The Beautiful Walls: Photographic Elevations of Street Art in Los Angeles, Berlin, and Paris

Graffiti is the oldest form of art, dating back thirty thousand years to images scratched and painted on the walls of caves. It is found all over the world and in all cultures. The people who create it are artists in the true sense of the word, expecting no reward for their work - driven only by the basic need of all human beings to express themselves and to communicate with others.

I love modern graffiti because of its color and brilliance, because of its sophisticated use of graphics, because of its spontaneity and vibrant life. Finding a wall of graffiti is for me like finding an unexpected gift - a gift given by strangers who ask for nothing in return, hoping only that someone will stop and look and perhaps accept the offering.

The images of graffiti in this book represent my attempt to document a valuable form of art that is both fleeting and eternal.