The History of American Graffiti by Roger Gastman and Caleb Neelon.

Been waiting for this book for a while now, its about to drop same time as the worlds biggest show on graffiti ever, at the Moca in California in April 2011.

Lots of great info on this book after the jump

“‘Wild Style’ graffiti may be the most influential art movement since
pop art. Roger Gastman and Caleb Neelon have written the definitive
history of the origins and the heritage of the graffiti styles that
emerged in Philadelphia, New York, and Los Angeles in the early 1970s
and inspired young artists around the world.”
• Jeffrey Deitch, director, Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art

“Graffiti is a much-maligned and misunderstood social movement, which
I am proud to be a part of. This book offers the definitive
perspective on graffiti – finally, we have a historical textbook for
the most colorful art form modern society has known.”
— David Arquette, actor

THE HISTORY OF AMERICAN GRAFFITI
By Roger Gastman & Caleb Neelon
Foreword by TAKI 183
Release Date: April 5, 2011
THE HISTORY OF AMERICAN GRAFFITI (Harper Design; April 2011) is the
definitive story behind the most explosive and influential art form of
the last one hundred years. Unprecedented in scope, the book traces
the evolution of the movement from its early freight train days to its
big-city boom on the streets of New York City and Philadelphia to its
modern-day influences.
(more)
Featuring interviews with more than five hundred key artists and
exclusive behind-the-scenes stories gleaned from over four-years’
worth of interviews, THE HISTORY OF AMERICAN GRAFFITI unveils the
entire scope of American graffiti history, from forgotten street
legends to the present-day stars: from TAKI 183 to IZ THE WIZ to SANE
AND SMITH; from Barry “TWIST” McGee to REVOK; and historical figures,
including for the first time, the story behind the WWII legend KILROY
WAS HERE. Authors Roger Gastman and Caleb Neelon provide an insider’s
perspective on the most popular trends and styles that have dominated
the scene for the last fifty years, revealing the story behind the
culture that spawned today’s street artists. THE HISTORY OF AMERICAN
GRAFFITI is packed with over one thousand photographs—the majority of
which have never before been seen—from more than two hundred
photographers, most of whom also created the artwork. The authors have
spent the better part of the last four years interviewing key figures
in the graffiti world throughout America—from the bedrock cities of
New York City, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles to more than twenty
metropolitan hotspots, including Chicago, Boston, Miami, New Orleans,
San Diego, and Seattle. Approximately 90 percent of the art in this
book has never been published, and was sourced directly from the
artists who lived the scene, giving the book a raw street vibe as
authentic as the history it documents. The foreword is by legendary
graffiti artist, TAKI 183. Considered one of the founding fathers of
the graffiti arts movement, TAKI 183 has never before contributed
writing to any book or media article on the subject. 2011 marks the
fortieth anniversary of the 1971 New York Times article written on
TAKI 183, “TAKI 183 Spawns Pen Pals,” that ignited the movement in New
York City and cast TAKI 183 as the world’s first famous graffiti
artist.
Despite many small niche titles catering to graffiti’s practitioners,
there has never been a comprehensive and accessible book that details
the full history—from the 1800s to the present day—of American
graffiti. THE HISTORY OF AMERICAN GRAFFITI is unlike anything ever
published before on the subject. It is the category game-changer and
the ultimate word on the medium as told from the artists who created
it.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
Roger Gastman started writing graffiti as a teenager in Bethesda,
Maryland, and was able to parlay his love for it into a legitimate
career, becoming a trusted mediator between the underground art scenes
and mainstream culture. A consulting producer on Banksy’s
Oscar-nominated Exit Through the Gift Shop, Gastman is co-curating
MoCA’s Art In the Streets exhibition in April 2011, alongside Jeffrey
Deitch and Aaron Rose. He founded and published two respected
pop-culture magazines—While You Were Sleeping and Swindle
(co-publisher)—as well as more than a dozen highly sought-after art
books. He is the founder and creative director of R. Rock Enterprises,
a multi-platform media agency that specializes in print, art, design,
marketing, and brand development, and has nurtured the careers of
internationally recognized artists. Gastman is producing two
independent documentary films, and speaks at universities and major
museums across the country. Gastman currently lives in Los Angeles,
CA.

Caleb Neelon is a writer, educator, and prolific graffiti artist who
has painted the streets of over twenty countries on five continents.
His work has been exhibited in galleries and museums worldwide. Neelon
is the co-author of Street World, Graffiti Brasil, and Caleb Neelon’s
Book of Awesome, and he has collaborated on nearly a dozen other
books. In the past five years, Caleb’s writing has frequently appeared
in Print, Juxtapoz, and Swindle, where he was editor-at-large. Caleb
speaks regularly at universities, international conferences, and
festivals. He lives in Cambridge, MA.
(more)
THE HISTORY OF AMERICAN GRAFFITI
By Roger Gastman & Caleb Neelon
Harper Design
April 5, 2011
ISBN: 9780061698781/$40.00

PRE-ORDER LINK:
http://www.amazon.com/History-American-Graffiti-Roger-Gastman/dp/0061698784