Malena Magnolia was sitting at a table with her best friend, Harley, waiting to pick up a pizza to go, when a stranger approached them. “This dude is talking to us and saying all this vulgar stuff,” Malena recalls. The two did their best to ignore him, but he was persistent, trying to provoke a response. Harley remembers watching her best friend. She could sense Malena’s frustration boiling. Finally, Malena turned and looked…

Problak and GoFive - Boston, MA, USA, 2013, via Art Crimes. Thumbnail image: Alivixi - Mr. Miyagi character by GoFive, Boston, MA, USA, 2014, via Art Crimes. Twenty years ago this fall, Susan Farrell created Art Crimes, the first webpage devoted to street graffiti. What began as a photo gallery with “no explanations offered” soon became the hub of an emerging conversation, complete with how-to guides, interviews and manifestos. Through Art Crimes, Farrell became a…

She walks down the alley. Her hand’s in her bag, fingers gripped around her brush. She finds the wall. Kneels, unrolls her handmade poster. Quick swipe of paste on the paper, another on the wall. The poster goes up, then she uses her bare hands to smooth the surface, fingers pressing the paper into cracks. Car lights splash. She turns her face away. Another quick layer of paste once the car is gone,

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