As written on suite101

http://outsider-art.suite101.com/article.cfm/fighting_graffiti

Background of Graffiti

Graffiti is shapes, words, symbols, pictures painted on the sides of anything seen to the public eye including buildings, subways, bridges and other surfaces. Graffiti comes from the Greek word graphein, meaning “to write” and found its name in the 1960s. It was originally done by street gangs to mark territory, and political activists.

In The Beginning

In Philadelphia, PA, two artists involved in the roots of a bombing wrote their names throughout the city, which gained the Press’s attention. Their tag names were CORNBREAD and COOL EARL. Still today, it is unsure if New York heard of this or if they happened conscientiously at the same time.

Shortly after, Manhattan discovered they had artists of their own. TAKI 183 was the first to be recognized by The New York Times. However, other early artists noted were FRANK 207, JOE 136, and JULIO 204.

The subway system became a line of communication between these artists, as they became conscious of each others' efforts, and this began the competition. They would ride the trains and hit as many cars as possible. They soon discovered that it would be the easiest in a train yard for they would not get caught as easily and they could hit as many trains as possible. This is the method of bombing.

In 1975 bombing went to a whole new form called whole cars, which displayed whole murals on train or subway cars. At this time, the throw up (a form of bubble letter with no color on the inside) also became a popular form of tagging.