Review by Paul Ryding
The mere mention of graffiti these days brings to mind a certain Bristol-based artist who will remain nameless for the sake of overexposure. This is something that is on the back of one’s mind when reading Crack & Shine, which claims to be the only book to show the seedy and unglamorous history of London graffiti. And it does this in spades.
Interviewing 40 leading graffiti artists about their motivations and past experiences, it is a rare insight into their lives and memories where they regularly risked jail-time and their lives for the sake of their art. This makes it unique up to a point.
The unforgiving bombardment of remarkably similar artwork makes it difficult to distinguish any style or unique identity between each artist. The photographs themselves have obviously been taken in a hurry while trying to avoid the authorities which is understandable but the sheer volume of badly arranged images crammed into the book gives it a very amateur feel and the viewer a slight headache.
What makes this book so crass and macho is the fond use of immature, homophobic slogans. The word “art-fag” is frequently used to denounce anyone who is a practicing artist but not in the field of graffiti. And there is also a mess of contradictions. One artist rallies against sell-out slogans such as ‘McDonalds Is Evil’ when another page is dedicated to the alarming fact that “Britney Spears Is The Devil”.
There seems to be genuinely intriguing story to be told here but the limited narration and overall laddish-ness just leaves a bad solvent-like taste in your mouth. The main problem is the constant bombardment of bad-language. It makes it impossible to take seriously and feels like it has been written by some angry teenagers rallying against The Man. Or in this case: the London Transport Police.