The Book Of Tags- USED

The Books of Tags presents the personal signatures of 150 writers coming from 20 different countries throughout the world. The selection includes some of the most influential tags belonging to pioneers in the graffiti world as well as others that represent innovative and experimental calligraphic styles. The tags are displayed in alphabetical order, one per page correlated with a caption to facilitate the deciphering of the different calligraphic styles. DropDrop’s purpose is to create a 1980’s style graffiti “blackbook” object, simple and essential in the layout and rich in content. The first section of The Book of Tags consists of short introductory essays by five prestigious individuals working in the fields of design, calligraphy, graffiti and architecture: Buro Destruct, a designer collective from Bern, Barry McGee (AKA Twist), a contemporary artist with a strong graffiti background, Olivier Stak (artist and chief editor of World Signs) Hassan Massoudi (a contemporary Arab calligrapher) and Stefano Boeri (architect, urbanist and director of Domus from Milan). The publication ends with a black and white action photo gallery compiled and edited by DropDrop in an effort to show the beauty and energy of the act of tagging in its original context.

The Book Of Tags is a Dropdrop Agency project, published by Kitchen 93 and made possible by the collaboration of over 300 world-wide graffiti writers. The project attempts to analyze and also give voice to one of the most demonized yet pure means of expression within the graffiti world, the Tag.

The Book Of Tags presents the personal signatures of 150 writers coming from 20 different countries throughout the world. This selection includes some of the most influential tags belonging to pioneers in the graffiti world as well as others that represent innovative and experimental calligraphic styles.

Dropdrop believes that The Book Of Tags is a useful tool for a broad range of readers, who are sensitive to the complexity of the subject. It is hoped that this work will serve as a reference tool concerning a phenomenon which stands on the thin border between art and vandalism.