The history of graffiti on trains in Madrid
The strong, punk-originated scene of indigenous graffiti, which dominated Madrid during the 1980s, delayed the local adoption of train graffiti culture. It was only in the 1990s that a train-writing scene took shape, one that, despite being only of secondary importance in the international arena, has introduced extreme behaviours. [read more]
What does graffiti have to do with hip-hop?
About ten years after its inception around 1970, graffiti culture started to be linked with hip-hop, a concept coined by the media to facilitate the commercialisation of graffiti and other contemporary cultures. This artificial link is still seen in the media, and therefore also in the mainstream view of graffiti. [leer más]
Punk graffiti: stencils and tags since 1977
The writing of slogans on walls, both freehand and with the help of stencils, has been part of punk culture since its inception. Influential bands such as Crass made it a part of their identity. It is also common in punk culture to write bands’ names, or the name of the writer. This last custom gave way in several cities to graffiti scenes wholly independent from the New York culture. [read more]