Graffiti Confidential

NEW YORK—You can map the history of New York street artists and graffiti writers by its network of scars—or beauty marks, or badges of honor, depending on who you’re talking to—scrawled, scratched, painted, and pasted throughout the city. But, just like remnants of the old neighborhoods, many are disappearing as condos go up, the city continues to step up its efforts to crack down on graffiti, and time-honored-but-illegal pieces are buried beneath layers of fresh paint.

We asked Claw Money, a graffiti writer on the scene from the 1980s to the early 2000s, to take ARTINFO on a tour of some of what’s left around her favorite haunt, the East Village.

“Everything is washed and clean,” said the artist, whose iconic spray-painted claw can still be spotted not only around the city but also on the clothing she has created in her new career as a fashion designer and the fashion editor for Shepard Fairey’s Swindle magazine. “I can’t believe it. I’m shocked, I’m shocked. This neighborhood used to be covered with beautiful murals and ugly scrawls. It was gorgeous.”

Still, we managed to search out some notable works, including a legendary piece dating back to the 1970s—the era when New York graffiti had its heyday.

Click on the photo gallery to the left to see more (Claw, who doesn’t give out her real name, asked ARTINFO not to reveal the exact locations of the works, but here’s a clue: Start at 3rd Street and Avenue A and explore the several blocks surrounding that intersection).