Abstract

The Art of Defiance is an ethnographic portrait of how graffiti writers see their city and, in turn, how their city sees them. It explores how becoming a graffiti writer helps disenfranchised urban citizens negotiate their cultural identities, build their social capital, and gain a voice within an urban environment that would prefer they remain quiet, passive, and anonymous. In order to both demystify and complicate our understanding of the practice of graffiti writing, this book pushes past the narrative that links the origins of graffiti to criminal gangs and instead offers a detailed portrait of graffiti as a rich urban culture with its own rules and practices. To do so, it examines the cultural history of graffiti in Philadelphia from the early 1970s onward and explores what it is like to be a graffiti writer in the city today. Ultimately, Tyson Mitman aims to humanize graffiti writers and to show that what they do is not merely destructive or puerile, but, rather, adds something important to the urban experience that is a conscious and deliberate act on the part of its practitioners.
'Written with love for both the art of graffiti writing and for the streets of Philly, Tyson Mitman has written an inspiring urban ethnography that combines erudition with the grit of being a Philly writer himself. He captures the magic, beauty, politics, and energy of graffiti. In fact, this book gives you hope that popular culture can triumph over anything... even over 40,000 abandoned buildings and ignorant brutal cops. This book makes me miss Philly because it’s got WICKET STYLE!' - Philippe Bourgois, author of In Search of Respect: Selling Crack in El Barrio and Righteous Dopefiend
Tyson Mitman is a lecturer in sociology and criminology at York St. John University.