Author
Steven Johnson
BLAZE ONE, OAKLAND GRAFFITI PIONEER
Steven Johnson, known in Oakland’s early graffiti scene as BLAZE, began writing graffiti in 1983 after seeing Style Wars on PBS. Working primarily in Oakland and Berkeley through the 1980s, he developed his style largely as a solo writer while also crossing paths with crews and writers who helped shape the Bay Area graffiti scene.
His book, BLAZE: The Birth of Oakland Graffiti, is a first-person memoir and visual history of those years. Drawing from original photographs, personal memories, and decades of reflection, the book documents the places, people, techniques, and culture surrounding Oakland graffiti from the early 1980s into 1990.
Johnson later left Oakland, pursued a legal career, and became an attorney, but the history of BLAZE and the early Oakland graffiti scene remained an important part of his life. This book brings that history together in one place for readers interested in graffiti, hip-hop culture, Oakland history, and the artists who helped build the scene before it was widely documented.
His book, BLAZE: The Birth of Oakland Graffiti, is a first-person memoir and visual history of those years. Drawing from original photographs, personal memories, and decades of reflection, the book documents the places, people, techniques, and culture surrounding Oakland graffiti from the early 1980s into 1990.
Johnson later left Oakland, pursued a legal career, and became an attorney, but the history of BLAZE and the early Oakland graffiti scene remained an important part of his life. This book brings that history together in one place for readers interested in graffiti, hip-hop culture, Oakland history, and the artists who helped build the scene before it was widely documented.
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