A study depicting the stylistic diversity found in Parisian graffiti tags.
(Now on display at Fondation Cartier's Born In The Streets - Graffiti exhibition until November 29, 2009. For interactive version go to fondation.cartier.com)
| In Graffiti Taxonomy: Paris (2009), over 2,400 graffiti tags were photographed from April 24 to April 28, 2009 from each of Paris's 20 districts. |  |
| All photographs were archived, tagged and sorted by letter. |
Click to view all tags containing the coresponding letter: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
The ten most commonly used letters by Parisian graffiti writers were identified for further study (A,E,I,K,N,O,R,S,T and U). From each letter grouping, eighteen tags were isolated to represent the diversity and range of that specific character. These sets are not intended to display the "best" graffiti tags in Paris, but rather the aim is to highlight the diversity of forms ranging from upper case to lowercase, simple to complex and legible to cryptic.
Each of the resulting tags were digitally cropped from their surroundings and depicted as solid black on white. The highlighted letter in the tag is enlarged and placed next to the tag from which it originated.
All of the eighteen letters in each group are placed into a grid. Stemming from Edward Tufte's notion of small multiples, the rendering of each character in a similar language and at close proximity emphasizes the differences in form. The resulting set of characters can be viewed on the facade of the Fondation Cartier until November 29th, 2009, or on online here. There are 180 tags in total, each by a different graffiti writer.
The tags are presented on the exterior of the museum, turning the building into a learning tool for current Parisian graffiti styles. The majority of the tags displayed on the museum's facade can still be found in their natural states in the city; some on the same block and others to the far North of the city. Visitors are presented with a means towards appreciating and understanding the forms written on the walls of their own city.
The Graffiti Taxonomy studies began as part of my graduate research at Parsons in New York City (the original version of which can be viewed here. In 2004, I initially created character studies of the letter 'S' from the Lower East Side and the letter 'A' from Harlem, followed by an NYC-based letter 'E' study in 2008. Graffiti Taxonomy: Paris (2009), at the Fondation Cartier is the most ambitious and expansive version of the project to date.
Graffiti Taxonomy: Paris (2009) would not have been possible without the production and design consulting contributions of Robert Houlihan, programming and interactivity by Todd Vanderlin, the invitation and support of everyone at Fondation Cartier and inspiring work of the hundreds of graffiti writers in Paris who's work I photographed. This project stems from a love and respect for tags and bombing. To all the writers who's work I photographed for the project I ask for forgiveness in the absence of the ability to ask permission.