Photos and graffiti canvases cannot convey the energy and aura of giant artwork in motion.' He writes, 'Much of the best graffiti was meant to be appreciated in motion, as it passed through dark and dingy stations or on elevated tracks.

Sociologist Richard Lachmann notes how the added element of movement made graffiti a uniquely dynamic art form. The subway rapidly became the most popular place to write, with many graffiti artists looking down upon those who wrote on walls. Soon after graffiti began appearing on city surfaces, subway cars and trains became major targets for New York City's early graffiti writers and taggers, as these vehicles traveled great distances, allowing the writer's name to be seen by a wider audience. Yet, it goes more or less undisputed that New York 'is where graffiti culture blossomed, matured, and most clearly distinguished itself from all prior forms of graffiti,' as Eric Felisbret, former graffiti artist and lecturer, explains. Some sources identify New York (specifically taggers Julio 204 and Taki 183 of the Washington Heights area), and others identify Philadelphia (with tagger Corn Bread) as the point of origin. The exact geographical location of the first 'tagger' is difficult to pinpoint. Early graffiti artists were commonly called 'writers' or 'taggers' (individuals who write simple 'tags,' or their stylized signatures, with the goal of tagging as many locations as possible.) Indeed, the fundamental underlying principle of graffiti practice was the intention to 'get up,' to have one's work seen by as many people as possible, in as many places as possible.

Contemporary (or 'hip-hop') graffiti dates to the late 1960s, generally said to have arisen from the Black and Latino neighborhoods of New York City alongside hip-hop music and street subcultures, and catalyzed by the invention of the aerosol spray can.

Tag the power of paint