hifi art shows graffiti as a respected art form and how it should be appreciated by society. being a form of art, it is unfortunate that when the word graffiti is mentioned, it is always accompanied by a bad remark. these negative connotations have been repeated and reinstated over the years.

within these cyber walls you will be exposed to graffiti as an art. we show the art that you can currently see in most every city's tunnels and streets. what makes graffiti more worthy of awe and admiration is that the artists, while making incredible illustrations, must remain incognito. hifi art is an archive of art that can be visible in the morning on the way to work and be painted over by the return home. this type of collection, like keeping photo albums, is needed for the preservation of such an illustrous fast-paced form of artistic expression. we also preview other forms of art besides graffiti: canvases, sculpture, digital art, etc. this hopefully will allow graffiti artists to view other artists' work and vice versa. by featuring artists from different backgrounds it should further enlighten and give light to occupational opportunities for graffiti artists.

so keep an open-mind and explore the site completely. our goal is to make you have a new perception of graffiti. even if you still leave this site hating graffiti, you must realize that this does take incredible talent. and if you remain doubtful, get some spray paint from your garage and try to make a clean straight line from the ceiling to the floor. now since your wavy creation is not nearly comparible to a perfect right-angled line, how do you plan to make a vivid mural with dripless detailed angles, colors, fades, and shades?


site background

hifi art is based in san francisco. the site first started as a linking tool for artists in the city and other people around the world. it was to give friends a chance to be more widely known, noticed, and respected for what they love to do.

it first began when i was watching 20/20 or some shit like that. the show began to focus on the internet. i was always, and still am, fascinated how all this technical shit actually works. i mean sure someone can tell you that this plugs into that and this reads off that, but who discovered and actually came up with this dope shit. even typing this now, i am tripping. i guess i am a geeker for life 'ag'. so i am watching this story about the internet, and they begin to speak about web pages and this thing called html. i was like, damn, this seems way too complicated for me. however, the show was mainly about kids who built the web pages so web building began to seem more of a tangeable skill. there was an interview with this girl who created and maintained her own girl penpal club using her web page as the main communication platform. sure i thought the idea sucked, but her ambitions and over-all wits to make it into a reality boggled my mind. so i started wondering what web page could I produce. nothing came to me. earlier on i remember searching the net on 'graffiti' and stumbling upon art crimes. i mean who hasn't. sure, their site impressed me. but, it wasn't till later that i went back to that page and decided to make my own.

i always liked graffiti. from writing "fuck bitch shit fuck you" on the bathroom seats and doors with a small king size marker. wrapping my marker with electricians tape (black tape) to be cool. being savage and rocking the bathroom door in regular writing as my latchkey counselor stood in disbelief. these are my earliest graff memories. standing on a corner taking out my magnum 44 and hitting up on the stop sign not caring about the mail lady or parent watching. walking down the panhandle with my best friend arctic with a stolen spray-paint can and approaching a parked white van on oak street. standing in the middle of the street about to bust our tags when the cap of the can fell off and vanished. it amazes me today that i never got in trouble.

so with all this history behind me, i am currently working my ass off attempting to make this shit the best.

by josh drapiewski