The apotheosis of graffiti in the 1980s was Charlie Ahearn’s feature film Wild Style, which mixed a hip-hop soundtrack with graffiti visuals, as well as appearances by Fab 5 Freddy, Lee Quiñones, Lady Pink, the Rock Steady Crew, the Cold Crush Brothers, Queen Lisa Lee of Zulu Nation and Grandmaster Flash. The movie was instrumental in making graffiti known around the globe, and became hugely influential on future hip-hop music videos.
Pictured: Wild Style mural by Zephyr, Revolt, Sharp, 1983; front: Doze, Frosty Freeze, Ken Swift; second row: Patti Astor, Fred Brathwaite, Lady Pink; back: Lil Crazy Legs, Revolt and Sharp
Graffiti art has become synonymous with the creativity and grit of New York between the ’60s and the Koch years, immortalized in films like Wild Style and Style Wars. We trace this form of expression from the 1940s to the 21st century.
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