L.A. graffiti surfaces in bold colors

By Jill Serjeant

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - They have names like Wisk, Revok, Panic and Oiler. They work mostly in the dark, often above six lanes of hurtling freeway traffic, and their spray-can creations sometimes last only a day.

To many people, they are vandals or "taggers" whose stylized scrawls deface neighborhoods and cost cities millions of dollars to paint over.

But in the underground, illegal world of graffiti, they are "writers" with their own vocabulary, code of ethics, mutual respect and distinctive styles.

"The above-ground world has often been condescending towards most graffiti -- although granted some of the best work is often out of the public eye," said Steve Grody, whose new illustrated book "Graffiti L.A." gets the stories of dozens of graffiti writers in print for the first time.

"There is no way you can drive around Los Angeles for more than five minutes without seeing 'tags'," he said, of the monikers sprayed in bright, bold letters on the sprawling city's walls, freeway signs, trains and lampposts.

"But finding the more involved, often hidden pieces, is like finding buried treasure."

Los Angeles is one of the world's most prolific centers for graffiti, its miles of crisscrossing freeways, concrete river banks and urban sprawl providing a tempting canvas.

ART OR VANDALISM?