Bomb It!: The Story of Graffiti Art

Follow the odyssey of graffiti art from its beginnings in 1960s NYC to the explosion of tags and "bombed" subway trains of the 1970s, and from the rise of hip-hop and street culture to its dissemination across the globe. Bomb It! tells graffiti's story through the eyes of a photographer whose lens captured the graffiti scene from 1960s New York City through to the present day. It follows the history of graffiti from an activity condemned by authorities as criminal in nature to its emergence as an art form celebrated by museumgoers and gallery owners.

This exciting volume takes readers to the dark subway tunnels and train cars where graffiti flourished as an underground art. It follows the birth of rap, breakdancing, and hip-hop culture in the 1980s and how these urban art forms grew out of the graffiti movement. The story chronicles artist Jean-Michel Basquiat's rise and fall, the fated romance between West Coast artists Margaret Kilgallen and Barry McGee, and the commercial 1990s, with Futura and other graffiti artists working for record and fashion labels.

At the turn of the millennium graffiti culture had spread all over the world, from Invader and Blek le Rat on the streets of Paris to OSGEMEOS painting skyscrapers in São Paulo. The book explores the tension between the old-guard graffiti artists who stuck to the streets, and those who found successful commercial careers. Graffiti will be with us always, with the power to challenge the status quo and question authority--and now its story can be told in a remarkable graphic format that will appeal to both aficionados and those just learning about this incredible art form.

Balthazar Pagani is the founder of WeAreBeside, based in Milan. He produced the Graphic Lives series of graphic novels and is the author of How to Draw a Graphic Novel.