Throw up (graffiti) explained

Throw ups, or throwies, are a form of graffiti that fall between tags and pieces in complexity.^[1] The name comes from the way they are designed to be "thrown" onto a surface as quickly as possible. They are almost always done with aerosol paint.^[2]

Form

Throw ups are typically the writer's moniker in large "bubble-letters", with or without a fill. Throw ups without fills are called hollows.^[3] Throw ups are sometimes done using only the first two or three letters of the moniker in a throw up to quicken the process, especially if the writer uses a longer name.^[4] Throw ups are done with fast, pre-planned body movements to enhance speed. This speed means that writers can produce large amounts of throw ups in a short time, especially when compared with pieces.^[5]

Defining characteristics of skilled throw up include letter height consistency, letter shape conformity along the top and the bottom,^[6] minimal negative space,^{[7] [8]} and clean lines. The line between pieces and throw ups is sometimes blurred, but throw ups tend to be faster to paint, have fewer colours, and prioritise speed over style.^[9]

History

Throw ups originated in the New York City Subway in the 1970s^{[10] [11]} and started as larger versions of tags^[12] before evolving into their own style.^[13] Compared to tags and pieces, throw ups have not changed as much since their origins.^[14]

Notes and References

1. Book: Snyder, Gregory J. . Graffiti Lives: Beyond the Tag in New York's Urban Underground . 2011-04-15 . NYU Press . 978-0-8147-4046-0 . en.
2. Graf . Ann M. . 2018 . Facets of Graffiti Art and Street Art Documentation Online: A Domain and Content Analysis . University of Wisconsin Milwaukee Digital Commons . 149842845 .
3. Writing on the walls: Graffiti and civic identity . University of Ottawa (Canada) . 2009 . Thesis . 10.20381/ruor-19161 . en . Michelle . Parks.
4. Book: Castleman, Craig . Getting Up: Subway Graffiti in New York . 1984-04-26 . MIT Press . 978-0-262-53051-4 . 75 . en.
5. Lasley . James R. . 1995-04-01 . New writing on the wall: Exploring the middle‐class graffiti writing subculture . Deviant Behavior . en . 16 . 2 . 151–167 . 10.1080/01639625.1995.9967994 . 0163-9625.
6. Book: Almqvist . Björn . Graffiti Cookbook: The Complete Do-It-Yourself-guide to Graffiti . orkel Sjöstrand . Lindblad . Tobias Barenthin . 2014-04-04 . SCB Distributors . 978-91-85639-71-7 . en.
7. Web site: Team . The Drivin' & Vibin' . 2022-08-21 . Who is Cope2? . 2023-09-08 . Outside Folk Gallery . en-US.
8. Web site: Grim . Jon . Replace your graffiti throwie with this! . 2023-09-08 . The Artist Block . en-US.
9. Book: Navitas, Prananda . In book: Music-City. Sports-City. Leisure City. A reader. . Publisher: Bauhaus University Weimar . Bergmann . Alexander . (pp.90-97) . 21st Century Graffiti. How authorities should deal with it in city centers . https://www.researchgate.net/publication/215445259.
10. Book: Ross, Jeffrey Ian . Routledge Handbook of Graffiti and Street Art . 2016-03-02 . Routledge . 978-1-317-64586-3 . en.
11. Ferrell . Jeff . 1998-12-01 . Freight train graffiti: Subculture, crime, dislocation . Justice Quarterly . en . 15 . 4 . 587–608 . 10.1080/07418829800093911 . 0741-8825.
12. Dovey . Kim . Wollan . Simon . Woodcock . Ian . 2012-02-02 . Placing Graffiti: Creating and Contesting Character in Inner-city Melbourne . Journal of Urban Design . en . 17 . 1 . 21–41 . 10.1080/13574809.2011.646248 . 11343/230654 . 110689365 . 1357-4809. free .
13. Whitehead . Jessie . 2004-11-01 . Graffiti: The Use of the Familiar1 . Art Education . en . 57 . 6 . 25–32 . 10.1080/00043125.2004.11653573 . 189475620 . 0004-3125.
14. Book: Snyder, Gregory J. . Graffiti Lives: Beyond the Tag in New York's Urban Underground . 2011-04-15 . NYU Press . 978-0-8147-4046-0 . 35 . en.