencil Graffiti

Tristan Manco

4.2

The medieval world was a distinctive one, rich in change and diversity. This book brings together these disparate worlds to show one medieval world, stretching from Connacht to Constantinople and from Tynemouth to Timbuktu. This set of reconstructions presents the reader with the future of the medieval past, offering appraisals of the evidence and modern historical writing. Articles are thematical

58

This Is Modern Art: A Play

Kevin Coval

4.2

A glimpse into the lives of anonymous graffiti artists that asks us to question the true purpose of art.

Graffiti crews are willing to risk anything for their art. Called vandals, criminals, even creative terrorists, graffiti artists set out to make their voices heard and alter the way people view the world. But when one crew finishes the biggest graffiti bomb of their careers, the consequences get

59

Stickerbomb Skateboard: 150 Classic Skateboard Stickers

Studio Rarekwai (SRK)

4.2

A cool selection of classic skateboard stickers from five key skateboard brands.

This new book of fully peelable stickers, compiled by the Stickerbomb team, brings together the best skateboard stickers – both classic and new – from the 1970s to today.

From Jim Philip's legendary drawings for Santa Cruz, to the innovative, graphic–led creations from Girl and Alien Workshop, Stickerbomb Skate illustra

60

Banging Your Head Against a Brick Wall

Banksy

4.2

The first incendiary collection of stencils and graffiti from Banksy, presented and bound in a handy pocket sized high quality format. Rarely have art and politics been put to such fine, and overtly public, use. Mix the irony and juxtaposition of John Yates with the beauty of the finest aerosol art, and you'll have some idea of how good this really is. The reproductions are interspersed with an ex

61

Walls Notebook

Sherwood Forlee

4.2

These textured urban walls provide an interesting backdrop for notes, musings, drawings, doodles, and more. Indulge your inner graffiti artist - without the risk of jail time!

62

Banksy: The Man Behind the Wall

Will Ellsworth-Jones

4.2

While hiding from the limelight, Banksy has made himself into one of the world's best-known living artists. His pieces have fetched millions of dollars at prestigious auction houses. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his film Exit Through the Gift Shop. Once viewed as vandalism, his work is now venerated; fans have gone so far as to dismantle the walls that he has painted on for collection

63

Streetopia

Rebecca Solnit

4.2

After San Francisco's new mayor announced imminent plans to "clean up" downtown with a new corporate "dot com corridor" and arts district--featuring the new headquarters of Twitter and Burning Man--curators Erick Lyle, Chris Johanson and Kal Spelletich brought over 100 artists and activists together with residents fearing displacement to consider utopian aspirations and plot alternative futures fo

64

Urban Art Legends

KET

4.2

Renowned graffiti artist KET looks at 38 of the most influential urban artists from around the world

From being spray-painted onto walls and trains, to enjoying acclaim in galleries and museums, the graffiti movement has changed. Far from being viewed as mindless vandalism, graffiti, or urban street art, has become prized as a highly valued and socially relevant art form. Renowned graffiti artist K

65

Tales of the San Francisco Cacophony Society

John Law

4.2

A template for pranksters, artists, adventurers and anyone interested in rampant creativity, for years to come. Tales Of The San Francisco Cacophony Society tells the history of the most influential underground cabal that you have never heard of. Rising from the ashes of the mysterious and legendary Suicide Club, The Cacophony Society, at its zenith, hosted chapters in over a dozen major cities, a

66

This is Los Angeles

Estevan Oriol

4.2

67

Graffiti Lives: Beyond the Tag in New York's Urban Underground

Gregory J. Snyder

4.2

On the sides of buildings, on bridges, billboards, mailboxes, and street signs, and especially in the subway and train tunnels, graffiti covers much of New York City. Love it or hate it, graffiti, from the humble tag to the intricate piece (short for masterpiece), is an undeniable part of the cityscape.
In Graffiti Lives, Gregory J. Snyder offers a fascinating and rare look into this world of conte

68

Million Dollar Vandal

Aka Projects

4.2

Million Dollar Vandal : The story of one of New York's most reviled citizens: a graffiti writer named Robert Morrissey, best known as DESA, the moniker that brought him the hate. There were writers who did more graffiti, but no one matched Desa when it came to bad luck: he was in the midst of a hard-luck life when he became the whipping boy of New York's law enforcement whenever it needed to make

69

The Walls Have the Floor: Mural Journal, May '68

Julien Besançon

4.2

The graffiti of the French student and worker uprising of May 1968, capturing participatory politics in action.

Graffiti itself became a form of freedom.
--Julien Besan�on, The Walls Have the Floor

Fifty years ago, in 1968, barricades were erected in the streets of Paris for the first time since the Paris Commune of nearly one hundred years before. The events of May 1968 began with student protests a

70

Sidewalk Canvas: Chalk Pavement Art at Your Feet

Julie Kirk-Purcell

4.1

In cities and towns throughout the world you may see an area of sidewalk decorated with chalk or pastels. This art form originated in Italy during the 16th century, with vagabond artists who painted religious pictures directly on the paved public squares, using chalk and charcoal. Thanks to the International Street Painting Festival in Grazie di Curtatone in Northern Italy, the art form has been r

71

Tag Town

Martha Cooper, Tobias Barenthin Lindblad

4.1

Tags are designed street names, written in the public domain. They are one of the most despised phenomena since long hair on men. They have burrowed their way into the big cities of the world, working both to annoy and tell stories. Now, they tell the tale of how the biggest and most vital artistic trend of the late 20th century origi- nated among children and youths. Martha Cooper documented New

72

The Notebooks

Jean-Michel Basquiat

4.1

Brooklyn-born Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-88) was one of the most important artists of the 1980s. A key figure in the New York art scene, he inventively explored the interplay between words and images throughout his career, first as a member of SAMO, a graffiti group active on the Lower East Side in the late 1970s, and then as a painter acclaimed for his unmistakable Neoexpressionist style. From 19

73

Graffiti Planet: The Best Graffiti from Around the World

KET

4.1

Graffiti Planet is a collection of work from various artists that celebrates the endless creativity of the medium, and of the artists themselves.

Graffiti or 'street art' has become a significant art form in the last twenty years and, ever controversial, has transformed urban landscapes all over the world.

Featuring 100 glossy photos of groundbreaking graffiti and including an introduction from Ket,

74

How To Make Mandala Coloring Pictures?

Mike Chiang

4.1

75

Mascots & Mugs: The Characters and Cartoons of Subway Graffiti

David "Chino" Villorente

4.1

In the graffiti world it's the name that brings the fame, but what about the figural components of this urban typography? Some of the most iconic pieces in the history of graffiti have earned their place in the street art pantheon with the help of masterfully rendered figures that lend additional presence to these works. Mascots & Mugs, brought to you by the publisher of the best-selling sneaker e

76

Broken Windows: Graffiti NYC

James T. Murray, Karla L. Murray

4.1

This title gives voice to an art movement which is often misunderstood. In New York in the 1980s, graffiti moved from the subway trains to large walls, offering an opportunity for greater depth and complexity. Here, the artists themselves discuss this radical means of communication.

77

Protest Stencil Toolkit: Revised edition

Patrick Thomas

4.1

Create unique protest graphics with the Protest Stencil Toolkit, revised and updated for modern-day activists.

Combine the 42 robust stencils, and the typeface, to create slogans and visual messages.

Includes symbols from a variety of important protest movements.

78

Tagged

Mara Purnhagen

4.1

Can Kate Morgan stand up for herself—without being labeled a snitch?

Kate is just as confused as her best friend, Lan, when she arrives at Cleary High to find the building's been "tagged" with a life-size graffiti mural. Could the culprit be one of their friends or classmates? And is the kind-of-amazing creation really vandalism, or a work of art? She's tempted to stay out of it—mostly because, as

79

Compliments of Chicagohoodz: Chicago Street Gang Art & Culture

James "Jinx" O'Connor

4.1

80

How to Draw Graffiti Style

Kevin Fitzpatrick

4.1

The books in the How to Draw series are especially designed for artists of all levels, beginner to advanced, who are looking to hone their skills in a specific style of artwork. The books are 6.5in x 8in, hardcover with an internal spiral binding so they lay open flat as readers follow the steps on their own canvas or paper. The books are beautifully illustrated and contain hundreds of colorful pi

81

Graffiti Coloring Book

Uzi Wufc

4.1

In The Graffiti Coloring Book, sixty of Scandinavia's best graffiti writers have provided the outlines. You choose the colors. The Graffiti Coloring Book is as fun for children as adults. Get out your crayons and walk the path of the kings of graffiti.

82

Anyone Can Learn Watercolor Journaling - Yes, You!: Easy Techniques for Drawing and Painting

Jolyn Parker

4.1

Start Watercolor Journaling Today!
The simple technique presented in this fun-to-read book will have you drawing and painting quickly. No need to wait until you’ve had hours of training or years of practice to enjoy watercolor journaling. In this book you will learn how to:
Recapture the natural joy of art experienced in early childhood
Create colorful travel journals that will become treasured so

83

Keith Haring

Elisabeth Sussman, Keith Haring, Whitney Museum of American Art

4.1

In 1980, mysterious chalk drawings of simple outline figures began appearing on unused advertising space in New York City subway stations. Combining the appeal of Disney cartoons with the sophisticated primitivism of such artists as Jean Dubuffet, these underground artworks were bold, humorous, accessible, subversive - and the work of one man - Keith Haring. Over the next decade, Haring went on to

84

The Graffiti Subculture: Youth, Masculinity and Identity in London and New York

Nancy Macdonald

4.1

This book is the most extensive contribution to our understanding of the graffiti subculture to date. Using insights from ethnographic research conducted in London and New York, this book explores the varying ways young men use graffiti to construct masculinity, claim power, and establish independence from the institutions which define, and often limit, them as young people. Forging a link between

85

All City Writers: The Graffiti Diaspora

Andrea Caputo

4.1

The title, All City Writers, describes a vast research on the Writing movement, particularly focusing on the process of its exportation from New York to all of Europe during the 80s. A first part of the research analyzes how graffiti in media such as movies, videos, magazines, and books from New York influenced the first European scene, which only took a few years to build up its own connections a

86

Street World: Urban Art and Culture from Five Continents

Roger Gastman, Caleb Neelon, Anthony Smyrski

4.1

Divided into more than 50 topics and illustrated with more than 500 photographs, this book celebrates the street as a stage for the visual creativity of a generation in cities around the world.

87

Stop Telling Women to Smile: Stories of Street Harassment and How We're Taking Back Our Power

Tatyana Fazlalizadeh

4.1

The debut book from a celebrated artist on the urgent topic of street harassment

Every day, all over the world, women are catcalled and denigrated simply for walking down the street. Boys will be boys, women have been told for generations, ignore it, shrug it off, take it as a compliment. But the harassment has real consequences for women: in the fear it instills and the shame they are made to feel

88

Death and the Eternal Forever

Ron English

4.1

The latest work from one of America's most prolific and recognizable artists A highly-anticipated new collection of paintings by one of the most influential, prolific, and recognizable artists today, Death and the Eternal Forever explores the belief that all art is the futile attempt to cheat death, and death is the thing that gives all art meaning. This important look at the work of an artist wh

89

Into the Dangerous World

Julie Chibbaro, Jean-Marc Superville Sovak

4.1

*"This striking combination of story and illustration creates a powerful portrait of a budding artist." Publishers Weekly starred review

Raised on a Staten Island commune in the 1980s, Aurora has never attended a day of school, and has seen little of the outside world. What she knows best is drawing. To her, it’s like breathing; it’s how she makes sense of the world. When her father burns down the

90

Graffiti Japan

Remo Camerota

4.1

Japan has always been a breeding ground for innovative approaches to Western traditions; think cinema and baseball. Another example is graffiti, which covers the buildings and walls of Japan’s largest cities as well its rural areas. While graffiti in Japan shares many of the same characteristics with examples from other parts of the world, distinct cultural aspects of Japan, from Kanji to popular

91

Graffiti coloring book: Street art coloring books for adults

Color Closet

4.1

92

Planet Banksy: The man, his work and the movement he inspired

KET

4.1

Highlighting both the relevance of Banksy's street art and how his impact has continued to spread, Planet Banksy brings together some of the very best pieces of art from all corners of the world that have been inspired by Banksy, as well as featuring some of his own innovative, profound and controversial work.

Banksy is the world's foremost graffiti artist, his work adorning streets, walls and bri

93

Basquiat-Isms

Jean-Michel Basquiat

4.1

A collection of essential quotations and other writings from artist and icon Jean-Michel Basquiat

One of the most important artists of the late twentieth century, Jean-Michel Basquiat explored the interplay of words and images throughout his career as a celebrated painter with an instantly recognizable style. In his paintings, notebooks, and interviews, he showed himself to be a powerful and creati

94

The Birth of Grafitti

Jon Naar

4.0

The now global phenomenon of graffiti was first captured in Germany by a professional photographer, Jon Naar, in early 1973. The Faith of Graffiti, the first and most celebrated book about this controversial new art form, reproduced just over forty selections from the hundreds of photographs he took. Now more than one hundred thirty never-before-published pictures from that landmark body of work,

95

How to Escape: Magic, Madness, Beauty, and Cynicism

Crispin Sartwell

4.0

Philosopher, music critic, and syndicated columnist Crispin Sartwell has forged a distinctive and fiercely original identity over the years as a cultural commentator. In books about anarchism, art and politics, Native American and African American thought and culture, Eastern spirituality, and American transcendentalism, Sartwell has relentlessly insisted on an ethos rooted in unadorned honesty wi

96

The Girl and the Bomb

Jari Järvelä, Kristian London

4.0

Rust and Metro live life to the fullest in the small Finnish city of Kotka. The lovers work together by day and write graffiti by night, always staying one step ahead of the law. But their luck runs out after an ambush by rogue security guards causes Rust to fall to his death. Having literally left their marks all over the city, Metro cannot help but be reminded of Rust everywhere she goes, making

97

For Whom the Minivan Rolls (Aaron Tucker Mystery #1)

Jeffrey Cohen

4.0

Aaron Tucker isn't a detective. An aspiring screenwriter, freelance reporter, stay-at-home dad, and expert on consumer electronics, Aaron actually defies all traditional characteristics of a detective. He's 5'4," and weighs less than Robert B. Parker's leather jacket. And he doesn't have any investigative training. But he's funny, down-to-earth, lovable, and resourceful. He has good and loyal frie

98

JR: Can Art Change the World? (Revised and Expanded Edition)

JR

4.0

The most comprehensive monograph on the enigmatic French street artist - now updated to include brand-new work

Filled with stunning photography, this extraordinary monograph charts JR's widereaching trajectory and a range of collaborative projects executed across the globe. Created in close collaboration with the artist, it features chapters on each of JR's major bodies of work - from 'Expo2Rue,' w

99

The Art of Chalk: Techniques and Inspiration for Creating Art with Chalk

Tracy Lee Stum

4.0

Chalk, a ubiquitous and versatile implement made from limestone, is much more than a humble tool for jotting impermanent notes. With a wide range of uses in art and design, chalk is quickly becoming a favorite of artists around the world to create impressive works of art.

In The Art of Chalk, noted street painter Tracy Lee Stum takes an inspiring look at the many exciting creative applications for

100

Graffiti Planet 2: More of the Best Graffiti from Around the World

KET

4.0