Graffiti makes us think of cities. Urban denizens are used to seeing ink and paint scrawled and plastered on trains, buses and alleyways, and in heavily trafficked city centers, where structures of steel and glass tower. With its lack of a central point, of all major American cities, the sprawling megalopolis of Los Angeles does not conform to typical urban planning laws.

In the land of Hollywood, gang wars and beach bums, Los Angeles graffiti teems with the city’s myriad cultural influences. From intricately tagged walls that seem to grow out of blooming roadside flower beds to spray-painted palm trees, Los Angeles Graffiti illustrates how the landscape of America’s anti-city has fomented a distinct brand of graffiti, recognized the world over. Compiled by Roger Gastman, author of Freight Train Graffiti and co-founder (with Shepard Fairey) of Swindle magazine, this colorful book benefits from Gastman’s long-term, intimate involvement with L.A. graffiti writers. Recruiting friends and graffiti legends, like SABER and RETNA, Los Angeles Graffiti documents the history of the unique, world-class graffiti scene that thrives in Los Angeles. In particular, the interview with L.A. graffiti luminary POWER breathes history into these photographs of work created by the famous, infamous, and anonymous.