It Was Written: The Foundation Documentary Review
Written by Nicole Misfitx
Published on September 28th, 2026
Graffiti history pinpoints New York as a pioneer in it’s development. The problem with that is it leaves out other major players in the game, like Chicago. The Midwest city is overlooked for its influence on graffiti’s development and spread. “Chicago didn’t have people professionally documenting the early scene the way New York did. Most of us were just kids taking pictures of whatever was happening around us, so a lot of the history is incomplete or only shows one part of the city,” filmmaker and graffiti artist Ulises Villa Jr. (C-3PO) said.
C-3PO grew up in Chicago and has been a graffiti writer since the 80s traveling all over the world. He, along with filmmaker Joshua Conro, and executive producers Hiram Villa and Mark McKenzie, created the film It Was Written: The Foundation, which premiered as a sold-out screening at the Chicago Midwest Film Festival on July 25th. The film interviewed numerous big Graffiti artists in Chicago to tell their stories from 1967 through 1989. Never-before-seen home footage made for captivating visuals, putting you back on the streets as if you could smell the spray paint. “That’s one reason this film is so important. We wanted to preserve what’s still here and let the people who actually lived it tell their stories,” C-3PO said. The film won the audience choice award.
The film interviewed numerous big Graffiti artists in Chicago to tell their stories from 1967 through 1989.
Cheers and hollers erupted from the audience as each writer came on screen to talk about his or her memories of graff history in Chicago. Some writers included were TRIXTER, HAVOC, FLASH, BBOYB, PENGO, SEEN, TAKE 2, ORKO, and more. With so many points of view, how did the filmmakers narrow it down to 90 minutes? “We interviewed a lot of great writers, but it also came down to how each person connected to the history we were telling and what their larger contribution was. People’s memories and perspectives are always going to be a little different, but if enough people are telling you the same thing, you can usually get pretty close to the truth,” C-3PO said.
Conro mentioned they interviewed over 40 people; each interview was about 45 minutes long, transcribed, and meticulously organized. “That was one of our biggest responsibilities as filmmakers. We interviewed a broad cross-section of writers from different generations, crews, and backgrounds in order to arrive at the prevailing truths about how events unfolded,” Conro said.
“We interviewed a broad cross-section of writers from different generations, crews, and backgrounds in order to arrive at the prevailing truths about how events unfolded,” Conro said.
For C-3PO, the research process of the film captivated him. “My favorite part was definitely the thrill of the hunt. Tracking down old photographs, finding somebody’s phone number through somebody else, talking to primary sources, and following one lead to the next. It really felt like we were following a treasure map. Even after being involved in graffiti for more than 30 years, I was still learning things that blew my mind,” he said.
Chicago graffiti history is intertwined with gang culture, which was discussed in the film. Gangs weren’t welcoming to graff writers. They were territorial and let it be known if you misstepped. However, they learned to accept graffiti, even having writers paint murals to honor the dead. Old English letter style was popular for tributes and a unique element of Chicago that spread around.
Another is flipping. In an interview with graffiti writer and photographer FLASH, he said, “Flipping is taking another person’s name and crossing them out. When we show that to New Yorkers, they’re like, ‘Why are you giving them time? Why are you giving them anything?’ Even some of the symbols- I see a lot of symbols with the forks going up and down inside the tags; that’s the gang culture.” Chicago writers brought over elements from NY graffiti but made it their own. PLEE from NY brought the use of Griffin shoe polish to bomb with.
Writers saw the structure of crews and wanted the same thing here. ABC and CTA were two of the early crews that formed in Chicago. Big-time bombers like HATE, SPY, SCARCE, SEEN, TAKE 2, and TRIXTER all hit the city up. Rooftops became big with unique characters like KLTA hitting rooftops on every train line with black-and-white rollers. Graffiti crews eventually had their first meetup at Cabrini-Green, put together by WARP crew, where gang members escorted writers to the meetup. Here, they got to connect and see how big the community is.
Writers saw the structure of crews and wanted the same thing here.
Hip Hop was another way graffiti grew with breakers, MCs, and blackbooks. The Logan Square monument is where they’d meet up. FLASH explained, “For us, it goes back to the 80s. When you get there, you stand on the top, you can see which way the gangs are coming. The Battle for the Eagle event was created by us kids that used to just show up with sketchbooks, bring your bike, bring your radio.”
In the 80s, as graffiti spread on trains, buses, and walls, the city cracked down. “Our scene was shaped by the trains, the neighborhoods, gang culture, and the constant battle with one of the most aggressive graffiti cleanup programs anywhere. All of that forced writers to develop new styles and tactics that eventually influenced people outside of Chicago,” C-3PO said. The cops saw all graffiti as gang graffiti. They beat down writers, raided school lockers and bags, and were fixated on trying to ruin graffiti.
In the 80s, as graffiti spread on trains, buses, and walls, the city cracked down.
Walls of Fame was an organized graffiti event where legends painted, and the cops showed up trying to shut it down. The graffiti task force was headed by cop Bob Angone, whom everyone in the audience booed when they showed interview clips of him chastising graffiti. The irony of the crackdown is that it just led to more ingenuity by writers. Writers in the film discussed how, when Mayor Harold Washington passed, they spray-painted a whole train tribute to him that the CTA ran as a ghost train.
The film stops at 1989, right before the next round of anti-graffiti measures by the city got worse. “The story really escalates in the 1990s, when Mayor Richard M. Daley launches an aggressive campaign to eliminate graffiti throughout Chicago. The city creates the Graffiti Blasters program, increases enforcement, and graffiti becomes a felony offense. What follows is a dramatic clash between a growing youth movement and a city determined to erase it,” Conro said. The filmmakers are planning for more. “The sequel will explore what happened when that culture came to war with the city—and how a new generation of writers responded and were affected. Stay tuned,” Conro said. C-3PO mentioned, “We realized pretty early that this story was way too big for one film. We didn’t want to rush through the early years just to get to the ’90s, so we decided to give each part the time it deserves.”
If you missed out on seeing the film you can follow the Instagram page to find out about possible future screenings and developments.
Nicole Misfitx is a writer and photographer passionate about documenting art, graffiti, and street art in Chicago. Her love of writing led her to receive a degree in Creative Writing and Journalism from schooling at Columbia College Chicago and SNHU. She then combined her love of documenting art, photography, and writing to showcase various art, artists, and important social topics. Her drive for writing is to give exposure to lesser-known artists and the overall street art and graffiti scene in Chicago. In addition, she enjoys nature, travel, movies, all things spooky, and fashion.