As the 1970s wore on, graffiti evolved rapidly. One key agent of change was Michael Tracy, a.k.a. Tracy 168. Along with other writers, Tracy developed an approach to graffiti that became known as “wildstyle,” in which the tag grew into an oversize, interlocking block of letters that began to read more as visual imagery than as text. Wildstyle graffiti was produced by crews made up of multiple artists, who would steal into the MTA’s rail yards to work on the cars as they waited to be put into service.
Pictured: Michael Tracy, aka Tracy 168
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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