Graffiti Verite' (Read the Writing on the Wall)
color. 45 min. Bryan World Prods.
P.O. Box 74033, Los Angeles, CA 90004; 213/993-6163
Professional Media S.C.,  CA. $29.95.
Social Science

Interviews with two dozen Los Angeles graffiti artists cast little doubt on their view  of graffiti as tagging or art. With the spray can as their medium, the city as canvas, and monikers like,- Toonz, these black, brown, and white Angelinos speak the language of art. They talk about technique ("can control"), stylistic influences (Keith Haring, hip-hop culture), communal aspects of their work ("crews"), and the community of those who view their art as illegal, urban blight.
The documentary shows hundreds of graffiti examples and lets the artists discuss, with varying degrees of articulateness, how graffiti has evolved from street art to gallery representation and even collaboration with such respected institutions as L.A.'s Museum of Contemporary .Art. This video belongs in art schools and, with its effective snapshot of mid-1990s life, in collections that focus on popular culture.
 

-Susan E. Annett, Santa Monica P L., Cal.