Documentary Idea – Germany’s Graffiti Subculture

I used to have connections to members of a German graffiti crew, and was taught some of the basic rules of graffiti etiquette. These rules were extremely fascinating, and included the following:

• Paint the town as much as you can, the more you tag or paint, the more dominant your crew seems.
• Your tag cannot replace a “throw up.” In the same way that your “throw up” cannot replace a mural. Every design that is created can only be replaced with something bigger, or else the design of the perpetrator will be regarded as disrespectful.
• The ultimate form of achievement comes in the form of bombarding a train with a mural. This is incredibly risky, therefore respected. 

An example of a "tag." 

An example of a "throw up" covering "tags," but unfortunately also covered in "tags."
This would be considered disrespectful in Germany. 

An example of a mural.

A "throw up" on a Deutsche Bahn train.

As a fellow artist, I thought that this would have a brilliant topic to pursue, especially when I have the beginnings of a network for it. I would have wanted to pursue with the following questions:

• What are more examples of graffiti etiquette?
• What is it like to be a part of a crew?
• What happens when you get caught in Germany?

I feel like the listed questions will vary according to each country. For example, being a part of a crew in America has been seen as a means of “survival,” an example of which is shown in the following documentary:

"Infamy" a documentary on graffiti in the USA.

Since Germany is quite a strict and developed country, I feel that being in a crew is not just for a “means of example,” and is far more expressive in a country that is quite socially oppressive.

As a result I pursued this topic with my lead, but unfortunately it has come back negatively since my lead has left the crew lifestyle behind. I’ve been referred on to more people through the graffiti network but most are quite paranoid about being caught on camera, which is why it’s been difficult to confirm an interview into their lifestyle.

For now, until a serious lead comes up as interested in an interview, I will be keeping this project on standby.