Grafitt on a freight train written by Orac of Russellville, KY

To the average Joe or Jane, graffiti is ugly and defaces property.

To a graffiti writer, such as Orac, he is only enhancing.

“I’m making something more interesting, I’m not defacing” he said.

Orac is not a big city graffiti writer, he lives in Russellville but his style looks big city.

In most small towns, graffiti on a wall or overpass is usually, “James Loves Betty,” “Class of 2003,” “AC/DC Rocks,” or “Trust Jesus.”

“I think nothing of that stuff, just toyish stuff. Those writers aren’t trying to have a style,” Orac critiqued.

His graffiti style (usually his name) is more balloony and colorful. “I try to be as original as possible — try not to take off of others, which is hard because nothing is really original. I’ll first start off drawing a plain letter on paper and I’ll think of how to make it different. Then I’ll write it on a wall or freight.”

Orac started his graffiti writing 2 1/2 years ago. A friend Koran (also called himself Quran), who thought it would be cool to do, did some research on the ‘net and asked Orac if he would like to be involved. “A lot [of writers] have mentors but there are none here,” Orac said. “We had to figure out things by ourselves.”

“I started on trains and walls doing tags [a signature — looks more like handwriting] and throw-ups [a sketchy design that is done very quickly] for bombing on the streets. I did them more for quantity than quality — just to get my name out there — and to learn can control.”

Can control was hard at first. “It got pretty drippy,” Orac admitted, “but with experience your pieces will get cleaner.”

He started off with the name Zen but later changed because he learned of another writer by that handle. He chose Orac because, so far, he hasn’t found anyone else with that alias.

Orac mostly writes his name — at times adds a cartoon character of his own design. “I don’t go for complexity. I like doing readable, simple letters so someone can read it.”

Believe it or not, there is etiquette with graffiti writing: A writer would never “burn” (or paint) a small business (because it might hurt the owners to draw customers) but would think nothing twice of a corporation (but those usually get cleaned up quickly). In big cities, rooftops, white walls, and bridges are the writers’ pads. Subways aren’t decorated as they used to be. On a freight, a writer should not cover any numbers, letters, or government notices. “Workers don’t mind graffiti as much then,” Orac said.

The ultimate disrespect is going over someone else’s piece — this includes getting too close to one. Writers photograph their pieces and they only want what they’ve done in the shot (called flicks).

In a small town, there aren’t many spots for a writer. Orac’s most satisfying pieces are on freights. “They are going off somewhere. At train crossings, people all over will see my name. I’d like for both average citizens and graffiti writers to be pleased with my stuff but I do it to mostly please writers.”

Asking the average citizen to be excited over his writing might be asking too much. Most people will see vandalism rather than art. That is a misconception Orac wants to clear up. “When I think of vandalism, I think of people breaking windows, destroying things. Graffiti is more about making art, making a name for yourself.”

The Encyclopaedia Britannica says graffiti is as old as mankind and has been studied by paleographers and archaeologists in Greece and Egypt as way to study the evoultion of language. “…they are important to the linguist because the language of graffiti is closer to the spoken language of the period and the place than usual written language; the linguist also learns about other languages” from the “tourists” who visit the region and leave their mark.

The most famous graffito, according to Britannica, is a caricature of Christ on a cross that was found on the walls of the Domus Gelotiana on the Palatine in Rome in 1857 but another one might come to mind to modern readers: “Kilroy was here.”

Back during World War II the phrase would appear “from the sewers of Paris to the Statue of Liberty’s torch to the private restroom used by Truman, Stalin, and Churchill during the Potsdam conference,” according to askyahoo.com. Kilroy is believed to be James J.Kilroy, a shipyard inspector who would scrawl “Kilroy was here” after completing an inspection of a ship or plane.

Later the long-nosed cartoon character peeking over a wall appeared with the phrase. The fellow is believed to be originally a British character named Mr. Chad.

“‘KILROY WAS HERE’ was the spark and ‘Taki 183’ [a writer] was the fire,” a New York graffiti writer named Caine One wrote on www.bronxmall.com. “Since that time, graffiti has developed beyond a doubt into an art in itself. An offshot of graphic arts compounded with modern art of the ’60’s’ known as psycodelic art.

“At first, graffiti was unpopular because of the crude masterpieces on the sides of subways which people flatly called ‘scribble.’ As months passed the public noticed a change in the type of work produced by these writers. It actually started to look beautiful! Multi-colored advertisements of names swept the gloomy subway stations and filled them with warmth. This was the beginning of the ‘Golden Age of graffiti’ as graffiti artists called it. The artists also formed groups among themselves so that competition would be organized.”

Caine One estimates that 10,000 writers existed and admits that writing was getting out of hand in 1973. Murals would cover cars, doors, windows, and even the front of trains. The New York Transit Authority cracked down on writing. Caine One said the Golden Age of graffiti died in April, 1974 and blames the city of New York for the decline of good quality graffiti. “Most of them [the writers] had potential but since being from low class families they couldn’t afford to send kids to art classes. The heartless transit crackdown killed the last hopes and chances these kids had.”

Tracy168 shares a similar opinion with Caine One about the Golden Age of Graffiti. “The best year for graffiti was 1973,” he wrote on www.bronxwall.com. “Styles were coming out. We got into this thing with colors. First it was two colors, then three colors, then four. What makes me a powerful artist is that my paintings are alive, strong, and very bright. The color combos make it. Balance: each color as strong as it is enhances the color beside it, going back and forth. Giving style and balance and movement, that is what makes a good artist.”

Graffiti is not done on a whim or randomly. Pieces are well thought out. Orac describes writing as a second job. “It takes a lot of research,” he said.

For one, Orac has to scout the area he wishes to burn, make sure everything is cool. If he wants to do a freight he watches a train yard for days to know when the workers won’t be there, which is usually at night and can be dangerous. “I’ve been on a train when it started moving. I just jumped off,” Orac gave as his most dangerous experience yet at a train yard.

Orac isn’t alone in his writing. Quran has moved away but two others have taken up the spray can: Warhol (also calls himself Teltax) and Idid but Orac seems to be the most involved. Explaining the appeal of writing is tough for Orac. “It’s addictive once you’ve started. I still want to paint even when through.” He describes writing as fun, feeling free, and improvisational. His dream project is to write a whole train car to impress other writers.

Which brings up the question, if other writers, say in New York, saw it how would Orac know? “There are websites for graffiti writers,” Orac answered. If writers see a piece they like, they can go to the web and look it up. Some writers even trade flicks of their pieces, like baseball cards of long ago.

So far, no one has asked for any of Orac’s flicks but his name isn’t as prominent as others. “I’ve only done 120 freights, others have done 10,000.”

The art of graffiti is changing as well. Writers are doing phrases (such as “Tax the Rich” or “We Can Live Our Own Lives” as seen in Nashville) or they are targeting billboards, changing the message (as Billboard Liberation Front endorses – www.billboardliberation.com ).

“I’d like to do a billboard,” Orac admits. One Bowling Green, KY writer writes cryptically, with mostly blue spray paint (e.g. a six-pointed star with the letter M in the center — surrounding the star are tridents, the letter G, a D , and upside-down shepherd crosses — which Orac calls “Gang Graffiti.”)

Orac has advice for those wanting to learn graffiti writing: “Start on walls. Use your head, don’t do it in the middle of the day but when no one is around. Learn can control — the more you paint the better you get.”

Another lesson is to learn that not everyone will appreciate your art. Efforts will be made to cover over what you’ve done. Orac shrugged his shoulders and said, “That’s just part of the game.”

reprint from December 2002 Quake

Mark Griffin (http://www.myspace.com/quakezine) is the publisher of Quake, President of the Logan County Arts Council and a photographer, writer and historian who lives in Russellville.