Art ‘Piecebook’ Reveals Graffiti’s Secret Drawings

Kev TM7 “Art of Noize” (1985)

Long before graffiti became the marketable commodity it is today, the lifeblood of the culture was found in its piecebooks, the hardbound artists’ sketchbooks passed from writer to writer that served as a sort of social networking apparatus for the community. Repositories for autographs and places to work out new styles, piecebooks cross-pollinated graffiti and furthered the combination of community and competition that made the culture thrive.

Last month, Prestel/SHR Airlines published “Piecebook: The Secret Drawings of Graffiti Writers,” a collection of piecebook drawings from graf legends ranging from the famous to the infamous to the obscure. Recently Complex sat with the book’s editors, Sacha Jenkins and David Villorente (acclaimed graf writers and documentarians themselves), to discuss the project.