The Faith of Graffiti

The original edition of this pioneering work has long been a scarce and much sought-after item in the second-hand book trade, a treasure for collectors and for today's graffiti artists and enthusiasts. It is therefore wonderful to see it once again made readily and widely available.Mailer's compelling text remains unchanged, but, while those familiar with "The Faith" will recognize many old graffiti favorites, it is a joy to find that this edition includes a good number of additional images, while Naar himself notes his satisfaction that the photographs - now mostly uncropped - have been allowed to serve his original intent of showing the spirit of that time and place: mid-70s New York city.ItBooks imprint of Harper Collins are to be congratulated on the excellent design and the very high quality of the photo-reproduction & printing. It all does justice to a seminal work celebrating the life and inventiveness of those many street "taggers", and it is fitting that the cover displays, as Naar had originally intended it should, a photograph of a group of these kids of 30+ years ago. This work is a true document of its time and place. Go buy a copy now!

Awesome. A must-have for any fan of graffiti or art in general.

A wonderful time capsule, a must have book for anyone serious about graffiti or graffiti art.

The Faith of Graffiti deservedly remains an icon and reference in the documentation and vindication of graffiti, and the urban cultures it represents. Taking the form of a photo-essay with images taken by John Naar in 12 days between December 1972, and January 1973, with a text by Norman Mailer, it saw the light first in 1974 gaining cult status. A much expected reprint with a few additional images, was finally offered in 2009.The volume operates as a sample case study documenting relatively early graffiti manifestations, although some of those involved were already talking of a dead scene at the time. While quite innovative in formalizing the work, what Naar and Mailer documented referred to a cultural form that with its shifts and transformations was already quite well developed.These early years present a nice raw sense of graffiti in the city, and Naar's images offer an stimulating document. However Mailer's essay feels not only a bit disconnected, maybe even dated, but other than for the congratulatory hyperbole of graffiti it feels in a manner that it barely scratches the surface. The New/Gonzo Journalism employed by Mailer uses an openly personal and subjective approach that more often instead of feeling that it aims to offer the close and critical account of an experience, ends putting him egotistically at the center of the narrative.However it is true that Mailer makes a strong case for the recognition and importance of graffiti, and in that context the essay has often been idealized to extremes. Unfortunately what he often does throughout the analysis is to put it superficially, and in my opinion unnecessarily, in parallel to the annals of high art, from renaissance masters to what was heralded at the time as contemporary masterworks displayed at the MoMA. This leaves the actual intellectual underpinning in the same muddled cultural waters of intellectual justification, social distinction. And Mailer is close to making a rather explicit defense of graffiti belonging to the same predicament. And most importantly, while he succeeded relatively in some circles with this glorification of graffiti, it leaves aside plenty if not all of the social intricacies, disputed spaces, and implications for visual communication that the emergence of graffiti in US cities represented.On a historic sense the book is a great touching point to discredit the hyperbolic history of hip-hop graffiti. In particular how it is often assigned unquestionable paternity of a whole rebirth of an urban expression. While hip-hop graffiti in NY and the influence it exercised is essential, it requires a far more rigorous and delicate account. If anything, "The Faith of Graffiti" shows the existence of a well developed graffiti presence well before hip-hop was consolidated placing it as a fundamental cultural presence from where hip-hop and other expressions emerged. While urban graffiti in US cities had much to change into formalized expressions, here it shows in early 1973 a rather mature cultural form, which was rather self-sufficient from an also emerging hip-hop scene that would take still a few years to provide its early milestones.Ultimately, and taking into account the 35 years passing between editions, it would have been exciting to have been offered something beyond a few extra pictures and an afterword. An adequate essay putting the work in context would have been welcome. And probably more important the geolocation of some of the images, and a critical take on how those spots-neighborhoods, and taggers, have changed over time would have been tremendously stimulating. Of course, this would have made it take an expanded analytical character not present in the original. But with so much time since the Faith of Graffiti made its mark it seems like a somewhat missed opportunity.

Classic Graff Book... A must for anyone collection

The Norman Mailer's text is great! And probably is the first one of this kind. At the beginning of graffiti arts.And pictures of Naar very movingMarco

Essential study of NYC culture.

This is one of a dozen books I have read in the past few years that unsuccessfully capture the nostalgia of a period thats been done to death and unfortunately the author offers nothing special or particularly insightful. Trust me theres many better books about old school graffiti.

I own the first edition printing of this book from the 70's. It was great to get a reprinting of this with a different cover.

Ho comprato questo libro senza sapere realmente cosa ci fosse al suo interno ed ho avuto una piacevole scoperta, il materiale fotografico è veramente di qualità oltre che inedito!Super consigliato a tutte le persone appassionate di graffiti old school

How did graffitti came to be, what were those names that covered every wall, every train, who were the children of the ghetto...And is not only interesting for what was happening but also about how was it seeing from the outside, how did stranded people look at it... Norman Mailer tries to understand it, he tries to get what is going on just when magic happened.

Habe das Buch "the birth of graffiti" von jon naar geschenkt bekommen. es ist erstklassig. weil mir die Bilder von jon naar sehr gefallen haben, habe ich mir noch das buch faith of Graffiti gekauft.eigentlich empfehlenswert, aber im vergleich zu birth of Graffiti nichts neues. es sind die selben Bilder, teilweise vergrößert zu nsehen. habe mir neues und anderes erhofft, aber der Autor hat dieselben Bilder für ein weites buch benutzt. schade. ging wieder zurück.empfehlenswert: history of amercan graffiti (400 seiten) und from the platform (hit graffiti von 79 bis 84).jon naar beschäftigt sich mit der Entstehung des Graffiti, d.h. es werden die entstehenden tags dargestellt, die Phase 1 sozusagen. sehr interessant, aber es sind keine bunten Züge zu sehen! es wird auf das massenphenomen eingegangen, dass in den 70ern jugendliche zum Stift oder der dose griffen und ihren Namen/tag verewigen. es war die zeit des tag bombing. das war noch weit vor der zeit, als bunt gemalt wurde und masterpieces entstanden. das war sicherlich erst gegen ende der siebziger Jahre.also wer wert auf die Entstehung legt und einen Einblick in die bronx der siebziger Jahre wünscht, ist mit faith of Graffiti oder birth of Graffiti sehr gut bedient. ich liebe the birth of Graffiti. gleich mal wieder die filme wild style und style wars herausholen und ansehen!format: faith of graffiti ist hochkant, größere Bilder als in birth of graffiti ((querformat)nur 4 Sterne, weil mir the birth of Graffiti mehr am herzen liegt und in faith of Graffiti die Bilder teils zu vergrößert dargestellt sind (teils gezoomt)

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