L.A.’s. new graffiti wars: A bold generation of taggers hitting high-profile targets

To many, it’s ugly vandalism that blights the city. For others, it can rise to a form of art in the right hands. It’s been used to mark gang turf and as a form of political dissent. Graffiti has been a central part of Los Angeles for generations, an omnipresent part of the cityscape that has endured many attempts to stamp it out. But L.A.’s graffiti culture is in the midst of a very loud and brash change. The traditional targets of taggers — walls, windows, street signs, lampposts, buses — remain their canvases. But some of today’s taggers are leveraging larger audiences on social media and higher-profile targets to make a name for themselves. And the world is taking notice. It began last year when taggers hit abandoned downtown high-rises, transforming the city’s skyline. More recently, they have moved west to several unoccupied Hollywood Hills mansions The graffiti-laden Oceanwide Plaza in downtown L.A. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times) “The reality is that it’s become more brazen, it’s become bigger, it’s become more daring,” said Bruno Hernandez, executive director of the STP Foundation, which gives artists with graffiti backgrounds new opportunities in the arts. “The norms have been changing,” he said....