How Graffiti Works: The Basics

Here's an introduction to graffiti and the social rules of such work:

When it comes to graffiti, there is a hierarchy. 

At the bottom is the hand style

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Then above that are hollow throw ups, then there are filled throw ups.    

On top of that there are straight letters, then pieces.

 

At the very top of the food chain are murals.

What this means is that whatever you put down, can not cover up something that is above it on the food chain.That is to say, if you want to put something down like a throw up hollow, it can only be put on top of hand styles. This obviously means that murals can be put on top of anything and handstyles are not put on anything. If you want to to put a mural or a piece down, you do not cover someone else’s piece or mural unless you cover the entire thing. Covering just part of a piece unless you want to get into an altercation with the artist’s piece.

It is all based off of respect. That is basically the biggest rule of the game. Do not tag places of worship, cemeteries, or personal belongings (houses, mail boxes, fences). If there is a piece that is in memory of or by a person who has died, do not cover that piece. That doesn’t even need to be explained. Don’t use a graffiti legends name, this makes you look ignorant and disrespectful. Do not continue the work of another artist without their permission. That is their piece, not yours, do not incorporate their work into your own. If there is a piece that has been there for a long time (20+ years) it is now a part of that place, it’s part of that culture. Do not cover the culture of a place, ever. Respect and following the hierarchy of work are the basics as to how graffiti works. There’s a lot more that goes into it, but more on that later.