Concept · 4 steps · Cultural frame

Where Graffiti Comes From

The full climb — from a hand pressed to a cave wall forty thousand years ago, all the way to a self-shredding painting at a posh auction. Same human urge, the whole way. Four short steps, each with its own toy to play with.

1 Where it comes fromTap through a wall and watch the same mark surface across forty thousand years. 2 How to do itDrag a timeline through 1970s New York, hip-hop, and the rise of wildstyle. 3 Where it gets trickyWeigh real cases on a dial: selling out, or breaking through? 4 Out in the wildTrace Basquiat, Haring and Banksy from the street to the gallery.

← This concept rests on

When Does Graffiti Become Art?

→ It unlocks

The Language of Graffiti