Spraycan Art

Spraycan Art is the first book that documented the initial stages of the worldwide spread of New York City Subway graffiti style and subculture. Authored by Henry Chalfant and James Prigoff and published by Thames & Hudson on September 1, 1987.^[1]

Spraycan Art

Authors	Henry Chalfant James Prigoff
Language	English
Subject	Graffiti
Genre	Art
Set in	New York City
Published	1987
Publisher	Thames & Hudson
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print
Pages	96
ISBN	978-0500274699

The photographs are primarily of walls rather than subway cars, and features the work of Mode 2 and The Chrome Angelz, 3D (Robert Del Naja), Goldie, Bando, Futura, Kaves, Lee, Chico, Tracy 168, Buda, Shame, Blade, Seen, Stash, Reas (aka Todd James), Espo (Stephen Powers) and many others.

Production

Spraycan Art is authored by Henry Chalfant and James Prigoff. It follows the release of Subway Art (1984) by Chalfant and Martha Cooper. The book contains over 200 photos of graffiti art from major cities such as Chicago, Los Angeles, Barcelona, London, Vienna, etc. It also included some interviews.^[2]

Unlike the proceeding book which only focussed on New-York graffitis where they originated, it also covers its impact and progression in other cities in the US and Europe.^[3]

Reception

The book sold over 100 000 copies, and was the most stolen book in London the year of its release.^[2]