Some graffiti near 161st and the Melrose train station. I geotagged the photos, but the locations do not seem to be accurate to within one block.

The two images above are the left and right halves of one continuous piece; tags are “BT, 4B, KD, TFP.” The writer seems to Logek or Logik. This Flickr photo identifies the writers as Logek and Deem. Deem favors an outlandish face as one E.

Some common graffiti terms

Tag – the simplest form, letters formed by single strokes, usually in black spray paint.

Throw-up – typically rounded letters, with one color as the “fill,” and an outline in black or white. As the fairly simple green-and-black throw-up shown. It might read “ST.R,” but I am not sure. A desirable feature of a throw-up is to have the outline be executed in one long continuous stroke, “one hit.”

Wild Style – letters that have been exaggerated and distorted.

Piece – short for “masterpiece.” A complex, carefully executed, graffito. Typically multi-colored, typically including wild-style letters.

Public – letters that are legible to the general public. In much graffiti, the letters are so distorted that only the cognoscenti can recognize them.

Toy – a derogatory term for poorly done graffiti, as in “That shit ain’t even toy.”

Writer – a graffiti artist

• Bronx,
• graffiti