Painting without permission

Rahn (art education, U. of Lethbridge, Canada), a converted skeptic of graffiti as art, begins with a definition and summary of the structure of traditional hip-hop graffiti culture based on research centered on subculture websites, magazines, and books and beginning with traditional New York hip-hop graffiti culture as the conceptual framework. Interviews with graffiti artists of different races, classes, and genders comprise the second section. In the third, the social activities of the graffiti community are explored. Issues addressed in the last two chapters are graffiti as performance in public spaces and pedagogical issues. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.