Graffiti Thesaurus Presentation

1. Seeka666’s Graffiti Thesaurus
UCLA – Information Studies – Summer- 2009 - Baca
Jessica Thomas

2. Gra-fi-to \gre\’fe-(,)to\ n., pl. –ti \(,)tc\ [It., a scribbling;
graffio, a scratch], an inscription or drawing scratched on pillars,
building, etc., as in ancient Rome.
-Webster’s New World Dictionary
Graffiti (g) n., pl. Crude drawings or inscriptions on a wall, fence,
etc. 1851, ancient drawings or writing scratched on walls, as
those of Pompeii and Rome; borrowing of Italian graffiti, plural of
graffito, a scribbling, from graffio a scratch or scribble, from
graffiare to scribble, ultimately from Greek graphein draw,
writing; see CARVE. The transferred meaning, applied to
recently made crude drawings or scribblings, is first recorded in
English in 1877. -Barnhard Dictionary of Etymology
Oedipa headed for the ladies room. She looked idly around for the
symbol she’d seen the other night in The Scope, but all the walls,
surprisingly, were blank. She could not say why, exactly, but felt
threatened by this absence of even the marginal try at communication
latrines are known for. -Thomas Pynchon, The Crying of Lot 49

3. Topic
Purpose Audience
Graffiti Thesaurus
(Rhetorical Construct)
Topic – graffiti, broadly speaking.
I’ve intentionally left out references
to gang-related graffiti because 1. its
inclusion would make the thesaurus too
big, and 2. I’m not a huge fan of it,
especially considering the gang graffiti
in my neighborhood on my favorite
corner liquor store.
Purpose – To function as a
knowledge base and indexing
reference. Lots of graffiti
terminology is slang, and thus is, as its
objects, ephemeral – it is difficult to
create an objective authority on
something that is constantly changing.
Additionally, slang is insular and
difficult to learn outside of its geo-
spatial boundaries.
Audience – Gallery kids,
graffiti newbies, academic
anthropologists, indexers.
(Rhetorical
Triangle)

4. The Graffiti Thesaurus –
(a work in progress)
1.Information gathering
2.Facets
3.Descriptor/record
creation
4.Problems & worries

5. Information gathering
Libraries – These ended up being a good source for academic literature about
graffiti, but turned up no glossaries, dictionaries, or authoritative reference
sources. The indexes of library sources were generally more useful than the actual
texts. Additionally, the recent publication years of these sources, as well as the
lack of linguistic uniformity in their indexes are good arguments for the creation of
a controlled vocabulary for graffiti.
Bookstores – While I thought I’d have better luck finding a graffiti glossary or
graffiti vocabulary-oriented materials, I was just condescended to by the clerk,
who did not have reference desk customer service. I ended up buying one book,
which has served as an important vocabulary resource, but the quality of writing in
the book is marginal.
The internet – The most useful source, for not only are there a number of (half-
formed) graffiti glossaries published on the web, but there are usenet groups and
web forums dedicated to the craft. People who frequent these groups and forums
are generally members of the graffiti culture, and use graffiti slang frequently and
naturally. However, the literacy levels of some of the contributors are marginal,
and translation is sometimesnecessary. Additionally, a lot of material is plagiarized.

6. A
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Facets

7. Agents
facet
record view:
crews

8. Materials
facet
children of
Materials facet

9. Materials
descriptors
record view: German Montana

10. Techniques & Practices facet
Techniques &
Practices
Descriptors

11. Record view: battles

12. Visual Works facet
Visual Works
Descriptors

13. record view: blockbusters

14. Problems and worries … Page 1
My questions are language-based and hierarchy-based:
3.Language:
a. Are there better terms for the categories like “graffiti tools
specific to spray paint,” “brands of spray paint common to graffiti
culture”? Suggestions?
b. lettering/letters
Should the descriptors be
i. bamboo lettering
or
bamboo letters?
ii. wildstyle
or
wildstyling?

15. 2. Hierarchy questions (aka categories and concepts I’m
having trouble organizing)
a. lettering/letters/fonts
Does this concept belong under Techniques &
Practices, or Visual Works?
b. characters
Does this concept belong under Techniques &
Practices, or Visual Works?
c. paint sticks
Under the Materials facet, does this term
belong arranged under paint or
markers?
d. graffiti styles
Does this concept belong under Techniques &
Practices, or Visual Works?
13.Final Question –
Do I include scope notes for
categories/descriptors like
“paper-based visual works”?
Problems and Worries… Page 2

16. 1.Complete Materials records
(inks, markers, paint sticks)
2.Complete scope notes
3.Correct grammar and
hierarchical structure
4.Link records to flickr images
(for web presentation)
Thanks for your time and help!
Evaluative Remarks

17. The End
Thanks everyone
for your
time and help!!!
Jessica Thomas, 2009