Was it a phenomenon of the crumbling New York City of the 70’s? Was it an illegal hobby, part of a subculture developed by the coloured youth of the poorest neighbourhoods of the city? Was it a conscious artistic/ ideological expression with spatial applications or a brand new artistic movement to succeed pop art? Graffiti, from its very beginning was a puzzle to everybody, ranging from the public and the state, to experts. Some saw it as a threat to order while others, observing its rapid expansion, embraced it –or at least part of it.

In this essay, the classification of graffiti as art will not be attempted. Neither will it be treated as a form of introvert subculture with the sole goal of acquiring fame |or infamy| among its members. On the contrary, in this essay graffiti will be examined in relation to the city. The ambivalent relationship between graffiti and urban space, or how graffiti is influenced by but also influences its place and surroundings will be highlighted. Why Brazilian graffiti are different from their Greek counterparts? Why the meaning of graffiti is so different when moved from the wall or the train wagon to the canvas? Why beautiful murals in areas such as Metaxourgheio in Athens, eventually attract commercial activity? How does graffiti end up being a mere mouthpiece in the service of the aesthetics of power? Why are huge commercial billboards becoming targets of more and more writers? And what happened during the last days of the full-of-graffiti Berlin Wall?

In an attempt to answer these questions, this essay begins a journey in time and |urban| space from New York of the 70’s to contemporary Brazil, China and Greece, following the trail left by graffiti artists on the post-modern urban landscape.

A landscape that will no longer be gray.