Major art shifts and trends are often harbingers of social change and political thinking。The Impressionist painters of France had to show“down the street”in the 1800s because their art wash't really“art”in the sense of current art ideology。Most recently Pop Art and abstract artists of the 1950s and early 1960s struggled for acceptance in those years as art critics and buyers had to adjust their concept of what was considered important。Consider then another art form that was so totally different from mainstream art，since it had developed from scrawls on public walls to become highly controversial multicolor murals。Even more difficult for the art world to accept was the fact that this was the artistic creation of high school dropouts，not yet in their twenties。

In the celebrity-driven world of los Angeles，fame and recognitien seem to pervade nearly every aspect af society。So it isn't Surprising that when ward reached the West Coast that kids in New York were gaining notoriety by illegally painting their Flames an subway trains，the most restless and rebellious of L.A.'S youth quickly began to form their own movement。

L.A.'S writers soon developed their own style，some of which was inspired by Los Angeles chain gang writing，a tradition that can be traced back to the 1930s Now，more than twenty years after the start of the modern graffiti movement in Los Angeles，the city is home to a tremendously diverse graffiti Writing scene，Its writers game from all walks of life and distinguish themselves through regionally unique styles，which are now studied by graffiti writers worldwide。

In Grafffiti L.A.author and photographer Steve Grody provides a comprehensive and visual history of graffiti in Los Angeles as well as an in-depth examination of the myriad styles and techniques used by writers today Complementing the main text，interviews with L.A.'S mast prolific and infamous writers provide insight into the lives of these fugitive artists，Essential to the understanding of the development of the graffiti movement，this book will be an invaluable source to graffiti fans around the warld。

FORWORD

PREFACE

1 INTRODUCTION：EarLy Influences

2 LOS ANGELES STARTS UP

3 ECHNIQUE AND AESTHETICS

4 THE SOCIAL ELEMENT

5 ETHICAL ISSUES

6 ABOVEGROUND

GALLERY

AFTERWORD

CREWS AND ROLLCALLS

GLOSSARY

RESOURCES

PHOTOGRAPH CREDITS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTs

INDEX