CHASING A GHOST: STREET ART PORTRAITURE AND THE FUTURE OF GRAFFITI; A PROFILE OF THE ARTIST AKSE-P19

I will give you an extremely brief colloquial history of the street art world, one shrouded in mystery and yet one that bares itself to the world, tagging any available space that used to be in back alleyways, under flyovers, disused or derelict buildings, places that were away from prying eyes (or the local authorities) to assert a form of dominance over an area or district until during the late 1970s and into the 1980s in New York, to quote:

“In New York, an artistic revolution was taking place. Mysterious names like TAKI 183 and STAYHIGH 149 were being scrawled on walls all over the city. Then Phase 2, Seen and many more began to bomb the New York City subway cars. The trains were emblazoned with a new art form, spraypainted “˜window downs,’ “˜top to bottoms,’ “˜whole cars,’ and eventually “˜wildstyle.'”