The Rules and Ethics of Graffiti
In graffiti, there are many unspoken rules that we in the community follow. One of the most important of those rules is the hierarchy of graffiti, a figurative “pecking order” for work done on walls. If you were to paint something like a tag on top of the wrong graffiti then you might have just unintentionally (or intentionally) disrespected another writer. So what is this hierarchy?
We begin at the bottom of the totem pole with tags. Hand-styles (Tags) can’t go over any other graffiti without causing issues and being seen as disrespectful.
Next on the list is hollow throwies or throwies in general. Now hollow throwies are not filled in, they only consist of the outline and thats it. These go above hand styles with no issues. However, filled-in throwies are allowed to cover hollow throwies and tags with no issues. If you placed a tag on a wall and another writer does a throwie on top of you, then thats fair game. If you really want the spot back then our next on the list is your go-to option.
Pieces can go over throwies of any kind with no issue. With that said, pieces come in three subcategories of their own, those being straight letters, pieces (subcategory), and wild styles. As for what pieces can go over what, pieces (subcategory can go over straight letters, and wild styles go over everything.
Now it should be noted that some graffiti artists simply don’t care about these rules, and thats becoming increasingly more common as the years pass on. That’s why this video from today was so shocking and great to see as it demonstrated that some new school writers still care about the ethics of graffiti. By following the ethics, you demonstrate to others that you are willing to give respect first. As a result, as you continue putting out work, people will be more receptive to give you respect. However, by going over people (especially while you’re still new), you end up losing respect by the wider graffiti community and people are more likely to retaliate against you even if you’ve never gone over them to begin with. This is because you’re seen as useless and toy, and toy’s are essentially a free spot on the wall. Just about anyone can go over a toy and no one will bat an eye. All that being said, be kind to people, we all love graffiti the same. While it’s easy to let egos run wild, as you spend more time in graffiti you learn that the ego isn’t as important as the great friends you could make along the way in graffiti. Show respect, especially to those who came before, and you’ll find respect is given to you practically effortlessly.
